The Sri Lanka Tea Board, in partnership with the Tea Small Holdings Development Authority (TSHDA), has disbursed Rs. 237 million under the national 'Ceylon Tea Village' program to rehabilitate low-country smallholder tea cultivations across Ratnapura District. Ratnapura represents a chief production area for high-value low-country Ceylon Black Tea (BOPF and Leafy grades), which yields rich dark infusions highly prized in Middle Eastern and Central Asian markets. However, aging tea bushes and recent erratic monsoonal downpours have impacted smallholder leaf yield per acre. The fresh funding establishes 50 high-yielding vegetative propagation (VP) tea nurseries across Balangoda, Pelmadulla, and Kalawana divisions, distributing over 2 million drought- and pest-tolerant tea saplings to registered smallholders at a 70% subsidised rate. In addition, model tea smallholding farms are being established to demonstrate mechanical plucking techniques, organic soil mulching, and shade tree management to increase green leaf yields while reducing labor intensity. TSHDA officials emphasized that upgrading low-country smallholding productivity in Ratnapura is critical for achieving Sri Lanka's national target of 400 million kilograms of tea production by 2030.