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Good Riddance to the FBR: What Next to Increase Migrant Remittances to Sri Lanka?

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4 years ago

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By Dr Bilesha Weeraratne

The decision by the Cabinet to partially lift the Family Background Report (FBR) requirement for female migrants is long overdue and a welcome move to promote female labour migration from Sri Lanka. The discriminatory FBR policy was introduced in June 2013 in order to restrict females with children under the age of five and to discourage females with older children from taking up foreign employment. The FBR initially covered only female domestic worker departures, but in August 2015, this was expanded to cover all females. As a result, from 2013 onwards the dominance of women among worker departures declined significantly.

The FBR’s Intended Objectives

The FBR requirement was introduced based on the notion that a mother’s absence has negative social implications for the children left behind. Generally, this is an acceptable argument. However, it is important to consider the economic context and income constraints faced by the mother, the related stress and other facets that contribute to the wellbeing of a child. The critical weakness around the introduction of this policy was the absence of sound empirical evidence of the negative social impacts brought about by the absence of the migrant mother, which the policy aimed to address. Similarly, the continuation of the policy lacked empirical evidence to prove any improvement to the wellbeing of children of mothers held back by the policy. Hence, although the FBR purportedly “protected against family breakdown,” it is unclear whether staying together as a family contributed to the greater well-being of the children”.

Outcomes of the FBR Policy

Apart from the absence of evidence confirming any positive outcome of the policy, there was ample evidence of the unintended negative consequences. Research conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS) in 2016 showed that although the FBR was successful in restricting females migrating for domestic work, the policy promoted migration outside Sri Lanka’s legal framework or through visitor visas and thus increasing their vulnerability at destination. Additionally, vulnerability was heightened due to women resorting to corrupt practices to circumvent the FBR requirement by forging documents. In 2015, the price of a forged FBR ranged from LKR 25,000-85,000. Often, these amounts were paid by the sub-agent or the licensed recruitment agent, leading to abuse and exploitation of the potential migrant women during recruitment. Similarly, FBR is also associated with delays in the recruitment process.

More recent evidence from IPS research shows that the FBR policy resulted in decreased departures among lower-skilled groups and increased departures among middle-level and professional workers. This increase in higher-skilled workers is linked to FBR-related corruption and misreporting of skills to avoid the policy. Thus, the policy is associated with greater involvement of lower-skilled workers in recruitment-related corruption, higher exposure to recruitment-related vulnerability, and lower foreign employment opportunities. One of the most critical gaps in this policy as highlighted in previous IPS research was the absence of a mechanism to support those who were “not recommended” for migration under the FBR and were forced to remain in Sri Lanka with their children.

Reluctance to Reverse

Until its removal in June 2022, the FBR policy had been revisited several times. For example, in 2016, as a result of research evidence and lobbying by different stakeholders, a Parliamentary Sub-committee was established to review the policy. As noted by the author in another study for the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD), the then ministry-in-charge and the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) encouraged repealing the FBR based on both evidence and stakeholder perceptions. Yet, the Sub-committee favoured continuation of the policy. Despite mounting evidence and support from the relevant stakeholders, the FBR mandate remained for nine years mainly due to the absence of political will to accept evidence-based research and advice by qualified/relevant stakeholders. The underlying reason for this was the possible political backlash for removing a populist policy – though not backed by an iota of evidence.

Increasing Formal Remittances

Migration and remittances can contribute significantly to bridge Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange shortage. Research reveals that compared to men, women are more reliable remitters, although their wages are relatively lower. As such, it is important to facilitate foreign employment opportunities for women. The removal of the FBR requirement is likely to increase female departures by enabling women to make a labour market decision independent of their maternal status, while minimising delays and vulnerability in the recruitment process.

However, to reap the desired outcome of more remittances from higher departures, the new stock of females departing for foreign employment in the absence of the FBR must be convinced to remit through formal channels. Here, it is important to identify the key demographics of this segment of migrants who now face more relaxed regulations for migration (likely to be married women with mostly young children and leaving children in the care of a female extended family member) and design incentives accordingly.

