Fasting their last chance

By Feizal Samath

Wimala Nona couldn't stomach it any longer. She and her farming family were up to their necks in debt while on the other hand, rice prices had crashed. "There was nothing I could do. There were few choices left. So I joined the protest," said the 65-year-old grandmother seated on a mat with 10 others who launched a fast-to-death in the rice farming town of Hingurakgoda. Her family had asked her to give up the protest but she says she is determined to continue till the government gives them their rights.

Farmers in despair: the protestors last week

The 10 protesters - two old women, three Buddhist monks and six men - began their hunger fast last Sunday to back demands by rice farmers in the region for government intervention regarding rice prices and rising debt. At least eight farmers have committed suicide from the Polonnaruwa district, since January this year, due to failure to pay debts and connected family problems. Farmers say about 30 farmers have committed suicide across the island since 1994. Swallowing pesticides used on rice farms is the commonest form of suicide in farming areas.

The fast was launched after a protest march and demonstration was held in Hingurakgoda town by 1,500 farmers, representing 52 farmers associations. Farmer representatives, who have formed a joint front for the protection of farmers' rights, say they have had no response to a memorandum sent to President Chandrika Kumaratunga and other officials, earlier this year, listing out 29 demands and concerns.

A PMB outlet, no longer in operation.

The demands include a meeting with the President, a guaranteed minimum purchase price of 15 rupees a kilo for white rice, government centres to purchase rice, a ban on imports of all food crops and to make public an unpublished report by a state commission that probed the problems of the farmers and made recommendations in the early 1990s. M. Jayatissa, one of the founders of a farmers' protest group and on the fast himself, said there has been little or no redress to the problems of the rice farmers for a long time. "We have repeatedly raised these issues with all governments to no avail and in desperation we resorted to this kind of protest to raise public awareness about our plight," the 65-year-old rice farmer said, painfully adjusting himself on the mat as a large and supportive crowd looked on.

The protestors, who have been taking only liquids since last Sunday, were, by Tuesday suffering from mild dehydration, headaches, chest and stomach pains due to lack of food. Saline had been ordered for 75-year-old G.G. Haram-anis, one of the protestors, when the local doctor found he was suffering from severe dehydration. "These people are weak and they are not young. They will probably suffer from severe dehydration in the next few days and may even have to be hospitalized," said the district medical officer at Hingurakgoda Dr. Chandra Gunasekera, who examined the 11 protestors on Tuesday afternoon. The farmers were however determined to continue their protest. "This is better than committing suicide or taking to arms to fight for our rights. By fighting for our rights in a peaceful, Mahatma Gandhi-type of protest we are taking up the issue with the authorities and hope there would be a solution," said Jayatissa, the leader of the protest.

The fasting protestors lie on a small, open shed covered with an asbestos sheet in front of the D.S. Senanayake chaitya. "We chose this place for the protest because it reflects our culture, tradition and heritage," said R.P. Dharmatillake, one of the protest organizers. Dharmatillake is a fourth generation rice farmer and owns one hectare of paddy land in Polonnaruwa district, which is the country's third largest rice growing region after Ampara in the eastern province and Kurunegala in the north central province. These two regions have also seen farmer protests in the past few months.

Farmers apart from being opposed to imports of rice also say imports of other crops like chillie and onions, mostly from India, affects them. Unable to sell their crops at "realistic prices" and at least to cover costs, farmers are forced to sell below cost and face a never-ending debt burden. "It's a vicious circle. Imports are crippling us and we are eternally in debt," said Dharmatillake, adding that all their earnings went to banks and debt institutions. "We somehow pay our seasonal loans even if our families have nothing to eat." Rice is purchased by Sathosa and village cooperatives for about 10 rupees a kilo but only in small quantities while the private trade, which buys rice at less than eight rupees per kilo, accounts for the bulk of the trade.

The farmers say the closure of the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB), which bought and stockpiled rice during the two rice seasons, has complicated the issue. "The PMB was the main buyer of rice at reasonable prices and by stocking up rice for lean seasons, there wasn't a need for imported rice," said Weerasooriya Karunaratne, another farmer. The government recently shut down PMB outlets and storage facilities across the country, saying they were being maintained at a huge loss. Last month, the government temporarily stopped rice imports as farmer protests mounted against imports and low prices. Farmers say the average cost of production, including labour charges and pesticide costs, is 13,200 rupees per hectare during a four-month season whereas the earnings from this amounts to only 12,800 rupees. "We can make a slight profit only if we don't use any labour, which is a must for most farmers," said Karunaratne.

With elections around the corner, two parliamentarians from the area visited the protestors and urged them to give up their campaign promising to apprise the President and parliament of the crisis. "These promises are all hollow. We have heard them many times before," said protest leader Jayatissa.

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