PAPAYA CULTIVATION & PRODUCTION

NORTHERN PROVINCE

BOARD OF INVESTMENT OF SRI LANKA

NORTHERN REGIONAL OFFICE
 Contents

• Introduction
• Papaya Production & Export
• Related Information
• Investment Opportunities
• Market
• SWOT
• Identified Constraints
• Conclusion
• Recommendation
 Introduction
• Papaya is cultivated in dry and intermediate zones, and in wet zones mostly
growing in home garden
• Season of Cultivation – From April to June
• Varieties of Papaya
Ratna (Recommended by Dept., of Agriculture due to good quality)
Red Lady (Hybrid Variety)
Sunrise (High sugar content; good for home consumption & seeds from Hawaii)
Solo Hawaii (Not hybrid variety)
Known You Number One (Hybrid Variety; good transportability)
• Production is in limited extent under commercial scale
• Mixture of Organic Manure and Chemical Fertilizer can be applied and
incorporated as Fertilizer
• Production could be affect due to infection with virus in plants in wet zone
• Post harvesting losses seen in traditional method of harvesting (46%)
 Growing Environment
• Climatic Requirements
Growing possible in both dry and wet climate

Wet Zone- up to elevation of 2000 feet above

sea level

• Soil Condition
Perfectly Drained

Graveled and rocking condition

Moist after fertilization

 Products & Value Added Products
• Edible
 Ripe Fruits – Direct Consumption
 Value Added Products
 Candy, Jam, Cordial, Pulp, Puree, Jelly, Juice, Toffees, Powder, Pickle, Chips, Bars, Soft Dinks, Squash
Papaya Leaf Tea – dried leaves
 Animal Feed – Leaf, Stem, Skin and waste materials of raw and ripe fruits
 Papaya Leaf Powder – Medicinal Powder for Dengue Fever
• Non Edible
 Papain (latex – “milk” is collected and purified from green fruits
 Proteolytic Enzyme
 Use in Breweries
 Medicines
 Cosmetics
 Tanning Industry
 Tenderization of Meat and Fish
 Paper Industry
 Organic Substances to increase microbial population in the soil and control weed growth
 Global Production
• India
• Brazil
• Mexico
• Dominican Republic
• Nigeria
• China
• Peru
• Indonesia
• Thailand
• Philippines
 Import Countries
• Germany
• Netherlands (Re export to European Market)
• United Kingdom
• Spain
• Portugal
• Bulgaria
• Poland
• Czech Republic
• Slovakia
 Sri Lankan Production
• Land Extent for Production – 5,679 Hectares
• Varieties of Papaya in cultivation
Ratna (Recommended by Dept., of Agriculture due to good quality)
Red Lady (Hybrid Variety)
• Cultivation in 2017
 New Planting Land Extent – 1,225 Hectares
 Re Planting Land Extent – 151 Hectares
Total Production – 71,245 Tons
• Plants issued for new and re planting
Mode of Requirement No of Plants

Dept., of Agriculture 89,156

Co-operative Societies 1,000
Provincial Councils 44,151
Private (Individual Farmers) 1,031,271
Source: www.agrimin.gov.lk
 Other Districts in Cultivation
• Other than districts in Northern Province, the following districts involved in
cultivation
 Kurunegala
Monaragala
Hambantota
Ampara
Badulla
Rathnapura
Anuradhapura
Gampaha
Puttalam
Galle
 Production from Cultivation - 2017
No of Plants issued for new and re-
New Land Extent planting
Land Total
Planting Expected to
District Extent Production
Land Extent bear
(Hec) (Tons)
(Hec) Hec)
Dept. of Agri. Co-op Private
(no) (no) (no)

Jaffna 130 27 122 3,409 7,000 20,000

Killinochchi 51 15 56 1,164 4,000 1,000 10,000

Mannar 71 32 60 704 6,400 25,600

Vavuniya 151 39 121 2,413 2,496 59,904

Mullativu 64 10 60 1,730 500 9,500

Total 466 123 419 9,420 20,396 1,000 125,004

Source: www.agrimin.gov.lk
 Extent of Cultivation (Hec)
District 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Jaffna 101 64 77 104 77 85 95 99

Kilinochchi _ _ _ 5 26 38 40 40

Vavuniya 293 228 78 78 78 104 113 185

Mullaitivu _ _ 10 14 37 45 52 64

Mannar 124 89 308 89 89 128 160 156

Total 517 380 472 290 307 400 459 543

Source: NPC Statistical Information

 Production (Hec)
District 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Jaffna 21 31 52 70 13 48 33 10

