Rice is staple food of the most the countries especially Asia including Sri Lanka.

In Sri Lanka,the paddy fields across the island are protected and cannot be used for something else. Most of the beautiful huge swathes of luscious green Rice Fields are still irrigated by water systems put in place thousands of years ago by early Sri Lankan kings.
According to the reliable historical records, rice cultivation in Sri Lanka was started in the ancient city of Anuradhapura from 161BC to 1017 AD.

Rice cultivation became a culture and religion throughout Sri Lanka. Ancient rulers constructed large-scale tanks (Lakes) with advanced irrigation systems for paddy cultivation which are still used today. Among them, King Wasahabha, King Dhathusena, King Prakkramabahu,and  King Mahasen are well known
Native traditional rice varieties have been cultivated at that ancient time and most of them are still cultivate. There are two main rice cultivation seasons in Sri Lanka as below.

Yala (Minor) Season

Period : (Apr-May and Aug-Sept)

Harvesting Total % : 30%

Region : Southwest

Period : (Oct-Nov and Feb-March)

Harvesting Total % : 70%

Region : Northeast

Today, some of the major rice producing areas in Sri Lanka are Anuradhapura, Kurunegala, Polonnaruwa, Hambantota, Ampara, Monaragala, Badulla, Matale, Puttalam and Trincomalee.
Due to high rice demand, rice varieties such as Samba (red or white short grain), red rice (long grain), and white rice (long grain) are widely grown today.
Over 2000 different kinds of traditional rice varieties are being cultivated in Sri Lanka. Most of them are farming without using agrochemicals and synthetic fertilizers by traditional farmers.

Sri Lankan people believe that Sri Lankan traditional varieties have higher medicinal and nutritional values. Traditional Rice varieties such as Kalu Heenati, Sudu Heenati, Maa Wee have used Ayurvedic doctors for the preparing of herbal medicines.

Some of our traditional rice varieties such as Suvadal have an aroma and almost every variety are high in nutritional value, antioxidants, and dietary fiber. Therefore, they are very popular among diabetic patients. For more benefit, it is advisable to consume whole grains rather than polished grains.

Traditional ice varieties such as Kalabala wee,Pachchaperumal,Rath Suwadel, and Kaluheenati which possess high antioxidant levels, and Suwadel,Masuran,Dikwee and Gonabaru with low hydrolysis rate ( low glycemic index).
The good news is over 3000 accessions of traditional varieties preserved at the Plant Genetic Resource Centre of the Department of Agriculture.