EU extends EUR 15mn grant to promote circular economy in SL’s food sector

Colombo, Nov.25 (Daily Mirror) - Sri Lanka and the European Union (EU) entered into a financing agreement to promote a circular economy and sustainable consumption and production in the food sector.

Under the agreement, the EU will extend EUR 15 million to increase food availability for vulnerable people in Sri Lanka by establishing more efficient distribution channels/mechanisms of food, avoiding food waste and/or convert food waste much-needed farming inputs like organic fertiliser, animal feed, etc.

The action is aligned with the Paris Agreement, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and more particularly, the external dimension of the EU policies under the EU Green Deal and more directly to SDG 12 on responsible consumption and production.

It will also contribute to Sri Lanka’s commitments under the 2021 updated National Determined Contributions (NDCs) and implementation of the National Policy on Sustainable Consumption and Production. 

The project supports the economic crisis in Sri Lanka by building economic resilience and improving food security and nutrition while reducing impact of human activities on human and animal health, environment, biodiversity and more generally on the transportation and disposal contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. 

Project activities align with the objective to reduce losses and increase recovery, processing and supply of edible and safe food surplus and/or waste management for the benefit of vulnerable consumers and/or food producers and to enhance effectiveness of the sustainable production, distribution and consumption models related to food waste/loss and single use plastic food packaging.

“Sri Lanka faces numerous challenges, from resource scarcity to effective protection of environmental and other resources. Within these challenges, however, lies an opportunity to adopt a circular economy model that can transform the development of new technologies, business models and entrepreneurship and innovation, that foster a thriving economy,” said Ambassador of the European Union to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Moreno Carmen. 

Carmen stressed that promoting circular economy practices is vital for the country to mitigate the risk of crises in the future and to establish food security and sustainability.