ABSTRACT
Since independence in Sri Lanka, various programmes have been launched at national and sub-national levels to achieve poverty reduction and rural development. Under the first MDG, between 1990 and 2015, Sri Lanka aims to halve the proportion of people whose income is below the national poverty line. 3 In 1990, the proportion of the population below the national poverty line was 26 per cent and the target is to reduce this proportion to 13 per cent by 2015. As revealed by DCS (2006), the latest available related national publication, the proportion of population below the national poverty line fell from 26 per cent in 1990 to 22.7 per cent in 2002. However, given the present scenario, it is unlikely that the MDG of reducing the proportion of poor households from 22.7 per cent in 2002 to 13 per cent in 2015 will be achieved (DCS, 2006). This is largely due to various impediments to efforts to reduce poverty and to promote rural development in Sri Lanka.
