Business

Monaragala wilting under the scorching impact of climate change

Published

10 months ago

2025/05/2

The CEJ team ascertaining Monaragala’s ordeals at first hand

Sri Lanka’s agricultural backbone, the Monaragala District, is buckling under the weight of climate change, according to the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ). Executive Director, Dilena Pathragoda, speaking to The Island Financial Review said that their study outlines a stark warning that the district’s economic survival is in grave danger unless urgent action is taken.

Speaking on the findings of a new study, he stated, “The impacts of climate change are no longer distant predictions. They are happening here and now; devastating crops, livelihoods and the economic lifeblood of Monaragala.”

The report paints a worrying picture. Monaragala, traditionally a region reliant on rice, sugarcane and seasonal crops, is seeing shifts in temperature and rainfall that severely disrupt agricultural activities. The district’s average temperature has already risen by one degree Celsius over the past four decades, a trend that is expected to accelerate. Future climate projections suggest that, without substantial mitigation efforts, the region could experience temperature increases that make traditional farming almost impossible during key growing seasons.

Rainfall, once predictable and sufficient to sustain farming cycles, is becoming increasingly erratic. Extended dry spells and unseasonal rains are throwing planting schedules into chaos. The report notes that the first inter-monsoon and Northeast monsoon periods, critical to both paddy and seasonal crop cultivation, are seeing decreased rainfall in key areas. This reduction is contributing to an alarming depletion of groundwater and reservoir levels, threatening both crop irrigation and drinking water supplies.

Pathragoda emphasized that the economic consequences of these changes are already being felt. Farmers, particularly in areas like Siyambalanduwa and Buttala, are struggling to maintain their livelihoods. Loss of crops not only reduces household incomes but also increases food insecurity and triggers wider economic instability. With agriculture employing a significant majority of Monaragala’s working population, the ripple effects of climate failures are profound, reaching into every sector from local markets to transportation and small industries.

Compounding the issue is the poor state of local irrigation systems. According to the study, many of the district’s small and medium-scale tanks, once critical sources of irrigation, have been abandoned or fallen into disrepair. Water shortages have led to fierce competition among farmers and the need to adopt costly alternatives, such as deep-well pumping systems, is pushing many into debt. Meanwhile, the lack of access to drought-resistant crop varieties and modern water conservation technologies is leaving the majority of smallholder farmers dangerously exposed.

The Centre for Environmental Justice is calling for an immediate, coordinated response. Pathragoda insists that restoration of water storage infrastructure, adoption of climate-resilient agriculture techniques and the empowerment of local farming communities must become national priorities. He pointed out that the survival of Monaragala’s economy, and indeed its social stability, depends on whether these adaptation measures are rolled out quickly and effectively.

“The time for abstract discussions is over,” Pathragoda said. “We must bring national policies down to the village level, equipping farmers with real tools to adapt and survive. Otherwise, we risk witnessing an irreversible collapse not only of livelihoods but of entire communities.”

The situation in Monaragala serves as a grim warning for other districts in Sri Lanka. Without decisive action, the economic heart of rural Sri Lanka could wither under the harsh new realities of a changing climate, leaving devastation in its wake.

By Ifham Nizam

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Business

Union Bank hits LKR 2.2 Bn PBT and doubles bottom line in FY2025

Published

46 seconds ago

2026/03/4

Sahan Weerasooriya

Dinesh -Chairman / Dilshan - CEO

Union Bank announced a milestone financial performance for the FY2025, emerging as one of the fastest-growing banks in the country complemented by a standout bottom-line performance with the group Profit Before All Taxes reaching LKR 2.2 Bn and doubling its Profit After Tax (PAT) to LKR 660 Mn highlighting the success of its strategic transformation plans.

The Bank’s Gross Income surged to LKR 18.2 Bn supported by a strengthened Net Interest Income (NII) of LKR 5, 638 Mn and a substantial Net Fee and Commission Income of LKR 1,545 Mn, reflecting a diversified and resilient revenue base.

