Cultivation potential in Hambantota district, Sri Lanka : A minor field study

Abstract: This Minor Field Study (MFS) is made within the present Sida/SAREC-financed research project ?Regional Development in an Open Economy ? a comparative study of Hambantota and Gampaha districts, Sri Lanka?. The purpose is to investigate, by the means of both the qualitative measures of interviews and the quantitative measures of a land suitability classification, the cultivation potential in the study area. The results shows that three of the five great soil groups present in the study area to a certain extent are suitable for paddy cultivation and that two of the five great soil groups to a certain extent are suitable for banana cultivation. As a simple test of the classification, the percentage of the total paddy area that falls within the area of suitable soils were calculated and resulted in the percentage value of 96.4 %. Even if there are limitations in the classification, it does fulfil the purpose of picturing the situation, and above all, it points at the possibility of a more accurate and elaborate fuzzy land suitability classification in the future.