Food Security in the BIMSTEC Region: Lessons from Sri Lanka’s Smart Farming
Sri Lanka is hosting the fifth Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit from 28-30 March 2022. Established in 1997, BIMSTEC is a seven-member regional organisation comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. BIMSTEC pays significant attention to agriculture and food security, with agriculture included as a stand-alone sector in 2005 in recognition of its importance. Sri Lanka, the lead country for the coordination of activities in the Science, Technology and Innovation Sector, is in the midst of a food crisis even as it plays host. Against this backdrop, this blog discusses food security challenges in the BIMSTEC region, Sri Lanka’s experiences in smart farming, and its expectations from the summit.
The COVID-19 Crisis and Innovation: Why Intellectual Property Rights Matter
This blog highlights the importance of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in the commercialisation process and suggests some strategies to advance the commercialisation process in Sri Lanka.
Girls in STEM: How is Sri Lanka Faring?
Sri Lanka appears to do relatively well in terms of gender representation in the broad field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. However, significant gender differences in enrollments exist within STEM fields. In the context of an upcoming technology-driven Fourth Industrial Revolution, being equipped with STEM-related skills will be increasingly important to survive in the future labour market, argues Ashani Abayasekara.
How Technology is Shaping Apparel Sector Supply Chains in Sri Lanka: Shifting to Nearshoring and Reshoring
This blog examines the implications of tech-led supply chain changes on Sri Lanka’s apparel industry and argues that it is important to prepare early for forthcoming changes through a holistic approach, engaging a spectrum of stakeholders to improve the competitiveness of the industry. Prioritising investment in innovation and skills and improving the efficiency of business processes is critical for Sri Lanka’s apparel industry to remain competitive in the changing tech-landscape.
The Growing Need for Privacy and Data Protection in Sri Lanka
Data protection is increasingly becoming relevant to Sri Lanka, with the rapid rise in digitalisation and digital connectivity. At present, there is no consensus for a single model for data protection laws. However, compatibility is the stated objective of many global and regional data protection initiatives. Sri Lanka’s data protection laws need to be drafted to be internationally accepted, to facilitate the smooth cross border transfer of data.
Demystifying Hawala/Undiyal – The Not So Dismal Science:[…] believed that informal fund transfer operations in Sri Lanka have expanded considerably due to the wide gap between the…