• Sri Lankan Agriculture in the next decade
• What is Kamma?
• The rape of our forests

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Sri Lankan Agriculture in the next decade
by Dr. Stanley Weeraratna

High cost of inputs, and low farmgate prices have resulted in most farmersgetting low profits or at times incurring losses, forcing a large number of farmers to get away from their main and perhaps the only source of living, thereby increasing the % unemployment resulting in a disatrous situation in the rural economy.

The agriculture sector in Sri Lanka plays an extremely important role in the economic and social development of the country. About 30% of the total employed are involved in agriculture sector, thus providing livelihood to nearly 8 million people. This sector also supplies most of the food requirement, contributes to about 20% of the exports, and is the source of raw-material for a number of agro-industries which has a tremendous potential in reducing unemployment and thus alleviating poverty.

However, according to Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the contribution of the agriculture, livestock and fisheries sector towards the GDP is declining. It has decreased from 28.7% in 1978 to 17.8% in 1996. The contribution of the agricultural sector towards the Gross National Product at constant (1982) factor cost prices during 1992-1996 has remained stagnant indicated by figures indicated in Table 1.

Table 1
Gross National Product at constant (1982) factor cost prices (in Rs. Million)

According to the Dept. of Statistics, and the Central Bank, the volume of production of food crops and livestock in the country, most of which come from the rural sector, has stagnated or decreased during the last decade. Production data for the period 1980-1991 are indicated in Table 2.

Table 2
Volume Index of Agricultural Production

A large sum of money is spent annually to import food (rice, sugar, milk etc.) most of which can be produced locally. In 1992, nearly Rs. 23 billion worth of food has been imported. This amount increased to 44 billion in 1996. With about 2.5 million hectares of uncultivated/partly cultivated land and nearly one million unemployed people, importing Rs. 44 billion worth of food, most of which can be produced locally is an extremely anomalous situation.

A number of institutions related to domestic agricultural production, during the last decade, spent a colossal amount of money trying to raise the level of productivity of this sector. Workshops and seminars on various aspects of agricultural production are held very frequently. A large number of agricultural projects in the Ministries concerned with domestic and plantation Agriculture, involving millions of rupees, mostly financed by loans given by World Bank and Asian Development Bank, have been in operation during the last two decades. Many Scientists and sometimes non-technical bureaucrats travel aboard to attend international seminars, training programmes, workshops etc. related to various aspects of agricultural production. However, all these appear to have not made any significant impact on the agricultural sector in the country.

Perhaps it is because of this dismal situation in the domestic agricultural sector that there is high incidence of rural poverty and unemployment. Nearly 1.8 million families, mostly in the rural areas, are below poverty level and receive Samurdhi benefits. Closely related to poverty is nutrition level, reported to be at a very low level especially among children.

The declining role of the agriculture sector is indeed a cause for alarm, as this sector provides livelihood fora large percentage of the population. By the turn of the century, the population is expected to be around 20 million with a corresponding increase in food requirement. The number of people looking for employment will continue to increase. They will have to be self-employed, mostly in the agricultural sector. Hence, there is an urgent need for formulation and effective implementation of a financially sound integrated programme for the next decade, to increase the level of crop production in the country.

Unlike garments and other such industries which are mostly unsustainable in the long-run, and where most of the inputs have to be imported, development of the agricultural sector promotes use of local inputs, provides food security and more employment opportunities and sustainable development.

A number of constraints could be attributed to the present pathetic situation in the agriculture sector in Sri Lanka. These constraints, and proposals to overcome them are discussed below.

Marketing and low farmgate prices:
Marketing of agricultural products at a profit to the farmer is one of the biggest constrain. To make crop production viable farmers should get a reasonable profit. The editorial of Daily News of May 20 very correctly emphasises at the farmer has to be assured of a reasonable price for his produce. However, very often, middlemen tend to exploit farmers, who are often forced to dispose their products at below cost. Unfortunately, the Marketing Department which could have played an extremely important role, has been closed down resulting the farmers to be at the mercy of middlemen.

Although the costs of production of most crops have increased considerably during the last decade, the farmgate price (FGP) of these crops have not increased correspondingly.

Most farmers have to face many hardships and risks in crop production. Very often they mortgage their meager belongings to raise money to cultivate their land. However, when it comes to selling their produce, they have to be under obligation to the middlemen. Hence, an efficient marketing organisation is essential to minimize exploitation of the farmers and for them to obtain reasonable profits.

