Debate - by Rajmi Manatunga

A feasible agricultural policy needed

W.P.D.K. Fernando

First of all I wish this timely debate will have a positive influence to the thinking of our nation. It goes without saying that Sri Lanka has the highest potential of effectively and efficiently facing this global food crisis.

I hereby wish to enrich this debate with few facts that exposes certain drawbacks in implementing proper solutions for the problem.

Among the major difficulties in facing this problem, the followings are significant.

01. Corrupt and inefficient officials

02. Fake scientists

03. Dirty politics

04. Unawareness of farmers and etc.

Government is implementing huge programmes on development of Agriculture. But who are the leaders of these programmes and their minor projects? Are those objectives achieved at the given times? These are implemented through corrupt and inefficient officials (there may be exceptions).

What these officials do is they prepare huge amount of documents and call for meetings (with lavish meals otherwise nobody comes), arrange useless visits, inaugural ceremonies and advanced publicity with majority of the allocated funds.

They efficiently keep the names of the higher officials and ministers at the top so that they will never be blamed of misuse of money. This system has to be addressed well.

Once, a veterinary office was opened with minister's presence few months back. It is estimated the expenditure for the opening was about Rs 1 million. At least this office was not equipped with the basic needs even.

The same ministry arranged an award ceremony and an exhibition (it is not bad) to boost the sector but it was ended with huge misuse of public money.

NLDB is running at a loss. Even with this higher milk prices. Has the officials surveyed the causes? And did they try to minimise them? No. A veterinary officer with a team had researched on this in main NLDB farms including Bopaththalawa and Dayagama, and presented the results in a scientific community where all the officials concerned were present.

The officer concluded that "an average cow commenced her productive life in these farms with an initial loss of approximately Rs. 1 00 000.00". This was mainly due to poor management conditions, where Embryo Transfer Technology was to be practised.

Listening to this, what those officials did was just laughing on the results and conclusions. (Just make a rough calculation assuming that Bopaththalawa farm alone has about 300 cows, 100000 x 300 ) This must and can be reduced through proper management which includes selection and culling programme (as it was done earlier).

Otherwise with this management importation of cows (which offers dirty officials to misuse much money for their useless tours and etc.) will only be a politically achieved huge burden to the country.

After a dry period, coconut production usually declines. This is aggregated by problem which has been well addressed by several methods introduced by CRI (Coconut Research Institute) but in implementing those methods, relevant authority does hardly anything to disseminate these information to the actual field.

This is a recurrent problem and officials must effectively work here. (Splitting of coconut lands is not discussed here as it is similar with the paddy problem)

Awareness of farmers and scientists

Many Farming systems require implementation of right technology. Sometimes our traditional systems are the best while sometimes it is not. Researchers and farmers must work together to identify the existing and potential problems and finding the solutions.

Scientists must prioritise what to do first and next. There are agriculture faculties and several research institutions in different locations. They must be involving in agri sector development in their own province and then for the whole country.

There are about 600 agri graduate pass outs annually and that means about 600 researches which rarely come into the actual field on need. Our researches are far away from what they need to search. Having funds for a research and just doing anything that has been done elsewhere must be stopped right now.

Researches must be performed according to a national agenda. Information of new research findings must be made available in local newspapers in simple form to understand.

Thus we can reduce some unnecessary burden to the environment too (this has to be discussed further). Farmers can be advised through this way, the market behaviour, cheaper options for higher productivity etc. This can easily be done through universities.

Suggest that there should be a feasible long-term agricultural policy which explains the cultivations (variety of staple food items) amount needed, area, marketing and time of cultivation.

There the public sector must be responsible to lead the national policy while using the support of the private sector.

Escalating prices of food items

Dr Ruvaiz Haniffa

The World Bank has estimated that "approximately 100 million of the world's population will face starvation" in the coming few months due to a myriad of reasons. Sri Lanka too will face this crisis to a greater or lesser extent.

It is estimated that at present Asians spend 55% (high-middle income groups) to 90% (low income groups) of their incomes on food. In the context of a global economic slow down individual and collective incomes are not expected to rise in the immediate future (months to few years). In this context particularly the low income groups are in imminent danger of starvation and consequent nutritional deficiencies leading to "health" problems.

The link between "food insecurity" and health outcomes are well documented in historical and contemporary medical, social and political literature.

It is the Medical Profession which almost always in the front line of dealing with the outcomes of nutritional deficiencies as health problems. Considering these facts, we in the Medical Profession should initiate measures to:

1. Identify vulnerable population segments.

2. Put in place or strengthen existing screening programmes to detect nutritional deficiencies early.

3. Offer nutritional fortification, supplementation and/or subsides to identified groups.

4. Co-ordinate "Food Security" measures for the Sri Lankan population with governmental, non governmental and international agencies in order to fulfil Sri Lankan requirements.

