“The economic vision underlying the present government’s budget is economic democracy. All people must be partners in the economy, and they must receive a fair share of it,” said Hon. K.D. Lalkantha, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation, delivering the keynote address as Chief Guest at the People’s Economic Summit 2025, organized for the fourth time by SANASA International, held on 26th September 2025 at the Hilton Hotel, Colombo.

He further stated:

“Our people inherently possess a sense of collectivism. When we work together, we can achieve far more vigorously than when working alone. That is the true spirit of cooperative farming. The challenge before us is to bring people into collective participation, and cooperatives can contribute greatly to this. Government and cooperatives must not work as two separate entities, but together. Cooperatives are essential for economic democracy.

The summit featured presentations of experiences from numerous national and international cooperative and agricultural organizations, with wide participation from government and private sector representatives interested in democratizing agriculture and cooperative policies.

Commencing the event, Ms. Samadanie Kiriwandeniya, Managing Director of SANASA International, stated that importance of highlighting cooperative models in stabilizing the national food system to build sustainable communities  was recognized in this conference, considering the fact that 2025 is the  International Year of Cooperatives, and  the government’s recognition of the cooperative sector to build  Sri Lanka’s fragile economy.  

The keynote Address was delivered by Prof. Gamini Senanayake, Vice Chancellor of SANASA Campus, on “Challenges in Building Sustainable Communities – and the Role of Cooperatives in Overcoming Them”.  He discussed which social, economic, and environmental indicators should be considered in building sustainable communities, the importance of embedding Sri Lanka’s traditional knowledge and compassion within cooperative processes, and the need for cyclical, inclusive development that corrects flawed national economic planning often overlooked by analysts.

Ms. Esther Petunia, Secretary-General of the Asian Farmers’ Organization for Sustainable Agriculture, a partner of SANASA’s Green Friendly Farming Program, spoke on “Why People’s Involvement in Food Production Matters”, highlighting crises and opportunities in Asia’s farming communities. Mr. Marcel Wynen, Director of Agriculture and Food Transition at Rabobank Netherlands, presented Rabobank’s experiences on national food production and cooperatives.

Dr. Lionel Weerakoon, Chief Advisor of SANASA’s agroecology Education Program, shared Cuban experiences with cooperatives in food production. A video documentary showcased the “Healthy Rice” cooperative enterprise—an innovative pilot of SANASA’s Smart Farmer spheareheaded by  SEFEC Business Development Center—demonstrating how farmers can collectively organize at ground level and collaborate successfully with government in food production.

The afternoon expert panel on “Asset Creation for Sustainable Communities” featured:

•           Prof. Devaka Weerakoon, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, explaining how biodiversity functions as a sustainable national asset and the community’s role in its conservation.

•           Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne, President of Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement, who critiqued the narrow identification of financial capital as the sole asset in national development, pointing to the nutrition crisis and long-term challenges now faced, and stressing the importance of protecting social and cultural assets while building financial ones.

During the discussion, cooperative and farmer leaders as well as scholars shared views. Mr. Gnanarathna, Chairman of the Green Friendly Farmers’ Collective, emphasized the importance of training, knowledge-sharing, and active cooperative participation at ground level. Dr. Udithe Jayasinghe, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Wayamba University and former Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, stressed that cooperatives must position themselves in the market with quality products and strong branding to remain competitive.

Dr. Kenneth De Silva, CEO of Lanka Rating, opened a dialogue on balancing production and consumption. Responding, Dr. P.E. Kiriwandeniya emphasized that Sri Lanka’s development must be cyclical and balanced, requiring a shift away from over-consumption and individualistic models, towards development frameworks that safeguard collective survival.

The People’s Economic Summit is held annually to focus national development planners’ attention on the strength and role of the cooperative sector in achieving sustainable development goals.

The first summit in 2021, attended by 80 cooperative leaders, policymakers, service providers, researchers, and national authorities via an online session, discussed the cooperative model, its best practices, innovations, and policy issues.

In 2022, amid the severe economic crisis and collapse of social protection systems, the summit focused on “Building a Participatory Economy.” In 2023, the theme was “Building Community Resilience for Sustainable Development”, highlighting people’s active representation in nation-building under climate change and market instability.

The People’s Economic Summit 2025 concluded by bringing forward valuable insights and renewed commitments to strengthen a balanced, cooperative-led production process that unites all stakeholders in national development.

The forum was organized by SANASA International, in partnership with SANASA movement, Uttamavi Company, SDB bank, SANASA Life Insurance, and SANASA General Insurance.