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| Sunday, 3 October 2004 |
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State should play important role in agriculture - Minister Dissanayake By Hiran H.Senewiratne The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation Anura Kumara Dissanayake in an interview with the "Sunday Observer" said that state should play an important role in developing the Agriculture sector in the country. He said that we have to introduce a novel technology to the sector to increase productivity and efficiency to be competitive. Q) What are the problems encountered by the agricultural sector? A. I would say that the main problems encountered by the Agriculture sector are low productivity and non-availability of an organised market for these agricultural products.
To put the agriculture sector on the right track we have to have a clear agricultural policy for the country since half the population is engaged in this sector.To implement the policy one has to give priority,to food security, improve the socio- economic standards of farmers and introduce proper coordination with agencies relating to the Ministry of Agriculture.At present we have identified many areas to focus on for the development of the sector. Q) High rice prices caused a major impact on the cost of living. Do you have any mechanism to control these high rice prices? A. There are two main reasons for this problem. Farmers get low prices for their produce while consumers pay a higher price for them .When we take stock of this situation we find that three intermediary problems exist, such as buying of paddy, processing of paddy to rice and selling of rice, occurring without proper direction by the government. Another problem for this crisis was not maintaining a buffer stock.As a short term plan we are going to import 150,000 MT of rice. Q) How can the government ensure renumerative prices for paddy farmers and cheap prices for the consumer given the current situation? A. Our cost of production is very high.Therefore we are hoping to provide good varieties of seeds for farmers, insert new technology to the sector and continue the fertiliser subsidy to increase production.The government will be directly involved in the program. Q) What steps have the government taken to stop the exploitation of farmers by the middleman? A. We do not want to allow the private sector to dominate the farmer community in this country. Therefore we are now in the process of strengthening the State sector to prevent such exploitation. Q) The present method of rice cultivation by the smallholder is to use small plots.It is not very efficient and productive.How will you encourage these small holders to achieve high yield from these small plots? A. At the moment we are in the process of establishing farmer societies in the country to bring all farmers together.These are called the 'Yaya' production society and are formed with the aim of increasing productivity in the sector. Q) What steps have the government taken to develop the poultry and livestock industry? A. Sri Lanka's livestock sector is not organised well.We are now in the process of developing the sector with a proper plan.Firstly, we will develop the Veterinary services and other associated areas. Local output for the production of animal food in the poultry and livestock industry is minimal, less than 15 per cent.To increase the local output of these animal food industries we have already begun to cultivate 1000 acres of corn in agricultural lands, corn is one of the main animal food manufacturing raw materials. Q) Water management has become one of the most debatable questions in the recent past. Mr Minister how would you regard this problem? A. Water resources belong to the people of this country. We have to have a water- management policy to use water in a more effective and scientific manner. Q) How could the government ensure availability of high quality seeds for farmers? A. Today, the country is losing the ownership of seeds and it is now becoming a commodity. Therefore we can't afford to lose it any more.We will take necessary steps to address this issue. We are going to improve all seed farms and integrate with farmer organisations within those areas to increase the productivity. We have to upgrade seed research centers and use services of new researchers for these institutes. Q) What sort of a policy do you and the government envisage to increase the efficiency game in the sector ? A. We want to move away from traditional agricultural methods to more modern ones. In the meantime the ministry and its affiliated agencies should be strengthened to facilitate the efficiency game in the sector. Q) What incentives are being considered for farmers to encourage them to stay in the farming sector? A. The government is in the process of establishing young agricultural societies and villages throughout the country inculcating the importance of agriculture in the minds of youth. We are now going to establish 100 agriculture villages in the country. I believe we could create an attractive income- generating occupation in the sector, which will create a social concept in the country.The share of agricultural knowledge among other countries is also top priority. Q) Why is it not possible for Sri Lanka to produce expensive varieties of rice like Basmathi? A. Firstly, we have to be self-sufficient in rice than think of producing other varieties. Q) Is there any mechanism to reduce the cost of production especially in crops such as rice and potatoes? A. We have to establish seed - producing centres in the country, while creating a steady market for its produce.On the other hand, we have to reduce post- harvest waste, ie transportation, packaging. These are very important factors to consider in reducing post harvest waste. We have to get private sector assistance.. Q) Some elements complain that the government's 1000 tanks rehabilitation project is a failure, because it is not done in a scientific way. What have you to say in this regard ? A. This massive project is progressing well. We are blending traditional methods with modern technology for the rehabilitation program.This is being done with the blessings of the villagers in the respective areas. Q) The government signed two agreements with the government of Thailand to develop the agriculture sector during your visit to that country. What is the outcome of those agreements? A. The agreements will benefit the country's agriculture sector immensely, we will be able to integrate agriculture technology with Thailand.To implement this program we have appointed a committee, headed by the Director General of the Agrarian services department. Q) There is a high probability of increasing the fertiliser prices in the international market.This has a direct impact on local prices. How will the government meet this problem? A. We will increase the subsidy on fertiliser instead of a price hike parallel to increases in the global market.The government has allocated Rs 5000 million for the fertiliser subsidy this year and with this price increase in the global market the government will spend an extra Rs 900 million for fertiliser. The subsidy per metric ton of urea will be increased from Rs 15,000 to 22,000. |
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