Daily FT (Sri Lanka) interviewed Derek Headey and Joanna van Asselt for an article about the Building Resilience, Inclusive Growth and Holistic Transformation (BRIGHT) Integrated Household Survey, designed and implemented by researchers from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) under the CGIAR system.
The survey interviewed 6,850 households across all districts and provinces between November 2024 and March 2025, collecting data on incomes, livelihoods, agricultural production, food and water security, exposure to climate shocks, access to Government programs and nutrition outcomes. The findings highlight the scale of social stress following the economic crisis and ahead of the full impact of Cyclone Ditwah.
The survey also assessed the reach of Sri Lanka’s main social protection program, Aswesuma, which replaced Samurdhi in December 2022. IFPRI Senior Research Fellow and BRIGHT Project Leader Derek Headey said that while Samurdhi had reached 19% of the population a decade ago, Aswesuma had already reached 29% of the total population by the time of the BRIGHT survey, including 48% of the poorest households.
Researchers said the BRIGHT dataset provides a baseline to track economic and social recovery, refine social protection programs, and plan responses to future climate shocks using detailed household-level evidence.
IFPRI Research Fellow and Project Co-Leader Joanna van Asselt said “both the macro and the micro data on agriculture are telling the same story where agriculture is struggling, with low adoption of modern technology and limited access to agricultural advisory services that could improve production and profitability.”