Agriculture and Rural Development in Sri Lanka :

A Felicitation Volume in honour of Dr.S.M.P. Senanayake:

Timely publication on agriculture and rural development

Reviewed by Prof. Sirimevan Colombage

Open University of Sri Lanka

The recently published book, "Agriculture and Rural Development in Sri Lanka, is a sequel of the untiring efforts of a group of academics in the Department of Economics at the university of Colombo and some of his friends outside the university who have been keen to pay tribute to their eminent colleague and friend, Prof. S.M.P. Senanayake for his vast academic contributions. Having an illustrious career as a dedicated university teacher and a formidable researcher, Prof. Senanayake has mostly concentrated on the issues relating to agriculture and rural development as reflected in his numerous publications including several books and monographs based on the ground realities.

Global challenges

G.M. Henegedara in his paper articulates the implications of the global challenges focusing on the paddy-dominated food crop sector which has a considerable bearing on food security and rural employment. Referring to both partial and general equilibrium models, the author argues that though the domestic food production has increased over time, this sector has not been able to effectively deal with the problems of hunger, food insecurity, income inequity and urban-rural disparities. Production inefficiency, comparative disadvantage, low labour productivity and land fragmentation are some of the key factors that inhibit the growth of the food crop sector.

Saman Kelegama writes on liberalisation of tea exports highlights the adverse consequences of continuing to export bulk tea in pure form. He emphasises the need to formulate a long-term strategy to this vital industry in the face of rising cost of production and vulnerability of the local tea industry to international shocks.

U.P.P. Serasinghe questions the effectiveness of the neo-liberal policies with regard to plantation agriculture in Sri Lanka. The author points out that the removal of state monopolies and technical provisions in line with the liberalisation have had adverse repercussions on the plantation agriculture. Deepthi Wickramasinghe examines the implications of climate changes on agriculture. The writer points out that climate changes such as increased frequency of heat stress, droughts and floods negatively affect crop yields and livestock. Climate variability also escalates the risks of fires, pest and pathogen outbreak, negatively affect food production, fibre and forestry. Rising carbon dioxide levels, high temperature, shortage of water resources and extreme weather conditions are the major climate-related factors that hinder agricultural development.

Economic development

Nimal Sandaratne emphasises that irrespective of the declining share of agricultural production in the national output due to structural changes of the economy, It could still provide a major contribution to economic development by way of meeting the domestic food demand. -

Siri Gamage reviews the evolving development models in the light of the needs of developing countries. Development thinking is divided into several phases, namely, modernisation, basic needs, free market doctrine-based neo-liberalism, alternative development and post development thinking. He shows how the international agencies, governments and development thinkers influence developing countries to determine the direction and texture of development understandings and undertakings.

Bilesha Weeraratne and TakuyaHasbe focus on intergenerational dynamics with regard to the choice of being a farmer. Using the micro level data on rural investment climate, the authors find a significant impact of the first generation occupational choice of being farmers on the second generation individual being a farmer.

S.P. Premaratne analyses the role of clusters and networks as a tool for development of small enterprises. It is noted that individually small enterprises have limited capacity to capture market opportunities due to their smallness and isolation.

J.A. Karunaratne argues that rural areas are not disjointed from the urban regions as treated in the standard definitions, but an integral component of the market economic system. This denotes a distinction between the feudal countryside and the capitalist rural economy, as much as there is a distinction between the feudal town and the capitalist urbanity.

Civil conflicts

K. Amirthalingam and R.W.D.Lakshman explain how civil conflicts decimate agriculture. Using the household survey data gathered from selected conflict-affected areas in the country, they provide economic quantification of increased impoverishment risk resulted from displacement. Ranjith Bandara examines the impact of the drip irrigation system on the livelihood of the small scale farmers who benefited from the system in two districts by using the data collected from a sample of households. Based on paired "t' tests, the author finds a positive relationship between the household income and use of the drip irrigation.

Fredirck Abeyratne analyses the nexus between poverty and governance, and its impact on the agricultural sector focusing on the non-plantation sector. Despite the significant contribution of agriculture to the country's GDP, employment, and foreign exchange earnings, a substantial proportion of those who are engaged in agriculture remains poor.

Food security

W.G. Somaratne presents an extensive analysis of the factors affecting the global food crisis and its impact on Sri Lankan agriculture with special reference to food security in the country.

Anura Ekanayake deals with domestic agriculture and food security in his presentation.

He outlines the instability of global food markets and their causes of instability including climate change. Rev. W. Wimalaratna analyses the role of the agricultural information system in promoting the food sector in Sri Lanka.

The author points out that the agriculture sector lacks free information, which is a basic requirement for efficient operation of competitive markets.

Given the current challenges faced by the agricultural sector in the midst of global competition, climate change, food insecurity, productivity limitations and rural poverty, this volume is a timely publication.

A reader’s response – Life and times through letters: scrutinising complex human emotions

By Dilshan BOANGE

Last week’s issue of Montage Cultural paradigm carried a very insightful interview with one of Sri Lanka’s veteran novelists Mrs. Punyakante Wijenaike. The interview offered much valuable perspective from the writer’s world to readers who were thereby offered a window into Mrs. Wijenaike’s life as a writer and how and what inspired her to produce the numerous works of fiction which many Sri Lankans have enjoyed over the years.

