A food system comprises the entire range of actors and interlinked activities related to food production, processing, distribution, marketing and trade, preparation, consumption, and disposal. When a food system operates without compromising the needs of future generations, it is considered to be a “Sustainable Food System.” The present-day food systems in Sri Lanka are diverse, and the natural and physical environment, infrastructure, institutions, society and culture, and policies and regulations within which the food systems operate, as well as the technologies employed, have shaped their outcomes. Agricultural research is a key factor in terms of innovation and technological advances. Innovation has been the main driver of food systems’ transformation over the past few decades and will be critical to addressing the needs of a rapidly growing population in a context of climate change and scarcity of natural resources. In addition, agricultural research must help meet the rising demand for food at affordable prices. Comprising 17 chapters written by specialist(s) in their respective subject-areas, this Contributed Volume on “Agricultural Research for Sustainable Food Systems in Sri Lanka: A Historical Perspective” shares the scientific knowledge accumulated by the National Agricultural Research System of Sri Lanka, including universities, and offers recommendations on how to make food systems more sustainable in order to address the current needs of Sri Lankan society. It presents perspectives on four key thematic areas, namely: (i) Crop and animal production, management, and improvement, (ii) Agro-product processing technologies, (iii) Natural resource management, and (iv) Socio-economic development and agri-business management.

Where does theory lead us? Structural adjustment and agriculture; Structural adjustment and institucional change; Learning from experience; Managing the reform process; Technical progress and structural change in OECD agriculture; Policy conditionality in agricultural research projects; Action planning adjustment and research system reform; Structural and agricultural research: summing up.

Fully-sourced country-specific files on the basic resources committed to national agricultural research systems for 154 developing and developed countries.

Agricultural research was probably the first and is the most widespread form of organised research in the world, and one in which both the most developed and underdeveloped countries are engaged. Whilst most forms of research activity, such as in the field of medicine, have world wide application, agricultural research, by its very nature, has to be regional; practically no research finding can be adopted without studying the results of its application under the infinite number of ecological situations with which the farmers of the world are faced. The improvement of agricultural production is the essential first step whereby developing countries can hope to raise their standard of living. Research is therefore an activity in which no underdeveloped country can afford not to engage; nor can countries in which agriculture has reached a high level of development and sophistication afford to neglect agricultural research. It is not because of inertia or vested interests that highly industrialised countries maintain, mostly at public expense, a costly and complex infrastructure for agricultural research. Even when problems of overproduction weigh heavily on the economy, agricultural research is considered the essential key to further progress: the objectives and goals are simply changed and adapted to the needs of the economy.

Food systems involve a range of activities concerning food production, processing, distribution, marketing and trade, preparation, consumption and disposal. They encompass the path of food from the farm to the dinner table, meeting the food and nutritional needs of a nation. When such systems do so without sacrificing the needs of future generations, they are referred to as “Sustainable Food Systems.” The natural and physical environment, infrastructure, institutions, society and culture, and policies and regulations within which they operate, as well as the technologies they adopt, shape these systems’ outcomes. Making food systems more sustainable is a key priority for all nations, and Sri Lanka is no exception. Food systems deliver optimal performance when the policy and regulatory environment is conducive, institutions are supportive, and a combination of agricultural research investments and an efficient extension system generates the technologies and scientific evidence required for sound policymaking and agenda setting. Further, agricultural research can generate essential findings, technologies and policies for sustainable agricultural development – across disciplines, sectors and stakeholder groups. This book shares valuable insights into research conducted in the broad food and agriculture sectors in Sri Lanka. It also discusses the status quo in related disciplines, and outlines future research directions. Accordingly, it offers a valuable source of reference material for researchers, students, and stakeholders in the food and agriculture sectors, while also highlighting the types of support that policymakers and other decision-makers can provide.