From Urban Waste to Sustainable Value Chains: Linking Sanitation and Agriculture Through Innovative Partnerships

19 Apr From Urban Waste to Sustainable Value Chains: Linking Sanitation and Agriculture Through Innovative Partnerships

The project “From Urban Waste to Sustainable Value Chains: Linking Sanitation and Agriculture Through Innovative Partnerships” is funded under the Knowledge and Linkages for an Inclusive Economy (KLIE) Grants Program of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

This project is a partnership between the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS-ISF), the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Janathakshan (GTE) Ltd, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka (SUSL), and the Sri Lankan Department of Agriculture (DOA).

This applied research project in Sri Lanka connects the waste management, sanitation, and agriculture sectors which are promoting the circular economy, to improve food security and environmental health. This project seeks to answer the question: “What are the enablers and barriers for public and private institutions in Sri Lanka to advance the implementation of sustainable and innovative value chains to improve sanitation, health, and food security?”.

Janathakshan (GTE) Ltd, being one of the partner organization in this project is responsible for conducting social and market research in Kaduwela, Homagama, and Kosgama Divisional Secretariate Divisions to identify end-user and value chain stakeholder perception of, and demand for, compost derived from municipal solid waste enhanced with fecal sludge, for food production. The outcomes of the project will establish the knowledge, linkages, and policy foundations for enabling local entrepreneurs and policy-makers to implement innovative value chains that absorb the productions out of organic urban waste.