I wish to draw the attention of the readers to a certain aspect of the interview which I feel may present a somewhat of a misnomer related to old Sinhalese culture, mainly keeping in mind that Montage has a readership outside Sri Lanka’s golden shores. In replying to a question related to her novel Amulet Mrs. Wijenaike’s answer begins with the following line –“Amulet –in the old Kandyan kingdom brothers use to share one wife.”

This single line if taken as a statement does not provide a well rounded picture of the ancient Sinhalese custom of polyandry which was prevalent as an accepted form of marital order prior to enforcing certain Anglo-Saxon, European values and norms by the British. Mrs. Wijenaike certainly does not speak an untruth through her words. Yet it must be noted that polyandry was not an absolutism. Monogamy is of course the accepted form of marriage today and is mostly the norm in the present world. However, along with monogamy both polyandry and polygamy were (and possibly in certain cultures of the world probably still are) accepted forms of conjugal arrangements in our country.

The matter of two brothers sharing one wife or even more than two brothers was seen as a means to prevent property from diverging into too many streams of progeny. It had therefore a certain socio-economic aspect as well. The late puisne judge Queen’s Counsel H.W Tambiah in his work Sinhala Laws and Customs (1968) provides in depth information on the historical backgrounds and the transpirations of Kandyan laws and customs (which of course became personal laws only after the ceding of the kingdom) on a wide variety of matters. Marriage laws and customs is one such aspect which Justice Tambiah has classified and elaborated in many ways, amongst which is polygamy and polyandry.

While the former had been the lesser prevalent of the two, both forms of non-monogamy had required the consent of all concerned and would not be valid if any of the persons concerned was not in agreement. In the case of brothers sharing one wife it must be noted that Justice Tambiah’s book says a woman could have been the wife of up to seven males in one family. However, it must not be misconstrued that such a state of conjugal rights (and duties) in polyandrous or polygamous marriages would permit, shall we say certain ‘Romanic’ forms of sexual behaviour! There were most certainly ‘proprieties’ involved that were very much part of the system and practice.

Mrs. Wijenaike’s words cited in this commentary do not of course provide a false picture; but I feel it may not be contextually well rounded so to say. One such possible inadequacy is that the matter of polyandry was spoken in the context of incest. Incest is generally definable as being within the parameters of the immediate family. Which of course would not be the case even if the wife was a first cousin going by legal standards that classify a union as an incestuous one.

The old Sinhala laws/Kandyan laws certainly did not permit incest. However, to the best of my knowledge marriages between first cousins has a legal bar in the United States. Therefore, once again the matter of laws as a product of a society and its culture comes into focus.

To the reader who may not be familiar with Sinhalese traditions of polyandry and polygamy (which of course were last practiced in the regions of the Kandyan kingdom before the enforcement of British systems of administration) I hope my contribution has offered some historical-cultural insight.

Fitting tribute to a leading lyricist

Reviewed by R. S. Karunaratne

Dharmasiri Gamage was a well-known journalist, lyricist and a good-hearted human being who did not seek unnecessary publicity in the media. Although he did not advertise himself, people knew him as a genuine man committed to whatever he did. Dharmasiri Gamage Foundation deserves a bouquet for publishing some of his lyrics on the sixth anniversary of his death.

Kalak Avemen Perum Pura Author: Dharmasiri Gamage A Godage publication

The first collection of his songs written for the radio, stage and Sinhala films were collected and published as Sulang Kurullo way back in 1989. He received the State Literary Award for the book.

Dharmasiri Gamage started writing lyrics at a time when they were not appreciated as a part of literature. However, that did not deter him from writing lyrics. Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne has done an immense service by collecting some of the lyrics written by Dharmasiri Gamage but not included in his first collection.

Dharmasiri Gamage wrote lyrics for some of the leading singers at the time such as G. S. B. Rani Perera, H. R. Jothipala, W. D. Amaradeva, Nanda Malini, Sujatha Attanayake, Narada Disasekera, Abeywardane Balasuriya, Niranjala Sarojini, Latha Walpola, Dharmadasa Walpola, Angeline Goonetilleke, Victor Ratnayake, Sisira Senaratne, Indrani Wijebandara, Sanath Nandasiri, Milton Mallawarachchi, Baby Shiromi, Clarence Wijewardane, Shanthi Geethadeva, T. M. Jayaratne, Haroon Lantra, Devananda Waidyasekara, Indrani Perera, J. A. Milton Perera, Freddie Silva, C. T. Fonseka and M. S. Fernando.

Those who belong to the older generation cannot easily forget these names and their songs. They did not come to the limelight overnight.

There were no reality shows or television to promote new singers.

Therefore, all of them deserve mention in a national newspaper for what they have done to the sphere of local music. Songs such as Rankiri Kata Ge (Sanath Nandasiri), Kandulu Akuru Pela (Victor Ratnayake), Andanne Ei Sudu Menike (H. R. Jothipala) and Chanchala Nupura Kinkini Jale (Sujatha Attanayake) still reverberate in our mind. It is a pity that we do not get an opportunity to listen to many of these songs over the numerous FM and television channels. Dharmasiri Gamage Foundation should be commended for collecting and publishing the lyrics for the benefit of the future generations. The book reminds us that Dharmasiri Gamage was a colossus among the few lyricists Sri Lanka has produced during the past few decades.