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| Sunday, 5 December 2004 |
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Features |  |
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The Kings of Kande Ela by Ranga Kamaladasa Beyond the misty mountain ranges of Pidurutalaga and Samanala, past the stunning waterfalls of Devon and St. Claire and just between the outskirts of Nuwera Eliya and Badulla Districts rest the small, yet humble farming division of Kande Ela.
Though 6,182ft. above sea level and covered with Eucalyptus, Pines and Tea which were planted by the English in the colonial era, this ridged and uneven terrain has become home to the Kande Ela vegetable farmers who have been there since the early 1950s, when the Kande Ela reservoir was constructed. But with the increasing cost of living and the ever-rising costs of fertilizers and other farming necessities, only a few are able to handle the burden of being full-time farmers. Occupied with matter often unrelated to farming, many have no time even for the meetings conducted by the thriving farmer organisation in Kande Ela that decide on water distribution, operation and maintenance of the scheme and hold awareness campaigns in benefit of the farmers. Still some of the willing and diligent farmers seem to be doing quite well in spite of all difficulties. Jayathissa is one of them. An active member of the farm organisation, Jayathissa along with his wife maintain a-one-acre Brinjals field where in-between he has also planted flowers to sell commercially. He works long hours into the night and his strong will and resolute attitude has won him the respect of most of the Irrigation and Agricultural officials in the area.
The Agriculture Department with the approval of the project management committee gave Jayathissa a micro irrigation system which includes micro sprinklers, mains, sub mains and laterals with the necessary fittings and sand filters. The Irrigation Department has also given him two large plastic barrels to store water. According to Jayathissa, this is of great benefit to him. "Before I had the sprinkler, I only cultivated one kannaya per year using only one forth of my fields, but now I can do up to three kannyas using every inch of my land because it's so simple to operate," said a very content Jayathissa. "Now I don't have to wait for the rain to adjust my plans and I can water them, nurture them and add the fertiliser all in one day. Before I had the sprinklers it took me three full days to complete the process". Jayathissa currently harvests about 700 kilos of Brinjals a week which he can sell for about 30 rupees per kilo. The farmer organisation of Kande Ela has also bought a motor bicycle with their own savings to hire someone to inform the farmers of the latest market prices of their products. In this way they keep a healthy connection between the market prices and their cultivation periods. This reduces the biggest problem faced by typical farmers who put out their crops at the same time causing a glut in the market. Neil Disanayake is another smart farmer of the Kande Ela division. Very enthusiastic and passionate about his work he eagerly showed us what he has done with the Drip Irrigation system he had been given. The whole area of his vegetable field was neatly fitted with the pipes and other accessories of the system. Drip Irrigation, which was introduced in 1998 to revive the coconut industry is a major boon for water conservation and water management. It lets the farmer control the amount of water given to the plants and prevents excess watering. It also gives additional benefits such as controlling weeds, cutting of water pumping costs, lifting the fertiliser efficiency by 30 per cent and reducing land development costs as it doesn't need the levelling of land. But there are some disadvantages including a non-existent after-sale service and damages made by rodents and workers in the field which don't make the drip system perfect. Yet Neil has overcome these minor difficulties and has successfully created his own system among the few farmers who use Drip Irrigation. "I had some troubles with the equipment but I managed to develop them myself and use them practically." says Neil while engrossed in a beetle chew. "It saves time and it's good for the plants as well because it's like a drizzle of rain. It doesn't hurt the plants and it doesn't hurt the soil. I can control the water level, so laying fertilisers is much easier than before". Neil hasn't stopped there. Along with his field he has also set up at apiary from which he sells bee hives with nesting bees. He also has a green house which he has developed to grow tomatoes. It's said that a farmer after the dirt and mud of his long hard labour is washed off is fit enough to become a king. These Kings of Kande Ela have not only taken on the war against poverty and social status, they've also conquered it with their own strengths of courage and determination. |
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