The Net loan portfolio climbed by 36% to LKR 110.8 Bn, maintaining the aggressive momentum seen in the previous year where the Bank significantly outpaced industry averages. This expansion was complemented by a robust growth in the deposit base, which reached LKR 118.8 Bn a 15% increase, signaling deep-rooted public confidence and the success of the Bank’s energised, sales-driven culture. The Bank maintained a comfortable Total Capital Ratio of 13.2%, remaining well above regulatory requirements and ensuring a stable foundation for future lending. The Total Assets of the Group grew from LKR 155.6 Bn to LKR 184.8 Bn, a 19% growth. The Union Bank Group consists of UB Finance Plc and National Asset Management Limited.

Dinesh Weerakkody, Chairman of Union Bank, stated that the Bank’s 2025 performance reflects the strategic and structural transformation following the entry of its new investor. He noted that stronger governance, an improved financial position, and a sharper focus on core banking segments have positioned the Bank to deliver sustainable and resilient long-term value.

Business

LB Finance adopts Snowflake to transform into an AI-powered financial institution

Published

2 mins ago

2026/03/4

Sahan Weerasooriya

Snowflake, the AI Data Cloud company, announced that LB Finance PLC, one of Sri Lanka’s A- (lka) Fitch-rated non-bank financial institutions, has adopted Snowflake as the data foundation to accelerate its digital transformation journey. By modernizing and unifying its data ecosystem on the Snowflake platform, LB Finance has evolved its hybrid business model to offer a seamless experience for modern app and digital-first customers as they transition from physical branches to accessing financial services digitally.

As digital adoption expanded, LB Finance identified opportunities to enhance its on-premises data architecture to better support real-time analytics, AI workloads, and the increasing performance demands of its digital channels. The tightly coupled nature of compute and storage limited scalability and delayed access to timely insights, increasing reliance on IT teams for analytics. Scaling compute-intensive AI infrastructure also became increasingly complex and costly, highlighting the need for a modern, cloud-native platform.

In response to these evolving requirements, LB Finance selected Snowflake’s AI Data Cloud platform for its security, governance, and scalability, establishing a unified and future-ready data foundation. This approach has enabled the organization to operate as a real-time, insight-driven financial services provider, supporting AI-powered personalization and improved digital customer experiences.

Snowflake now serves as LB Finance’s single source of truth, providing enterprise-grade security, governance, and scalability across its data ecosystem. Altria Consulting, the implementation partner, helped LB Finance transition to Snowflake to run a broad range of workloads on a single, unified platform and eliminate silos between reporting, analytics, and AI. Today, the company’s enterprise data warehousing, regulatory reporting, digital channel analytics, customer 360 insights, and production AI models for credit risk, fraud detection, and personalization are powered by Snowflake. These capabilities have delivered measurable business impact. Data availability has shifted from batch-oriented processing to near real-time. Report generation time has dropped from hours to seconds during peak periods, and business users now access self-service insights without IT intervention. At the customer level, this translates into faster loan approvals, fully digital onboarding journeys, personalized product offerings, and credit decisions delivered significantly faster, in many cases within minutes.

Business

GRI Tires celebrates Top Dealer Excellence at Perera Tire Service Awards Night 2026

Published

3 mins ago

2026/03/4

Sahan Weerasooriya

GRI Tires – Sri Lanka (Global Rubber Industries) took center stage at the Perera Tire Service Awards Night 2026, held on 1st February at the Monarch Imperial, Colombo, as top-performing GRI dealer partners were celebrated for their outstanding achievements. Hosted by Perera Tire Service Ltd. (PTS), the prestigious evening brought together over 250 industry leaders, dealers and partners, highlighting the strength, scale and momentum of the GRI dealer network across Sri Lanka.

The event opened with the National Anthem and the lighting of the traditional oil lamp, setting the tone for an evening of recognition, pride and celebration. Senior representatives from the automotive and tire industry joined GRI and PTS leadership to mark the occasion, which blended elegance, vibrant entertainment and meaningful engagement — reflecting the dynamic growth of the GRI brand in the local market.