We knew it, we had left the ground.

Education

Agricultural education in Sri Lanka is a long-standing and well-established field of study. The Sri Lanka School of Agriculture, the first organization established to deal with agricultural education, was established in 1916 as the School of Tropical Agriculture at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya.

Agricultural education is primarily conducted to prepare students for employment in the agricultural sector with national vocational qualifications. The agricultural education curriculum may include subjects such as crop production, horticulture, soil science, agricultural mechanization, food technology, livestock management, plant protection, agricultural economics and extension. Furthermore, employability modules are included to develop the soft skills of trainees.

Agricultural education as a vocational education program focuses on three main aspects:

Formal classroom instruction
Field practical programs
Vocational experience programs for employment/technical training
The Education Division of the Department of Agriculture offers two diploma courses namely “Advanced National Diploma in Agricultural Production Technology” (NVQ Level 6/L6) and “National Diploma in Agricultural Production Technology” (NVQ Level 5/L5).

Advanced National Diploma in Agricultural Production Technology (NVQ Level 6/L6)
The Advanced National Diploma in Agricultural Production Technology is an NVQ level 06 course that produces mid-level managers in the agricultural sector.

Overview
This course is a two and a half year diploma program.
It consists of 2 years of corporate training and 06 months of technical training (on the job training).
Institutional training takes place as a residential course in agricultural schools and consists of 20 weeks each and 4 semesters each.
The whole course consists of 120 credits and one credit is equal to 25 hours.
Entry requirements
Applicants must have one of the following:

G.E.C. (U/Text) examination (under the new syllabus) must have obtained 03 passes simultaneously from the stream of Biology, out of which two passes must be from the following subjects. Chemistry, Agriculture, Biology and Physics
or a
G.E.C. (U/Text) examination (under the new syllabus) with three passes at one time from the Biology stream out of which two must be from the following subjects. Chemistry, Agriculture, Biology and Physics
and
G.E.C. (S. Text) A general pass in English and Mathematics subjects in the examination.

National Diploma in Agricultural Production Technology (NVQ Level 5/L5)
The National Diploma in Agricultural Production Technology is an NVQ level 05 course to produce supervisory level technical officers for the agricultural sector.
Overview
This course is a one and a half year diploma program.
This course consists of 1 year of corporate training and 06 months of on-the-job training.
The total course consists of 60 credits
The program consists of two semesters of corporate training coursework and one semester of on-the-job training.
Entry requirements
Applicants must have one of the following:
G.E.C. (U/Text) examination (under the new syllabus) must have obtained 03 passes in one time from the Biology stream, out of which two must be from the following subjects. Chemistry, Agriculture, Biology and Physics
or a
G.E.C. (U/Text) examination (under the new syllabus) with three passes at one time from the Biology stream out of which two should be from the following subjects. Chemistry, Agriculture, Biology and Physics
and
G.E.C. A general pass in English and Mathematics in the (S. Text) examination.

training
The Agricultural Training Division of the Department of Agriculture is a well-established system that bridges the technology gap between researchers and end users of results.

The main objectives of the training are to empower the participants with knowledge, skills and attitudes about the identified training need. The categories of training programs are;

Capacity building programs for government officials or private sector organizations (CB).
National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) training programmes
Technology transfer programs for farmers and entrepreneurs.
The Training Division of the Department of Agriculture provides training under the following categories under 12 institutes.

Capacity Building Program for Government Officials – CB
Program institutions
Fruit production technology
Vegetable production technology
Other field crop production technology
Micro Irrigation and Conservation Agriculture
Beekeeping
Mushroom cultivation
Food technology
Post-harvest technology
Pre-season training
Methodology of dissemination
Training methodology
Scientific writing
Writing project proposals
Gardening
Organic agriculture
Rice production technology
Institute of Service Editing Training, Gannoruwa
Fruit production technology
Other field crop production technology
Food technology
Post-harvest technology
Pre-season training
Gardening
Organic agriculture
Rice production technology
Service Editing Training Institute, Angunukolapalassa
Rice production technology
V Research and Development Institute, Batalagoda

National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) training programmes
Program institutions
Plant Nursery Development Assistant (NVQ Level 3/4)
Service Editing Training Institute, Angunukolapalassa
Horticulture Development and Training Institute, Bibila
DATC, Polonnaruwa
SOA, Watershed
Agricultural Field Assistant (NVQ 4)
DATC, Weerawila
Landscape Development Assistant (NVQ 3/4)
Institute of Service Editing Training, Gannoruwa
SOA, baby
Admission requirements and how to apply
Minimum Educational Qualification; Must have passed 06 subjects with two awards at one time.
age limit; 18-35 years
Send an application to the head of the institution.

Technology transfer programs for farmers and entrepreneurs
a) General Agricultural Training Programs – GA
Program institutions
Beekeeping
Mushroom cultivation
Food technology
Conservation Agriculture
Micro irrigation
Gardening
Institute of Service Editing Training, Gannoruwa
Service Editing Training Institute, Angunukolapalassa
Horticulture Development and Training Institute, Bibila
DATC, Polonnaruwa, Weerawila, Vavinna
How to Apply
Submit a written request to the head of the institution
b) Farm Mechanization Training Programs – FM
Program institutions
Vocational training in operation and maintenance of four wheeler tractors- 10 days
Operation and maintenance of four wheeler tractors- 5 days
Operation and maintenance of two wheeler tractors- 5 days
Operation and maintenance of water pumps-3 days
Operation and maintenance of sprayers-2 days
Operation and maintenance of harvesting, threshing machine and combine harvesters -2 days
Operation and Maintenance of Power Transplanter -3 days
Farm Mechanization Training Centre, Puliyankulama, Anuradhapura.
Two Wheeler Tractor (K75) Engine & Transmission System Repair -10 Days
Water Pump Repair – 5 days
Sprayer Repair – 5 days
Farm Mechanization Training Centre, Puliyankulama, Anuradhapura.
How to Apply Submit the completed application form to the Head of Institute.

c) Paddy Production Technology – PA
Program institutions
Rice production technology
V Research and Development Institute, Batalagoda
How to Apply
Applicants can send a letter of request to the Director, Rice Research and Development Institute, Batalagoda, Ibbagamuwa. (Along with a completed application form which can be downloaded from the website)