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No water, no fertiliser and no market: Farmers’ woes galore during lockdown
Farmers say they are at a standstill because scheduled meetings to decide on the release of water for cultivation have been postponed or cancelled due to the ongoing curfew.
A key meeting was to be held on March 19 between the Irrigation Department and the Mahaweli Authority. It was postponed and held as a small meeting on March 31 at the Water Management Secretariat which comes under the purview of the Mahaweli Authority, with only a few officials attending.
This farmer issue assumes greater significance in view of the government’s decision to meet the food requirement through local production. This week, the government took a key policy decision to stop all foreign imports other than medicine and fuel. The move was aimed at stabilising the rupee and encouraging local industrialists and entrepreneurs to step in and start large-scale food production.
The farmers claim that although the government has allowed them to work through curfew hours they are unable to work effectively because the release of irrigation water has been delayed.
All-Island Farmers Federation (AIFF) head Namal Karunaratne said there was a water shortage in areas such as Polonnaruwa and Kurunegala and that cultivators also lack a mechanism to acquire pesticides and fertiliser.
He also said some farmers were unable to sell their fresh produce.
Vegetable farmers say their produce cannot be sold even at giveaway prices as the merchants who transport goods and sell them are not operating due to the curfew.
“Some of the produce needs to be collected daily but transportation has ceased due to the curfew,” Polonnaruwa farmer T B Sarath said.
Mr Karunaratne called for the government to provide financial assistance to farmers and daily-paid farm labourers who are now in hardship due to the strict measures the government is implementing to stem the spread of the new coronavirus.
Irrigation Department Director-General S Mohanarajah too expressed concerns over delays in releasing water to cultivation areas. He said scheduled meetings with the Mahaweli Authority and farmers were delayed because of the coronavirus measures.
“The government has issued instructions not to hold meetings during the curfew period. However, we managed to hold a small meeting on Tuesday and decided to release water,” he said.
The DG said they face some difficulties in releasing water to some North Central Province areas that depended on water from Kalawewa as the water level was low due to the prevailing drought. Apart from that, farmers in the southern district of Hambanthota were also facing a similar crisis as the Udawalawe tank’s water level was low.
Mr Mohanarajah said that if the crisis aggravated, farmers could even defy the curfew in a desperate bid to get water from the tank.
“My main concern is the shortage of water in those areas; the Meteorology Department notified us that there will be rains after April 15. However they also told us the rains will be below average,” he said.
The DG said that their main aim was to manage water and use it to get a maximum Yala harvest during this difficult period and sustain the country through cultivation.
“We provide water to more than 660,000 acres of farm land and have already released water for 300,000 acres,” he said.
Mr Mohanarajah said they would release the rest of the water for the remaining farmlands after April 15.
Water has been issued to cultivation areas in the Ampara and Batticaloa districts as meetings in relation to those areas had taken place before the country went into lockdown. Agricultural meetings with farmers in Polonnaruwa, Puttalam and Trincomalee had not been held because of the curfew.
Meanwhile, pesticide importers also expressed concerns over clearing shipments.
Crop-Life, a collective of agro-chemical suppliers and distributors, called for government assistance to clear pesticides consignments stuck at the Customs and transport the goods to farmers. The goods have been stuck in ports because of the curfew.
Crop-Life Secretary H M R Bandara said that as the cultivation had started in the North and North-Eastern provinces, farmers were in need of pesticides.
Mr Bandara said more consignments were on order but were stranded in Europe, India and China due to the virus outbreak in those countries.
Pesticides Registrar Dr J A Sumith has called on importers to get in more pesticides and ingredients, fearing a global shortage. Such a shortage could lead to countries imposing restrictions on exports, he warned.
He was also anxious that pesticide consignments that have reached Sri Lanka be cleared in due time.
“If the pesticides are not given to the farmers on time, their crops would have pest infestations, decreasing the harvest,” he warned.
He said the Agriculture Ministry has also requested police to allow transportation and distribution of fertiliser and pesticides during curfew.
However, farmers say they have not seen any lorries transporting fertiliser or pesticides.
Agriculture Ministry Secretary Neel Bandara Hapuhinne said he had asked police to permit the transportation of fertiliser and allow farmers to keep working during curfew. He said that since this message had not reached far and wide, he would issue a Gazette notification to facilitate transportation of fertiliser and pesticides during curfew.
| A food idea spreading roots By L B Senaratne Seedlings and seeds will be provided in provinces under a new initiative to help grow much-needed food. The Department of Agriculture will distribute one million packeted seeds and 150,000 potted seedlings of five varieties. These are expected to yield within three months. Each packet contains five varieties of seeds which would yield within three months. According to the assistant director of agriculture, Ajith Gunasekera, the distribution would be handled at the provincial level through agrarian service officers and officers of the Department of Agriculture. An ‘agricultural force’ is in operation at the Ministry of Agriculture composed of officers who are directly in contact with farmer groups and those who know the distribution process. The campaign is an initiative of the government and he said seed paddy will be supplied at the provincial level.
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| Ambitious programme targets food security through local production A countrywide programme is being launched to ensure food security through domestic production, co-cabinet spokesmen and Minister Ramesh Pathirana said. Addressing the weekly media briefing on Thursday, he said the programme was part of contingency measures aimed at preparing the country to face the adverse impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Dr Pathirana said in Sri Lanka there was a food security programme already in place to grow paddy, vegetables and other essential items required for the upcoming four months. Therefore, people should not entertain any doubts or fears about continued food supplies, he said. Commenting on the shortage of imported food items, the minister said no such shortages would occur as the Agriculture Ministry’s programme called “Soubagya” was being launched to face such situations. “The programme will be launched islandwide on April 9. Under this programme, people will be encouraged to do cultivation in their properties and create small farms with the support of the government. They are also told to start small and large scale agricultural projects,” the minister said. He said that seeds, seedlings and plants and fertliser would be provided by the government to start plantations to grow sesame, peanuts, undu, corn, green gram, red onions, kurakkan, green chili, potatoes, soya beans, cowpea and turmeric. He said the government had requested all state employees who were spending time at home to extend their support to the programme.
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