Kilinochchi _ _ 10 20 21 18 1 16

Vavuniya 10 _ 3 51 65 39 78 35

Mullaitivu _ _ 3 30 33 61 4 17

Mannar 19 5 89 12 47 11 12 3

Total 50 36 156 182 178 177 128 80

Source: NPC Statistical Information

 Investment Opportunities
• Importing and distributing quality seeds and fertilizers
• Value Additional Products
• Collection Centers
• Storage / Cooling
• Dehydrating Process
• Concentrates’ / Preservatives’ Producers / Sellers / Distributors
• Marketing
• Packaging & Labelling
• Researchers for disease killers/ controllers
• Equipment Suppliers
• Machineries
• Washing & Peeling
• Juice Extraction / Processing
• Individually Quick Frozen Plant (IQF)
 Investment Opportunities
• Equipment Related Services
• Assembling
• Repairs & Servicing
• Post Harvest Handlers
• Cold Chain Holders
• Ware House Facility
• Access to Credit Facility
• Rural and Regional Development Banks
• Cooperative Societies
• Information Service Centers
• Agrarian Services / Consultancy
• Market Opportunities
• Logistics Services
• Transportation of Raw Materials / Processed Items / Value Additions
• Laboratory Services
 Market

• Local / Domestic Market and Export Market

• Edible Products
 Greater demand for direct consumption and value added products

• Non Edible Products

 Greater Contribution to other industries

 Export Market
• Countries Export to……..
 India
 USA
 Iran
 UAE
 Saudi Arabia
 Pakistan
 Germany
 Egypt
• Export Income (USD Million)

Year 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Export
Quantity 725 775 1,164 1,844 1,908
(Tons)

Source: www.srilankabusiness.com
 Internal Environment
• Strengths
• Diverse climatic conditions
• Skilled and effective easily trainable labour force
• Unique Characteristics in selected fruit varieties
• Technology
• Traceability
• Good water quality and availability
• Rich biodiversity
• Strong Agricultural Base as Community livelihood
• Potential to increase productivity and yields
• Quality Standards (SLSI, HACCP , GAP, GMP, EU Standards for fresh fruits & vegetables,
Organic, ISO 22000
• Weaknesses
• Lack of technology in postharvest practices (E.g. collection, transportation, storage)
• Weak postharvest infrastructure ( E.g.: cold chains)
• High postharvest losses
• Weak branding and promotion at regional level
• Lack of technologies in processing & value addition
• Lack of water supply / irrigation system
 External Environment
• Opportunities
• Growth in domestic / foreign demand
• Unique taste for fruits in Sri Lanka
• Obtain full potential of supply of fruits
• Growing consumption of value addition of fruits
• Growing concept of “Organic Farming “
• Possibility for further research & development in agricultural systems
• Availability of agricultural lands as resources
• Government support and stable agricultural policies for increasing food production
• Threats
• Competition from other near countries
• Less bargaining power with local producers
• High cost involved in new technology
 Identified Constraints
• Price – Important Factor
• Economic Profile of Farmers involved in cultivation
• Lack of Market Intelligence
• Lack of High Quality Seeds
• Low Yield due to easily spread spot diseases
• Fragmented Supply Chain leads to limited exports
• Handling of Post Harvest Losses
• Technology Use
• Planting
• Growing
• Harvesting
• Handling
• Processing
• Storing
• Logistics/ Transportation
 Conclusion
• Papaya is commercially propagated by seed and tissue culture plant
• Comparative direct consumption is higher than export market
• Seasonal crop for April – June
• Dry Climatic condition is deciding the production capacity
• Use of qualitative seeds and fertilizers are important to the production
• Existing Production in dry zone districts including Northern Province
• Contribution to Gross Domestic Production
• Due to the increasing cost of purchasing seeds and fertilizers, the cost of
production leads to high
• Diseases and post harvest losses are the common factors for less
contribution
• Weak Supply Chain element of storage / warehouse facility
• Lack of technology use in especially handling post harvest losses
 Recommendations
• Involvement of Private Sector in following areas
 Developing infrastructure facility at airport (Storage, Cooling and Handling)
 Applied Research and Development , & Testing (Especially targeting better varieties and new
technologies)
 Involve in promotional activities
• Set up infrastructure facilities of service centers, storage facilities
• Using ICT for improved technology in production, harvesting, collection and
other activities
• Establishment of Agrarian Service Centers at Grama Niladhari Level
• Educate the Agrarian Extension Officers
• Encourage them to transfer the technological knowledge / improvements to
farmers’ society / community
• Maximum utilization of available work/ labour force for direct / indirect
employments