New Ventures for Lost Ingredients

A platform in support of developing existing potential within the Sri Lankan organic agriculture and food sectors

Colombo, October 2022 – World Food Day 2022 highlights the importance of supporting the sustainable production of accessible and nutritious food for everyone. A vital element of this process includes supporting local agri-businesses by creating an enabling environment for producers to work towards high value production and value-addition.

Recognizing the need to support Small and Medium-size Enterprises (SMEs) within Sri Lanka’s   organic agriculture sector, the Lost Ingredients Lab is a platform targeted to support Sri Lankan organic and regenerative agriculture and food sectors, to integrate their value chains through innovation and collaboration. The Lost Ingredients Lab seeks to work with lesser-known organic agriculture products in Sri Lanka, to amplify their potential within local and global markets.

Implemented by Dilmah Tea, in partnership with Good Life X, and funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Lost Ingredients Lab’s newest cohort includes companies working with jackfruit, gotukola and seaweed products. The selected companies will work closely with the experts of the Lost Ingredients Lab and leverage the skills and support of sectoral experts to bring global recognition for all three local products.

Highlighting the importance of promoting organic, export-oriented agriculture products, a panel discussion was organized with the participation of Sri Lankan SMEs working within the agriculture and food sectors on the topic of “Safe food for a healthy tomorrow” to commemorate World Food Day 2022,.

Speaking at the event, Mr Lars Bedal, Deputy Head of Delegation to the European Union to Sri Lanka and the Maldives stated: “This year’s World Food Day theme is to ‘Leave No ONE behind’. This is also key priority for our cooperation with Sri Lanka. The European Union is a long-standing humanitarian and development partner. Over the last decades, we stood shoulder to shoulder with Sri Lankans to help the country recover from its civil war, the 2004 Tsunami, the COVID-19 pandemic, and now the economic and food crisis. With initiatives like ‘Support to Small and Medium Enterprises in the Organic Agriculture Sector’ we want to promote better food production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life.”

Shamodhi Nanayakkara, Manager for Sustainability and Conservation at Dilmah Conservation stated that the Lost Ingredients Lab will work to bring about change, not only in marketing products but also in mindset and attitude. This is made possible at the intersection of climate-smart agricultural practices, regenerative technology, food innovations, and traditional ingredients, to that ensure Sri Lanka’s food heritage will continue to thrive.

The Lost Ingredients Lab is an initiative under the ‘Support to Small and Medium Enterprises in

the Organic Agriculture Sector’ Programme of the Multi-Donor Action (MDA) jointly co-financed by

the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The programme is aimed at creating investment opportunities in the domestic agri-food sector, emphasising the growing importance of digitalising the domestic organic food sector, and supporting organic food producers in Sri Lanka to access new markets, particularly in the EU and overall marking Sri Lanka on the world map.

Working with applicants representing various organic products from around the country, the Lost Ingredients Lab, hopes to inspire a new generation of tech enabled Food and Agri based startups to empower Sri Lanka and the region to #BuildBackBetter.

Mr. Lars Bedal, Deputy Head of Delegation to the European Union to Sri Lanka and the Maldives addresses the gathering.