Coconut Research Institute gets new Chairman

27 October 2015 03:54 am

Newly appointed Chairman of the Coconut Research Institute Jayantha Jayawardena receiving the appointment letter from Plantation Industries Minister Navin Dissanayake


Jayantha Jayewardene has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Coconut Research Institute (CRI). 

He worked as a superintendent, manager and visiting agent for 18 years in the tea plantation sector and carries an extensive knowledge of agriculture and agricultural management. 

He has also received a Presidential Award for Excellence in Scientific Research. He also served at the Mahaweli Development Project for 20 years as a Resident Project Manager and later became Managing Director.  

Jayawardene completed his secondary education at Trinity College, Kandy where he captained the rugby football team and was awarded the Lion. 

He has completed a course in Rural Development at the University of Sussex and a course in Irrigation Management at the Colorado State University. He is an expert on elephants and a member of the IUCN Asian Elephant Specialist Group.

Jayawardene has carried out consultancies for the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), USAID and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He is the Managing Trustee of the Biodiversity and Elephant Conservation Trust. He is the author four books on elephants and wildlife and co-author of a comprehensive book, in Sinhala, on Sri Lanka’s Biodiversity.