Uplifting the lives of farmers

A national programme:

by Rosanne Koelmeyer Anderson

Our very own renowned Samaposha, Gotukola, Mukunuwenne, Harthavariya and Karapincha have paved the way to a national programme to uplift the nutritional status of our society through self-sufficiency in food, acknowledged as a 'way of life' in Sri Lanka.

Approximately 8,500 farmers in the dry zone, scattered in the North Central and Uva Provinces cultivating large extents of land to supply the requirement of raw materials of the production of these food are being paid about 390 million annually; the success story of Plenty Foods (Pvt) Ltd. in their national programme to uplift the lives of the farmer community.

Having seen these products displayed on the shelves of all retail outlets, I was inspired to write about an establishment striving hard to bring about enhancement in the agricultural sector of Sri Lanka through locally grown crops such as corn, green gram, soya bean, maize and rice.

A commendable endeavour and brainchild of Mohan Ratwatte, Director/CEO of Plenty Foods (Pvt) Ltd., subsidiary of Ceylon Biscuits Ltd. in 1996, to help farmers in the dry zone has led to an introduction of a range of food substitutes with high nutritional value which are readily available in the market for consumption for children, young adults and the aged.

A study carried out by the Department of Health Services revealed that 12 per cent of students suffer from wasting (Weight insufficiency) while 8.5 per cent suffer from stunting (Height insufficient with age), totalling to 20.5 per cent.

The effects of malnutrition causes low IQ levels, visual speech, and hearing defects, and behavioral problems as well. Today Samaposha, the flagship brand of Plenty Foods (Pvt) Ltd. is being promoted among school children as a wholesome breakfast cereal with 19.6 per cent protein, 6.7 per cent Fat, 64.4 per cent carbohydrates, 1.5 per cent Fibre and 396 k cal per 100 g as analyzed by the Department of Agriculture.

An amazing bit of information about the goodness of Samaposha is that even sick elephants were being fed Samaposha and had showed speedy recovery, medicines were being introduced to elephants along with Samaposha which is said to have proved to be effective by persons who owned elephants reported to the company, as well as letters received from many children and grandchildren attesting the immense credibility the product had for recovery from illnesses.

Agriculture is the most important sector of Sri Lankan's economy. Even though its contribution to the gross domestic product declined substantially during the past three decades (from 30 percent in 1970 to 21 percent in 2000), it is the most important source of employment for the majority of the Sri Lankan workforce.

Approximately 38 per cent of the total labour force was engaged in agriculture in 1999. In the subsistence sector, rice is the main crop and farming rice is the most important economic activity for majority of the people living in rural areas.

During the last five decades the rice sector grew rapidly and output more than tripled, reaching the highest ever output of 2.9 million metric tons in 1999. Increases in the area under cultivation, and improved productivity was said to be due to modernization in the agriculture sector.

Plenty Foods (Pvt) Ltd. is an agro-based company producing nutritional products and its agricultural planning provides a model of centrally planned agriculture maintaining a good balance between supply and demand while direct agricultural operation has created considerable indirect benefits too The company is envisaged to increase the cultivation to 12,500 acres within the next two years and subsequently increase the number of farmers from 8,500 to 12,000.

The company is self sufficient in producing their own high breed seeds and operates a well-structured extension network to provide technical know-how and good management practices to the farmers whilst monitoring the activities to ensure high yields. Some of our farmers will be sent overseas to gather knowledge on latest agricultural methods and given the opportunity to impart their knowledge to the farming community when they return.

Plenty Foods (Pvt) Ltd. General Manager, Shammi Karunaratne also takes pride in saying that they have also won an award d form the Food Processors Association for the Most Innovative Product in 2007 which is a boost to their image and endeavours in the agricultural sector in Sri Lanka.

Over 400 workers are employed in the Plenty Foods (Pvt) Ltd. factories in Pallekele in Kandy. However, with the growing need for storage facilities, the company is looking at expansion and the government's intervention and assistance to further enhance this national programme whose vision is to uplift the nutritional status of our society through self-sufficiency in food.

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