Objectives

• Providing for the utilization of agricultural lands in compliance with the agricultural policies of the government.
• Implementing provisions for the protection of cultivating rights of agricultural land owners, farmers owning agricultural lands and tenant farmers.
• Making regulations in respect of registration and maintenance of farmers’ organizations and ensuring the enforcement of such regulations.
• Establishing Agrarian Development Councils and guidance and supervision for the execution of powers thereof.
• Preparing, amending, revising and maintaining registers of agricultural lands containing information on agricultural lands relating to each Agrarian Development Council Area of the island.
• Initiating action to solve problems of tenant cultivators in respect of agricultural lands and other disputes involving farmers.
• Enforcing provisions relating to the productivity, security, conservation and management of minor irrigation systems.
• Constituting legal action against parties who violate the Agrarian Development Act and agricultural policies of the government.
• Providing institutional, legal, ancillary and management services required by other institutions in implementing agricultural and other development projects of the government.

Responsibilities

• Guiding the entire agrarian service centre network in order to play the role of a mediator with the intention of strengthening socioeconomic background of o the farmer community by fulfilling agricultural requirements of the farmer community.
• Steering the Sri Lankan farmer community towards sustainable development through optimal productivity of agricultural lands in Sri Lanka.
• Granting necessary approvals to construct access roads to agricultural lands which do not have access roads with the objective of enhancing productivity of agricultural lands.
• Providing necessary information and extending support to the Ministry for the formulation of the agricultural policy of Sri Lanka, agrarian law and regulations thereto
• Sanctioning the estimates on the construction and renovating of minor irrigation, buildings, agrarian service centres, district offices carried out by the Department.
• Duly maintaining daily, monthly and annual accounts reports in compliance with financial regulations, acts and circulars for the management of expenses authorized by the annual Appropriation Act.
• Mobilizing and empowering farmer community, developing and facilitating institutional structures to establish financial strength amongst the said community required to build a self-reliant, dignified agrarian society.
• Formulating and implementing programmes required for the ensuring protection and conservation of all minor (rural) irrigation schemes by increasing their productivity and managing them properly.
• Preparing the annual Action Plan of the Department of Agrarian Development and conducting monthly progress review meetings at the district level as pre the plan and conducting progress review activities.
• Preparing monthly progress reports of all development programmes implemented by the Department and submitting reports so prepared to the Ministry and the audit division and preparing the annual performance report and submitting same to the Ministry.