As part of activities under the MAPS project and other projects, SLYCAN Trust organized workshops and consultations with key stakeholders, including the apex institutions for climate change, sustainable development, disaster risk management, crop insurance, agriculture, public finance and sustainable banking. This already enabled SLYCAN Trust to gain a comprehensive picture of CDRFI in Sri Lanka and establish connections between the different stakeholders, including the public sector, private sector and civil society. At the local level, group meetings and workshops were conducted with 250 farmers and youth from farming communities as well as in-depth interviews with extension services and 150 farmers in two selected districts. This field data is vital to amplify the voices of smallholder farmers and vulnerable communities and to validate national-level input from the workshops and consultations. It also allowed the research team to directly engage with farming communities and especially youth and women, allowing them to build their capacities and empowering them to interact more directly with other stakeholders. Sustaining stakeholder engagement will be vital to achieve the following four goals for the benefit of vulnerable farming communities, civil society actors and relevant entities from the public and private sector as potential partners in multi-actor partnerships:

1. Mapping stakeholders, their mandates, responsibilities and relationships
2. Understanding climate and disaster risk and entry points for improving CDRFI
3. Connecting with stakeholders at the national level and on the ground
4. Integrating CDRFI-related elements and aspects into national and local policies, plans and strategies, including NDCs and localizing the UN Sustainable Development Goals

The ground data and input from the national workshops supports achieving the first and second goal. Survey results show that 75% of respondents are aware of climate change and already experience its impacts. Almost 100% of families named farming as their primary source of income, with 44% being able to cultivate only one of two seasons due to lack of water availability. Many farmers also identified non-climate risks and challenges such as high spending for fertilizer or pesticides and lack of access to market information, mechanization and equipment, and knowledge about alternative farming practices.

There is a clear relationship between climate impacts, reduced crop yields and declining livelihoods. However, smallholder farmers lack the capacity and resources to tackle this on their own. By empowering them and connecting farmers, government, the private sector and other key stakeholders, the third and fourth goals of the project can be achieved, and multi-actor partnerships can be created to drive sustainable rural development and greatly enhance CDRFI in Sri Lanka.