The time to put in place measures to face these inevitable problem is now, since the warning has been given. Going into "Crisis Management" mode to manage an anticipated crisis would be unfair and unethical on those been affected by the anticipated crisis/problem.

Hence, I would like to propose to very seriously consider setting up a mechanism within the SLMA (i.e. a Committee or a Working group with clearly defined objectives) to take a timely look at this situation.

The findings/recommendations of this SLMA mechanism could be conveyed to relevant governmental and international agencies for necessary action in a timely manner.

Rice - a global crisis

Miran Perera

Ancient civilisation of Sri Lanka depended mainly on rice for their food needs and three meals of rice were common in households of many parts of our nation and also in some Asian countries where rice is grown extensively.

History has recorded that Sri Lanka as a rice exporting country during our ancient rulers time. In relation to food security, some argue that domestic food requirements can be procured in the market, through international trade and therefore there is no need to bother about domestic production of paddy, which is a low value crop.

However in rice consuming countries which depend on rice imports there are strong concerns that future prospects of rice supplies through trade are not very promising and there is no guarantee that free trade will lead to stabilising of rice supplies and prices to suite individual country needs. These considerations have led to decisions by some of these countries to formulate their own rice policies.

Distraction from paddy farming has contributed towards a low quantity of rice production in countries. Such constraints contribute to make paddy farming less attractive to the majority of people. Their orientation due to education, inclinations and other socio economic and socio cultural pressures compel them to look elsewhere other than paddy farming to fulfill their aspirations.

Unless we increase per acre yields of rice or without any intervention by the government farmers abandoning their fields are unavoidable. The relative consumer price index for rice is high in our country except for Myanmar. Sri Lanka depicts a higher cost of production in the region except for Bangladesh which again is a country having a deficit of production.

Can all these countries increase the farmer profits in order to compensate for high cost of production? Most of the paddy farmers who cultivate small rice holdings however remain in abject poverty and find it difficult to face the challenges that are fast emerging in the domestic as well as in the international rice economic environment and the global food crisis. The nutritional value of rice is enormous thus it make a healthy staple diet.

Brown unpolished rice is a healthy food because it provides us with rice bran which contains b-sitosterol a naturally occurring substance which lowers blood cholesterol. It can reduce the risk of bowel cancer and it diminishes the frequency of kidney and bladder stone formation in people who are prone to kidney and bladder stone.

Brown rice can help insulin dependent diabetes patients to normalise the blood sugar levels. It can stimulate the production of mucus which has been shown to fight diarrhoeal infections. Therefore rice should be a staple food for all countries. Several types of rice are grown in many countries.

Out of the total extent of paddy/rice land available for cultivation during any given year only 66 per cent is cultivated during Maha season and only 34 per cent is cultivated in Yala season.

This means 34% of the total extent is not brought under the plough during Maha season and 66% is not cultivated for Yala. Annually 50 per cent of the extent of rice lands that is actually available for paddy cultivation any given year in this country is not cultivated.

Why only 34 per cent is cultivated during Yala is attributed to inadequate water. Yet it is difficult to understand as to why only 66 per cent is cultivated during Maha where scarcity of water is not a problem. One of the major reasons for the above is the problem of water. Another is the scarcity of good seed paddy.

Also the lack of modern technology. There is also the non existence of an effective and efficient agricultural extension service. Another reason is the high cost of rice production.

High cost of labour, high cost of inputs and low market price paid for rice paddy today has made rice cultivation uneconomical and unattractive. Another reason is the expensive rice food habits where excessive dependency is on imported food items like American flour.

Sadly the biggest problem is the lack of a consistent national agricultural policy. Contrary to the wholesalers assertion that adequate stocks do not reach the city the millers claim that consumer demand for rice has decreased substantially because of the high price. Millers also accuse wholesale dealers for keeping a margin for in excess of what they claim.

A more discreet interpretation as to the cause of high rice prices however can be made only on an assessment of the actual rice/paddy stock position with all stakeholders in the trade, and the government has a right to ask them to declare their stocks and monitor veracity.

This will require maintenance of a comprehensive data base which we do not yet have. The miller is the middleman in between the farmer and the consumer. The miller is not an individual and there are several millers.

True that there is no monopoly. But we see an oligopoly operating among the millers. The millers conveniently manipulate the prices of paddy and rice to their undue advantage exploiting the poor farmer and the innocent consumer.

