Going by the Mahinda Chinthana policies under which one is the upliftment of the rural sector enterprises, the Ministry of Science and Technology in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) launched a programme to introduce its Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) scheme to the village level small and medium entrepreneurs through a series of awareness seminars. These seminars are conducted through Vidatha Resource Centers (VRCs) scattered islandwide. On the basis of 'clusters' of VRCs so organised to cover all 200 plus such centers, the first of such 'cluster' seminars was conducted in Ruwanwella in March and the second seminar was conducted in Hambanthota last week under the patronage of Science and Technology Minister Prof. Tissa Vitarana. More than 75 village level entrepreneurs in Hambanthota and suburbs attended the seminar. Dr. A. R. L. Wijesekera, Chairman of SLSI, Dr. L. N. Senaweera, Director General of SLSI and W. G. Mitraratne, Consultant to the Ministry also attended. The technical topics of the seminar were conducted by Theruni Wijesuriya - Standards/Testing Officer, Gamini Dharmawardena - Director and Wasantha Meewaddana - Director. SLSI expects to hold its next seminar for entrepreneurs in the region of Kegalle. SLSI currently operates nine certification schemes for both products and management systems. GMP is a certification scheme operated by SLSI to recognise the good manufacturing practices of entrepreneurs. SLSI mostly recommends GMP scheme for small businesses where the other certification schemes may not be affordable to them. One constraint that the small and medium entrepreneurs face in the open market place especially in the food industry is the question of credibility in terms of hygiene and safety of their food products. GMP certification will provide a reasonable assurance to overcome this problem and sustain their businesses in the market. Already a number of village level small businesses have obtained GMP certification for their products and have been able to enter leading supermarkets and even the foreign market. It is hoped that through these seminars, the SME sector will contribute not only to the economic upliftment of the rural sector, but also play a significant role in poverty alleviation.