In addition to the traditional incentive schemes proposed in recent weeks to promote formal remittances, a few recommendations targeting female migrants are as follows:

1. Provide unmatched incentives for remittances sent through children’s bank accounts.

a. For every X amount (i.e. USD 100) remitted per month through a child’s bank account

i. Y amount (i.e. USD 5) will be contributed by the state towards an education fund account for that child maintained in the same bank, which can be withdrawn annually for year-end educational expenses.

ii. Tie a children’s medical insurance, where medical reimbursement to the value of Y amount (i.e. LKR 2000) per month can be received.

iii. Receive a child nutrition pack

b. Once remittances sent through the child’s bank account exceed X amount (i.e. USD 1000),

i. The child will receive a free life insurance cover.

ii. Become eligible for an internship at the bank upon reaching the age of 18.

2. Tie incentives for remittances through support towards the children’s caregiver.

a. For every X amount (i.e. USD 100) remitted per month through a bank account

i. Receive a caregiver nutrition pack worth Y amount.

ii. Receive a caregiver medical care insurance coverage.

Link to the blog: https://www.ips.lk/talkingeconomics/2022/07/04/good-riddance-to-the-fbr-what-next-to-increase-migrant-remittances-to-sri-lanka/


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Cargills Kist transforms wartime battlefield into thriving Kilinochchi agri-belt

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10 hours ago

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2026/07/6

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Aloe vera cultivation in Mankulam, empowered by Cargills Kist

When the doors of the Cargills Kist primary food processing plant first opened in Kilinochchi’s Ariviyal Nakaram area in 2013, there were no advertisements, public announcements, or grand promotional campaigns. Yet, stretching down the dusty road, a long, quiet queue of local residents had formed. They were war-battered northerners looking desperately for a fresh start, and among them, an overwhelming majority were young women and war widows.

On that single day, 70 women were interviewed and hired, stepping into a facility that promised the exact same salaries, perks, and allowances as the Kist plant in Colombo. Today, thirteen years after the factory first opened its doors, many of those senior employees still walk just a kilometer or two from their homes to the factory floor every morning. They stand as living monuments to a corporate intervention that chose to build futures where everything else had been flattened. Enhancing the vibrancy on the factory floor, a new generation of young employees now works closely alongside these original mentors.

Sowing Hope in Scorched Earth

When the Cargills team first arrived in Kilinochchi after the war concluded, it was a town in name only; not a single roof remained standing, shops were non-existent, and the population survived in displacement camps. A baseline survey of 2,000 locals conducted by the company revealed a profound disconnect: an entire generation had been completely separated from agriculture and lacked the know-how, seeds, or market access to restart their lives. However, they possessed one hidden, resilient asset – hardy Jaffna mango trees that had miraculously survived the crossfire.

Partnering with international agencies like USAID and IFAD, Cargills spent three grueling years navigating the absence of a proper civil administration to construct the Kilinochchi primary processing facility. They taught locals how to harvest and pack mangoes without bruising, introduced commercial passion fruit cultivation to the region, and established a reliable buyback system for the outgrowers. Today, the plant absorbs 30 to 35 tons of local fruits and vegetables daily from them -including woodapple, melon, passion fruit, and now, aloe vera – pumping direct liquidity into a community once starved of cash.

Aloe vera extraction process on Cargills Kist Factory Floor in
Kilinochchi. (Pix by Nishan S. Priyantha)

The Financial Architecture of Inclusion

With its 70-year legacy of providing nutritious, farm-fresh products to consumers, Kist’s latest project in Kilinochchi highlights how structural corporate responsibility can systematically erase regional disparities. A year ago, the company identified a rising global and local demand for aloe vera, an ingredient heavily used in beverages and personal care items that Sri Lanka was frequently forced to import. To root the supply chain locally, Cargills selected 100 stay-at-home women in Kilinochchi to pioneer commercial aloe vera cultivation. But the barriers to entry were steep: setting up a single quarter-acre required an initial capital of roughly Rs. 200,000 – an impossible sum for a low-income family. Worse, nearly 60% of smallholder farmers in Sri Lanka are blacklisted by the Credit Information Bureau (CRIB) due to past unpaid debts or a lack of physical collateral, locking them out of traditional banking ecosystems.

Female farmer cum owner
Vigneswaran Kamalanayaki at
work

To bypass this systemic gridlock, Cargills Food & Beverage Limited Managing Director Arjuna Kumarasinghe stepped forward with a corporate guarantee from the parent company, enabling Cargills Bank to issue micro-loans without demanding collateral.

