Dual-stakeholder prioritisation of climate-smart agriculture practices for smallholder rice farming in community-managed seasonal tank irrigation systems: Evidence from Sri Lanka

Community-managed seasonal tank irrigation systems in South Asia's dry zones face increasing climate-induced production risks, yet systematic prioritisation of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices through integrated stakeholder frameworks remains limited. This study prioritised context-specific CSA practices for smallholder rice farming under seasonal tank irrigation in Anuradhapura District, Sri Lanka. A participatory multi-criteria decision analysis framework combined Analytic Hierarchy Process pairwise comparisons from 55 extension officers with direct ratings from 100 smallholder farmers, using instruments matched to each group's knowledge type. Ten expert-validated CSA practices were evaluated against four criteria: productivity, income, climate resilience, and mitigation. Both groups weighted productivity highest and mitigation lowest but diverged on the second-ranked criterion, extension officers emphasising resilience and farmers income. Certified climate-resilient rice varieties, integrated plant nutrient management, and integrated weed management formed a stable top-ranked core, with the parachute transplanting method completing the leading tier. The rankings express stakeholder-perceived priority rather than measured field performance, providing context-specific candidates for extension targeting and on-farm validation in seasonal tank irrigation systems. The dual-stakeholder framework offers a transferable approach whose specific rankings require contextual recalibration before transfer.