On 16 October 2025, the ILO's Cooperative, Social and Solidarity Economy (COOP/SSE) Unit met with a delegation from the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development of Sri Lanka headed by Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe, to discuss the country's practical roadmap for revitalizing the cooperative sector and explore areas for ILO support. The meeting focused on three key priorities: revitalizing the cooperative policy framework, strengthening market access for cooperatives, and piloting solutions in priority value chains.
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Government priorities and opportunities for cooperation
The Sri Lankan delegation presented the Government's vision to modernize the cooperative system and its institutional architecture, as well as to reaffirm the State's role as a regulator rather than a market actor. Priority areas included to farm-to-market linkages, enhancing value addition, and reinforcing oversight of cooperative finance, through closer ties with the formal banking sector, for which the Ministry is actively seeking support. Reform efforts are organised around three pillars, trading, manufacturing and finance, underpinned by subsector strategies in agriculture, fisheries and livestock.
Early opportunities were highlighted in maize and turmeric supply chains, alongside interest in developing export-oriented marketing mechanisms and the creation of a national online marketplace for cooperatives. The delegation shared the Government's plan to prepare an interim report within three months to guide work toward a comprehensive cooperative framework by end-2026. It also expressed its openness to draw on peer learning from India and New Zealand, as well as to engage youth in the reform effort.
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Finance and marketing architecture featured prominently in the discussion. The delegation expressed interest in technical advice on developing a cooperative banking framework, including the potential role of a dedicated regulator and the creation of a single financial platform that links cooperatives with formal financial institutions and services. The Government also sought guidance on establishing an export and retail marketing institution, building a national marketplace for cooperatives, and leveraging public procurement, including social procurement, to open consistent demand channels.
Discussions focused on the co-development of a participatory national framework to clarify institutional roles, update legislation where needed, and sequence reforms through a phased implementation plan. Pilot initiatives were also discussed to demonstrate how improved aggregation, storage and processing, and buyer partnerships can translate into better market access and incomes for cooperative members.
Areas for ILO support
The discussions identified several priority areas for ILO support to Sri Lanka's cooperative reform agenda. It was underlined by the ILO staff that providing this support will require mobilizing funds jointly with the Sri Lankan government through development cooperation projects. The areas identified for potential collaboration include:
- Policy and legal advice to guide the design of an updated framework, ensuring that the regulatory functions are fit for purpose, and map a phased implementation pathway.
- Participatory process from design stages to ensure that the framework is developed in a consultative manner with the national ILO constituents and cooperative stakeholders.
- Rapid assessment and pilot initiatives to prioritize subsectors such as maize and turmeric, and pilot solutions in aggregation, storage/processing and market linkages, with a monitoring approach intended to capture results and lessons.
- Knowledge exchange and peer learning to facilitate exchange, including a potential learning visit to India, focusing on regulatory practice, cooperative financing models, and export/retail marketing.
- Practical resources and technical tools including sample terms of reference, tools, and concept notes drawn from comparable reform experiences, such as those in Jordan, to inform the Sri Lankan process.
ILO support to Sri Lanka's cooperative movement
Sri Lanka has a long cooperative tradition in agriculture, fisheries, and rural finance. Cooperatives have been vital to post-conflict recovery and reconciliation. The ILO has been a longstanding partner in this journey, including through its support for the development of the country's first National Cooperative Policy in 2019.
In collaboration with the Department of Cooperative Development, the ILO is currently supporting the establishment of care cooperatives in Sri Lanka to expand access to quality care services, formalize care work, and promote decent jobs, particularly for women domestic and care workers.
Through the Local Empowerment through Economic Development and Reconciliation (LEED) programme (2010-2018), the ILO helped strengthen agricultural and fisheries cooperatives in the Northern Province. Finally, in 2018-2019, the ILO supported women's empowerment in the groundnut value chain in Vavuniya and Mannar, partnering with the Malarum Bhoomi Women Farmers' Development Cooperative and the Kalimoddai Punyankulam Thrift & Credit Cooperative Society.
