Food-Based Social Assistance Programs in Sri Lanka: Evolution and Transition to Cash Transfers

17 October 2017

‘Food-Based Social Assistance Programs in Sri Lanka: Evolution and Transition to Cash Transfers’, authored by IPS Research Fellow, Ganga Tilakaratna and IPS Research Officer, Chinthani Sooriyamudali, published in The 1.5 Billion People Question: Food, Vouchers, or Cash Transfers? traces the development of Sri Lanka’s food-oriented social assistance (FOSA) system.

Published by the World Bank, the chapter describes the universal food ration scheme (1942–79), the food stamp scheme (1979–89), Janasaviya (1989–94), and Samurdhi (1995–2015). It also analyzes the transition from FOSA to cash transfers and the underlying factors that led to those changes.