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Talking millet, shrimp and mango
It was not the birds and the bees that were vigorously discussed but millet, shrimp and mango when researchers, policy-makers and the industry exchanged experiences and findings and deliberated on policy issues in Colombo recently. The task of the workshop jointly organised by three research teams at the Taj Samudra Hotel was onerous but at the same time vital for Sri Lanka — finding innovative solutions to address the challenge of ‘food and nutrition security’ in the country.
ITI’s Principal Investigator and former Additional Director for Research and Development, Dr. Shanthi Wilson. Pic by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
With high priority being given to food security and nutrition in the National Development Plans for Health, Nutrition and Agriculture, it was a civil society organisation, a university and a technology research institute which brought their projects under the spotlight for extensive discussion. The Arthacharya Foundation focused on minor millets, the Wayamba University on aquaculture and the Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) on fruit, at the ‘Workshop on finding innovative solutions to address the challenge of food and nutrition security in Sri Lanka’.
Working independently with international partners, the three groups are being supported by the Canadian International (CIFSRF), administered by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada. Touching on the role played by the CIFSRF, Canadian High Commissioner Shelley Whiting pointed out that it was born out of the commitment of the Canadian Government to enhance food and nutrition security worldwide through support to agriculture and food production in developing countries.
“Canada has been a leader in the fight against hunger through its development assistance programmes worldwide,” she said. The CIFSRF is a five-year, $62 million fund with the objective of bringing together scientists from Canada and the developing world to produce sufficient, safe and nutritious food around the globe. Ms. Whiting pointed out that the three projects in Sri Lanka – increasing millet production, promoting aquaculture, and reducing losses associated with post-harvest handling of fruits — have great potential to contribute to food and nutrition security in the country.
Underscoring the fact that sharing knowledge and experiences available globally is perhaps more important than supporting individual institutions engaged in research, she said that in an increasingly inter-connected world, learning from each other is one of the easiest and fastest ways to make progress in agricultural research as well as in many other spheres.
Referring to the project on ‘Revalorising small millets in the rain-fed regions of South Asia’ (RESMISA), Arthacharya Foundation Manager Hemachandra Samaratunga said the objective is to enhance the food and nutritional security of women and children. The millet project in Sri Lanka is being implemented in the Moneragala District’s Kahakurullan Pelessa, Mahawewa and Suriya Ara areas in Thanamalwila. After surveys on millet consumption, food recipe contests and student awareness campaigns had been held to promote it.
Plant breeding experiments, training of farmers on cultivation practices and cultivation trials had been held. Farmer experimental groups had been established and soil fertility checked for what type of crop would be best, he said, adding that farmers had been advised on new technology. Picking out finger-millet (kurukkan), Mr. Samaratunga pointed out that it helped control diabetes, hypertension and cholesterol and was an alternative to wheat flour.
The objective of the project, ‘Scaling up sustainable aquaculture development in Sri Lanka’, of the Wayamba University is to increase fish consumption to 60g per person per day by the end of 2015 (currently it is 40g), while promoting rural income. The project includes the development and promotion of oyster culture, shrimp farms and culture-based fisheries.
Regarding oyster culture, Dr. Sam Daniel said that Sri Lanka is in the initial stages of bi-valve aquaculture with pilots in Gangewadiya and Kandakuliya. There is great potential and availability of resources, suitable locations and environmental conditions in the country. ITI’s Principal Investigator and former Additional Director for Research and Development, Dr. Shanthi Wilson, said that under the project, ‘Enhanced preservation of fruits in South Asia’ being carried out by the ITI, laboratory results and field studies have shown that a field application of a plant-derived biochemical with the ITI wax-dip for mangoes which are then packed in treated plant fibre-based packaging material is an efficient way to extend the harvest period and keep the quality of mango.
This will help increase the supply and affordability of quality fruit both for local consumption and export, she said, underscoring the fact that the technology can be applied to other fruits and vegetables. The highlight of the workshop was the panel discussion chaired by IDRC’s Senior Programme Specialist, Dr. Sara Ahmed, covering challenges and opportunities available for building scientific research capacity and institutional capacity at different levels of governance; and ensuring an inclusive approach to food and nutritional security.
The workshop heard that in Sri Lanka only 0.16% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was allocated for research, while in developed countries the figure was much higher. Even the limited funds allocated were not utilised in an effective manner and for areas of national priority. To address this, however, a National Research & Development Framework was being developed by the Technology and Research Ministry and 10 ‘thrust areas’ identified which included food, nutrition and agriculture as a priority.
With regard to the quality of research some of the barriers were the lack of trained research personnel and state-of-the-art equipment. There was also brain drain due to low remuneration and retirement at 60 years, of trained personnel with academic skills in research institutes. The discussions also centred round ensuring an “inclusive” approach to food and nutritional security. The need for the involvement of women in agricultural activity such as in the millet project, shrimp farming and post-harvest handling of fruits which in turn would provide income-generation opportunities and participation in decision-making was also discussed.
Although governments down the years had been allowing a major role to be played by green revolution crops such as paddy and cash crops, with the launching of the millet project, the Agriculture Ministry was showing an interest in making small millets part of the national policy, it was learnt. The National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), meanwhile, is to facilitate the testing of oysters to provide food safety certificates to oyster farmers and processors.
Some of the other issues discussed included ensuring the use of certified planting material to retain true varietal quality characteristics of established varieties of mango, rambutan etc; germplasm conservation for maintaining a wide gene pool of food crops; and identification and promotion of the production of ‘climate smart’ crops such as millet to meet the challenges of climate change.
Fisheries Ministry Secretary D.M.R.B. Dissanayake; NARA’s Deputy Director-General of Research & Development, Dr. Palitha Kithsiri; Agriculture Ministry Secretary R.M.D.B. Meegasmulla & Additional Secretary Dr. D.B.T. Wijeratne; Maha Illuppallama Research Station Director Dr. W.M.W. Weerakoon; and Technology and Research Ministry Additional Secretary (Technology Research and Development), Wasantha Perera & Additional Secretary Madhava Waidyaratna participated in the panel discussion.