It is important to note that in the old days there have been three crops a year where water was available. (Thonigala inscription). There is no reason why we can't do it today. We should be able to produce double the present quantity or at least more than what we require if we cultivate at least 40 per cent of the nearly 60 per cent not cultivated annually at the moment even without going for a third crop.

A third crop of rice in this context can definitely revolutionise our rice production even with a surplus for export as we had done in the past. This is where innovations commitment and patriotism matter. It is interesting to see as to how cleverly the millers manipulate rice prices to their undue advantage.

During the short harvesting period of 3 to 4 weeks each season the millers release large stocks of rice to the market create a glut, drop the price of paddy and rice to a minimum level and purchase the paddy/rice. Soon after purchasing, the millers curtail the release of milled rice to the wholesale market to create a scarcity of rice.

The prices of rice go up to maximum levels. The high prices of rice are maintained till the next harvest period. A fertiliser subsidy is highly commendable to reduce the farmers expenditure while increasing production.

As a result of the subsidy rice cultivation exceeds the local requirement and an opportunity comes to sell the surplus stocks to the export market. Apart from other rice growing countries in the region.

Throughout history Sri Lanka had been a prosperous and proud farmer kingdom and had been self sufficient in rice throughout its history before the advent of European nations. Sri Lanka exported rice at certain times. Sadly today Sri Lanka has become a food importing country. There is abundant rainfall and over 80 per cent of its people are still farmers. Here in Sri Lanka the private miller is profit conscious.

Hence the natural tendency of the miller is to widen the price difference as much as he is capable of. The miller exploits both the farmer as well as the consumer. The obvious and the simple answer proposed by many is for the government to take over the milling function completely and get rid of the private sector millers.

That is going to be extremely difficult. It will not be cost effective and will create other problems. It is far better to leave it to the private sector and find other ways of controlling this.

Milling is essentially a technical process where the farmer does not have the necessary skill. The farmers skill is to produce paddy. He must be allowed to develop that skill and produce more paddy. Getting the farmer involved in milling will dilute the farmers main function.

Rice is the staple food of the people in Sri Lanka and is grown in some other countries as well. The total production of paddy is about 3.7 million metric tons. There are about 230 medium to large mills located in paddy growing areas. The farmer sells the paddy to the miller. Rice is paddy without the husk. The millers mill the paddy and sell the rice in the wholesale market.

Thus we see that the miller carries three important functions namely, purchasing the paddy from the farmer, milling the paddy and marketing the rice. The inability of the global rice farmer to market his paddy at a reasonable price and the inability of the consumer to get his rice at a reasonable price are major problems, contributing adversely to a global food crisis as there are people of other countries consuming rice as food.

Proper registration must be done of private milling facilities. The private millers should purchase paddy at the guaranteed price. In major cities, rice auctions should be organised with commission agents. Milling of paddy and packing should be done in standard 5, 10 or 50 kg bags.

The establishment and the proper functioning of the farmers fund is important. Efforts at maintaining self sufficiency in rice as a means of ensuring food security appears to be too demanding on the carrying capacity of the fragile natural resource base.

Soil fatigue and diminishing water availability are the critical issues. Further more when all efforts are directed towards maintaining on excessively high level of production the vulnerability to the rise of crop damage due to variables in weather conditions also increases. It destabilises the market which is harmful mainly to the paddy producer.

Therefore a stable level of production which suits the carrying capacity of the natural resource base should be maintained to obtain the optimum benefits. Keeping the production within the range of 80 per cent - 90 per cent of the national consumption requirement could be stable under present conditions.

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Global food crisis:

Causes and solutions

We have embarked on another topic which has filled our TV screens during the past few weeks: The global food crisis. Food prices have been going up around the world. Asia has been particularly affected because of the rise in the prices of rice, the region's staple.

Several reasons have been cited for the unprecedented rise in global food prices: The use of crops for biofuel, which has robbed the hungry of various food items. The rise in oil prices has also driven up food transport costs, which are reflected in the customers' bill. The changing climate patterns have adversely affected agriculture, as droughts and floods continue to destroy crops.

But what are the answers ? The Government has initiated the Api Wawamu Rata Nagamu (let us grow more food to develop the Nation) programme. Likewise, Governments around the world are proposing or implementing solutions to the food crisis. Many world leaders are also calling for a moratorium on biolfuels.

Do write in (less than 1,000 words) with your views on the subject and any solutions you espouse on 'Global Food Crisis: Causes and Solutions' on or before May 20, 2008 to Daily News Debate, Daily News, Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited, PO Box 1217, Colombo, or via e-mail to debate@dailynews.lk.