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| Sunday, 10 October 2004 |
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Editor, Sunday Observer. E-mail: [email protected] Snail mail : Sunday Observer, 35, D.R.Wijewardana Mawatha, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Telephone : 94 11 2429239 / 2331181 Fax : 94 11 2429230 Agriculture needs priority Sri Lanka has got its priorities wrong. Even after five and half decades since gaining independence we have not been able to set them right. Forgotten is the fact that ours is a predominantly agricultural country. Majority of the population depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Yet agriculture has been one of the most neglected fields in our development plans. Neglect of agriculture has cost us dearly. We have become dependent on imported foodstuff despite the claims of politicians to the contrary. Much-publicized claims of self-sufficiency in rice, our staple diet have proved to be nothing but braggadocio. The Green Revolution that produced miraculous results in neighbouring India has bypassed Sri Lanka. While the peasant is heavily indebted the agricultural labourers fare no better with no guarantee of yearlong productive labour. Due to the continuous neglect of subsistence agriculture in favour of commercial crops the rice farmer no longer finds it rewarding to engage in his traditional occupation. More and more farmers are getting pauperized and are migrating to cities and townships in search of manual labour in other fields. Multilateral financial institutions and donor agencies have also tried to wean away the subsistence farmer from the field and had even suggested to change the food habits of the population in favour of wheat flour products. Land, water and credit continue to be the main problems facing the peasantry. The extent under cultivation is being diminished parallel to the growth of urban development. Hence, production levels could be increased only by higher yields per hectare. Such high yields still elude us due to the non-availability of modern technology and necessary research development. Agricultural extension services that once were a boon to farmers were allowed to wither away. Our Universities still give step motherly treatment to agriculture faculties. There had been hardly any agronomists or soil scientists graduating from our universities. Not only do we produce insufficient academics and researchers but even the few we have are being lost due to the brain drain. Budgetary allocations for R&D in agriculture remain abysmally low. In recent years Sri Lanka has experienced recurrent droughts. Yet there has been no significant drop in the total rainfall received or a significant change in the rainfall pattern. This shows that bad water management has been the major cause for the droughts. Development of catchment areas and water conservation must get top priority in planning. Land and water alone cannot make rice farming productive. New high yielding varieties should be introduced. Perhaps introduction of gene technology could be an answer in the short term. Over dependence on the West or on foreign expertise is not the way for greater productivity. Innovation and development of indigenous technology should also be considered. Besides, the advantages offered by the revolution in information and communication technology should be used to provide necessary infrastructure services to farmers and to educate them on new technology and to share experience with farmers with better productivity. Agricultural development cannot take place in a vacuum. It should be linked to the overall development of the economy, particularly to the development of agro-based industries and services. Agriculture should receive the right focus it deserves in our development strategies. We could ignore it only at our own peril. **** World Food Day October 16 is World Food Day. Food is a fundamental right of all people. States are required to guarantee food security to their subjects. Governments that cannot or do not guarantee food security for its peoples do not have a right to exist. Yet millions are starving the world over. The Millennium Declaration authored by leaders of over 190 states of the world set an ambitious goal to reduce hunger by half by the year 2015. This envisaged a reduction of the number of hungry people by 28 million per year. Yet the average rate of reduction has been only 2.1 million. At this rate the Millennium Goal of halving world poverty could be achieved only by 2215, two centuries later. There is no commitment or willingness to deliver on the part of the world's affluent states. On the other hand discriminatory trade and investment practices are erasing whatever gains achieved by the poor states. This year the theme of the World Food Day is "Biodiversity for Food Security." Most developing countries are rich in biodiversity. It is biodiversity that helps to maintain the ecological balance. An essential condition for the preservation of biodiversity is sustainable agricultural practice. As the FAO has maintained this requires efforts on many fronts including environment preservation, better education, research and government support. |
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