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Food crisis: Former govt. ignored repeated warnings; expert spells out steps to revive agriculture sector
View(s):By Sadisha Saparamadu
Peradeniya University’s senior agriculture professor Buddhi Marambe has blamed the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government’s ban on chemical fertiliser imports for the current food crisis, accusing the former administration of repeatedly ignoring his warnings and those of other experts.
The professor said the agriculture sector was “destroyed in seconds” by the ban. Citing Census and Statistics Department data, he said there was a 37 percent drop in the recent Maha season paddy yield, in comparison to the previous Maha season. He warned authorities that if immediate countermeasures were not taken, a similar decline in the paddy yield could be expected in the coming seasons also.
Prof. Buddhi Marambe
The ban also had a devastating impact on the domestic cultivation of maize, a key ingredient in the production of chicken feed. With the poultry industry facing a shortage of chicken feed and a production drop, the prices of eggs and chicken meat went up, the professor pointed out. This has severely restricted a key protein source for Sri Lankans, he said.
“Protein malnutrition is a hidden hunger which severely affects the health of pregnant and lactating mothers and growing children,” he said.
Moreover, the recent fuel crisis has delayed the transport of perishable fruits and vegetables to cities, leading to a huge wastage of important nutrient sources, the expert said, adding that the fuel crisis also affected farmers using harvesting machinery and slowed down the harvesting process.
The professor said the chemical fertiliser ban and the fuel crisis created a knock-on effect throughout the agriculture sector, resulting in the food insecurity crisis.
Notably, the fertiliser import ban’s impact on the tea industry aggravated the foreign currency crisis, said the Professor who has carried out research in the fields of weed science, climate change and food security.
Paddy, maize, and tea cultivation must be prioritised if the agricultural sector was to be revived, he said, adding that other crops also required some attention.
Prof. Marambe welcomed the current administration’s dialogue with the farming community and scientific experts. He said crisis management was important in preserving the agriculture sector, and the import of rice was necessary in meeting demand.
However, he warned that over-reliance on imports could lead to the collapse of local production and excessive price controls could push domestic farmers off the market.
The expert also commended the government’s plan to enact a National Food Security Bill, and an initiative to use railways to transport perishable foods. However, he said these policies must be implemented promptly to save the agricultural sector.
When asked about the use of organic fertiliser, Prof. Marambe said given the present food crisis, organic farming was possible only in the distant future. “The process must be carefully managed and implemented gradually to prevent a situation like the current food crisis.”
Nevertheless, he pointed out that organic farming would not be a sole contributor to achieving the food security of a nation.
He called for the adoption of agricultural technologies, especially good agricultural practices, to increase productivity to feed a growing population.
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