Alongside technical assistance and irrigation equipment funded by the German development agency (GIZ) – a collaboration facilitated by Haridas Fernando, Group Manager of Agribusiness at Cargills Ceylon PLC – Cargills Bank rolled out mobile banking units to bring true financial inclusion directly to the doorsteps of the North.

To further insulate farmers from volatile market forces, the company integrated a dual-channel model. When market prices spike, farmers are entirely free to sell to any buyer of their choice. However, if the market crashes or surpluses build up, Cargills honours a guaranteed floor price of Rs. 90 per kilo at its processing plant, absorbing the risk and ensuring the farmer never loses.

The Rise of the Agripreneur

Arjuna
Kumarasinghe,
Managing Director,
Cargills Food &
Beverage Limited

The real-world metrics of this intervention are vividly visible in the backyards of Mankulam. Vigneswaran Kamalanayakie, a 37-year-old mother, manages a quarter-acre aloe vera plot adjacent to her home while caring for her young child. Utilising a modern “rain hose” irrigation system that waters the entire plot in just a few minutes, she has fundamentally altered her family’s financial trajectory. Even before her first formal leaf harvest, Kamalanayakie earned Rs. 50,000 simply by selling the aloe vera shoots generated by her crop. With her initial leaf harvest projected to bring in Rs. 100,000, she is entering a monthly earning cycle that scales up to an estimated Rs. 1,200,000 annually. She is already making active plans to double her plot to secure a multi-million rupee income.

Through Agronomy Extension Officers and dedicated field animators, these women are coached in crop management, pest control, and year-round continuous harvesting methods. They are no longer subsistence farmers vulnerable to the whims of middleman collectors; they have transitioned into bankable agripreneurs.

A Solid Pulp of Purpose

Haridas Fernando,
Group Manager,
Agribusiness,
Cargills Ceylon PLC

By leveraging its 14 collection centers across Sri Lanka, its main manufacturing facility in Katana, and over 500 retail outlets operating across all 25 districts, Cargills has built an incredibly resilient, closed-loop domestic supply chain.The Kilinochchi factory stands as the ultimate thesis statement for this corporate strategy.

Without beating the drums of self-adulation, Kist has blended humanity, national duty, corporate responsibility, and business ingenuity into a solid pulp.

In doing so, it has proven that the most delicious and wholesome aspect of a brand’s legacy isn’t just the product it puts on store shelves, but the dignity it restores to the people who grow it.

By Sanath Nanayakkare

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Sampath Bank recognised with three prestigious banking accolades at World Finance

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10 hours ago

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2026/07/6

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Sampath Bank PLC has received three major honors at the World Finance Banking Awards 2026, being named Sri Lanka’s Best Retail Bank, Best Commercial Bank, and Best Corporate Governance – Sri Lanka. Presented by the UK-based World Finance magazine, these awards recognize excellence in performance, innovation, customer value, leadership, sustainability, and governance. This marks the 12th consecutive year that Sampath Bank has won the retail and commercial banking titles, underscoring its long-standing ability to serve individuals, businesses, and communities effectively. The new governance accolade highlights the bank’s strong commitment to transparency, accountability, ethical leadership, and responsible stewardship.

Managing Director Sanjaya Gunawardana expressed pride in the achievements, noting they reflect customer trust, employee dedication, and stakeholder confidence. He emphasized that while the retail and commercial awards recognize consistent value and innovation, the governance honor affirms the strong principles guiding the bank’s decisions. World Finance uses a rigorous evaluation process based on financial performance, innovation, customer experience, sustainability, and leadership. Sampath Bank’s governance recognition stems from robust Board oversight, proactive risk management, and a culture of responsibility. Together, these awards reinforce the bank’s mission to build a resilient, future-ready institution that contributes to Sri Lanka’s progress.

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People’s Bank marks its 65th anniversary

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10 hours ago

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2026/07/6

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CaptionPeople's Bank Chairman Prof. Narada Fernando and CEO/GM Clive Fonseka.

People’s Bank commemorated its 65th Anniversary on 1st July. The Bank commenced its anniversary celebrations with a special event held at People’s Tower in Colombo.

The gathering was addressed by the Chairman of People’s Bank, Prof. Narada Fernando, and the Chief Executive Officer/General Manager, Clive Fonseka. Coinciding with its 65th Anniversary celebrations, People’s Bank also launched the latest edition of the Economic Review magazine under the theme, ‘Sri Lanka’s Export Renaissance: Diversification, Innovation and Global Competitiveness’.

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