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| Sunday, 30 March 2003 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Personality Plus - B.R.L. Fernando, Chairman CIC : Agriculture his forte
Name :B.R. L. Fernando Dreaming is quite easy, but achieving a dream is difficult as it needs patience, courage and above all, the will power to endure with a good heart. All these and the eye for detail are the pillars of success for CIC Chairman B.R.L. Fernando. Fernando is an Accountant by profession, but his first love is agriculture. During the time he was looking around to purchase a land for his use he had even walked 26 miles late one evening as he wanted to buy the best. Family He was born to a family of 11 children with five brothers and five sisters.His father was a clerical servant attached to the Ceylon Government Railway(CGR) while his mother was a housewife. Education Fernando had his education at St Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia and he took an interest in Agriculture from his young days. " School was a building block of character and personality among many other things." He studied Science subjects for his Advanced Level examination and despite being eligible to enter university, he opted to study Accountancy." I took this decision as I wanted to start working as soon as possible." My uncle B.L.W. Fernando who was the Auditor General not only encouraged me to study Accountancy but also found A.I Macan Markar and Company to complete my four years of apprenticeship. " My uncle is my mentor" he recalled fondly. Career He completed his chartered Accountancy exams and started working at the Industrial Development Board(IDB) for a short while before joining Brown and Company as the Group Cost Accountant. " Later they appointed me as the Accountant and Administration Manager of Associated Battery Company where I learnt a lot of work." Turning Point He joined the CIC in 1977 as an Accountant and appointed as the chief accountant in 1978. "I was appointed to the board in 1980. In addition to the hard work, lady luck also smiled on me. As seniors left for Zambia, the Juniors were elevated to senior positions fairly quickly." He did not forget to mention the people who helped him in his career, they were none other than S.K. Wickremasinghe, Chris De Saram, Sri Kanthan and Also Sohli Captain. He was promoted as the Managing Director of the CIC in 1988 and, with S.K., Wickremasinghe retiring as the non executive Chairman of the Company he became the Chairman in 1995. Subsidiary of CIC ICI was an associate company of CIC and during the year 1995 we were facing a difficult time and we thought that they could add more value to the company. Therefore the paints business was floated as a separate company with a dominant share to the ICI. The managment expertise and training were enhanced and now it continues to be the market leaders with the support of ICI. "In addition we had a long term interest in Sri Lanka as a Sri Lankan company. Therefore over the years we have moved to areas which are non core to ICI. Essentially we have very little trading with ICI other than in paints.The world chemical market was developing and ICI Dupont was divesting as they were not very competitive. "The company was restructured in 1995 and people were made more accountable for the functions they performed. We created strategic business units which are now yielding dividends. At present a large sum of money comes from other businesses as against paints and there are several other plans to expand our businesses. Agriculture To improve our portfolio we moved to the agricultural sector with the acquisition of the Mahaweli Farm in Thalawa way back in the later 1990's, as well as Hingurakgoda, Pelwehera Mahaweli farms and 50 acres at Dehiattakandiya. At present we are the largest seed paddy producer in the country and the market leader in fertilizer imports. The company is also engaged in the Animal feed and pesticide businesses. The company has taken to agriculture in a big way to enhance the value of the country and the community. " There is a lot of potential to educate the farmers and also provide them with knowledge on balance plant nutrition requirements as well as soil management," he added. In most instances, the size of the land is small, therefore mechanisation is difficult while the younger generation doesn't like to till the land as the returns are small. As a solution to these problems, we are demonstrating techniques used in our farms to improve the agricultural practices in the country. We have also set up a lab in Pelwehera to analyse the soil and as a result we are in a position to recommend the fertiliser depending on the type of soil. Future Essentially we are a local market oriented company, but would like to move into some export oriented ventures. At the moment, we are looking at some opportunities in the local market, he added. Concerns At present very little money is spent on Research and Development (R&D), but technology is very important to develop and be ahead in the field of exports and imports. Therefore the allocation on R&D should increase. He said at present there are land ceilings but they should be removed as everybody is not interested in land and the whole systems should be changed to get people interested in land. Advice Have an eye for detail with an ambition and work until the goal is achieved. |
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