Survey data on challenges and resilience capacities of smallholder farmers in Sri Lanka.

This dataset contains raw data collected through household surveys of smallholder farmers on socioeconomic and farm characteristics, agricultural challenges they face, resilience capacities, resilience perceptions, and risk management strategies in cascade farming systems in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. Data were collected through face-to-face surveys with 300 smallholder farmers from 12 villages in the Galgamuwa Divisional Secretariat, Kurunegala District, Sri Lanka, using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. A simple random sampling approach was employed to select respondents. Farmers were randomly selected from each village using official voters' lists of the respective village administrative divisions, and surveys were conducted between June and September 2025. Ethics approval for the survey was obtained from the Deakin University Human Research Ethics Committee. This dataset provides valuable insights into the complex challenges faced by smallholder farmers in dry-zone cascade systems in Sri Lanka, their resilience capacities and resilience perceptions, and their adaptive responses within dynamic social-ecological contexts. The dataset serves as a foundational reference for future longitudinal studies on resilience, enabling the assessment of how resilience-enhancing policies and adaptation interventions perform over time. The data are provided with this article.