Farmers' long march

by Rukshana Rizwie

Last Thursday, farmers clad in black loin cloth carrying mammoties and sickles converged in Colombo and marched towards Temple Trees demanding that the Government should withdraw the proposal to provide vouchers for Rs. 25,000 per hectare to buy fertilizer, instead of the subsidized fertilizer at Rs. 350 a bag.

Agitation among the farmers has been brewing for a while.

The All Island Farmers Federation jointly organized the protest along with other farmer welfare associations, with JVP backing. The protestors marched from Lipton Circus to Temple Trees.

They carried placards and shouted slogans, accusing the Government of ignoring their woes and failing to fulfill the promises made prior to the Budget.

Farmers who marched to Temple Trees demanded to meet Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to whom they had addressed a letter but the Premier was not present at the time.

Grievances

They, however, refused to hand over the letter to the Coordinating Secretary. A few minutes later, the Prime Minister's Secretary suggested that he would take the letter to the PM, which the farmers refused.

A farmer who was atop a barrier then set alight the letter in his hands and threatened to return unless their grievances were looked into. National Organizer of the Lanka Farmers' Association Namal Karunaratne said they would return to Colombo on another day and stage a protest opposite Temple Trees, Parliament or the President's House until their demands were met.

Agitation among the farmers has been brewing for a while. The protestors set out from Ampara on December 4 and marched to Embilipitiya, Anurdahapura, Mahiyanganaya, Kurunegala and Polannaruwa.

Family members of farmers complained that providing an allowance to buy fertilizer would go waste, as the farmers would most probably spend the money on liquor and gambling instead of buying fertilizer. Karunarantne speaking on behalf of the protestors said even the amount allocated to buy fertilizer was insufficient for a whole year. He added it would adversely affect the Yala and Maha seasons harvest, a dire result of the Budget proposal.

The Finance Ministry in response said Rs. 37.5 billion was allocated for the fertilizer subsidy, compared to Rs. 35 billion in the previous budget. However, neither the Finance Ministry nor the Agriculture Ministry had detailed how the money would be given to farmers or the quality of fertilizer that the farmers could buy.

Agriculture Minister Duminda Dissanayake admitted that there was a valid issue regarding what farmers would do with the money. He explained that the Government would have to streamline the issue of vouchers and monitor how farmers would use the money.

Chemical fertilizer

The new allowance was meant to encourage farmers and will be given based on productivity which would compel them to work harder.

Leader of the JVP, Anura Kumara Dissanayake lamented that the government should provide alternative solutions if they were to adopt such harsh measures. He added that the subsidy was previously given for five acres which is reduced to 2.5. Farmers in main farmer communities such as Devahuwa and Minneriya have about five acres each and giving the subsidy only for 2.5 acres was unjustified.

During a press briefing, he said farmers got only Rs.12,500 for a season, which is only Rs.5,000 for an acre.

"However, a farmer has to spend over Rs.11,162 for an acre for a season on urea and other chemical fertilizer. Earlier, a farmer's contribution was only Rs.2,000. He received Rs. 9,162 as the fertilizer subsidy. Now it has been slashed to Rs. 4,162. Accordingly, a farmer loses Rs. 10,000 if he has 2.5 acres. The farmer loses about Rs. 37,500 when harvesting a paddy field of five acres," he said.

The All Island Farmers’ Federation jointly organized the protest along with other farmer welfare associations, with JVP backing. The protestors marched from Lipton Circus to Temple Trees. Pix: Saman Mendis

Farmers protested against the pension scheme. Unlike other pension schemes, the Government does not contribute to this pension scheme instead farmers pay in installments from each harvesting season to save for retirement.

Farmers allege that prior to the budget proposals, the Ministers agreed to set up a pension fund, however, there was no mention of it in the budget proposals which then was a mere fib.

As of Friday, the government had not offered a respite to farmers nor has it heeded the request to reconsider the Budget proposal.

Karunaratne added that farmers were hopeful that President Maithripala Sirisena at the time of the election promised many benefits. He added farmers feel that the President would understand how the farming community and their families were steeped in poverty .