Liberalization of food imports:
The import of chillies, big onion, potato and some other crops was liberalized in the recent past causing considerable economic problems to farmers who grew these crops. The financial advantages to an average family as a result of the implementation of this preposterous liberalization policy is very marginal compared to the disastrous effects on the incomes of thousands of farmers and hence on the economy of the country.

Therefore, it is necessary that a detail study on the long term effects of liberalization of import of food is carried out by an organization such as ARTI. If the import of food items which can be grown locally are to be liberalized in the long-run, the farmers need to be advised on alternate crops to cultivate, as farming is their only livelihood.

It was reported in news papers that under SAPTA Sri Lanka may secure duty reductions ranging from 10% — 90% on certain items.

Hence, a long term plan need to be developed to produce those crops for which duty concessions would be available, and at the same time developed relevant processing technologies.

High prices of agricultural inputs:
The present day farmer, to obtain satisfactory yields, has to spend a large sum of money on inputs. Most of the agricultural inputs, even those which can be locally produced such as seeds of some crop varieties, are imported thus increasing the cost of production of these crops. Hence, the cost of production of almost all the crops produced in Sri Lanka has increased during the last decade.

A major factor to be reckoned in agricultural production is to keep costs per unit of the produce as low as possible. This will enable the majority of people to purchase food at a cheaper price, and also to compete with cheaper imported food commodities, or in the world market in the case of export crops.

Rather than importing some food items such as potato, onion and chili, simply because they are cheaper, it is necessary to examine the reasons for high costs of local produce and take relevant action. The high cost of production of crops is due to a number of factors among which are increased prices of inputs such as pesticides, inorganic fertilizers, planting materials in some crops (e.g. potato and some vegetables) labour. During the last few years, production of seed materials locally has reduced considerably. Farmers are forced to use expensive imported seeds resulting in raising cost of production. Development and cultivation of high-yielding varieties, increase use of locally available inputs and reduction of waste are basic requirements in reducing cost of production of agricultural produce. In view of the increasing losses to farmers, and high cost of living to consumers, it is extremely important that appropriate actions are taken to reduce production costs.

Local inputs:
A colossal amount of money is spent to import pesticides. However, a number of alterative methods are available to control pests. Among these are use of pesticides developed from those plant species which contain compounds of fungicidal or insecticidal properties, and application of biological control. In fact in some countries, biological pest control is widely used in crop production. In Sri Lanka too, biological pest control methods, if developed can be used to control most insect pests. In fact, it was used in coconut and sugarcane.

These alternate pest control methods would reduce the cost of pest control, leading to the development of a number of industries, and creation of employment opportunities. However, it is unfortunate that neither the Council for Agricultural Research Policy (CARP) nor the Natural Resources, Energy and Science Authority (NARESA), or any other appropriate organization has still not developed an effective long term plan, except some ad-hoc studies, to utilize locally available materials in crop protection.

Another factor important in reducing costs is use of locally available fertilizers. In 1993, around Rs. 3100 million worth of Inorganic fertilizer have been imported to Sri Lanka. In 1996 this amount increased to Rs. 5200 million and will continue to rise. On the other hand organic fertilizers can be made with locally available materials. They are cheaper than inorganic fertilizers, improve the soil, reduce water and nutrient losses, and supply a number of nutrients which are not normally present in inorganic fertilizers. Replacing inorganic fertilizers, partly with locally produced organic fertilizers such as compost would reduce the cost of crop production. Organic fertilizer production units, in each village, would maximize utilization of resources and provide employment on a large scale.

Low Incomes:
High cost of inputs, and low farmgate prices have resulted in most farmers getting low profits or at times incurring losses. The increasing cost of living has exacerbated this situation. Hence, most farmers continue to live at subsistence level and their incomes are even below the poverty level forcing them to get away from farming increasing the % unemployment. Perhaps it is because of this situation that nearly 40% of the families in the country receive Samurdhi benefits.

Post Harvest Technologies and Losses:
There is considerable room for development of technologies for processing of most of the food produced in Sri Lanka. Around 30% of the vegetables and fruits produced in the country go waste. The total annual value of fruits and vegetables produced in the country is estimated at around Rs. 20 billion. Hence, the value of vegetables and fruits that go waste per year would be in the region of Rs. 6 billion and it is mainly the consumer who has to bear these losses. Hence there is an urgent need to have an efficient marketing organization linked with processing, to minimize waste. The Food Technology divisions of the Universities and other organizations need to develop viable processing technologies.

Low Productivity:
One of the main factors attributable to the declining production in the agricultural sector is low productivity. Increasing productivity is the quickest way of raising crop production levels, and reducing cost of production per unit weight of produce. One of the factors responsible for declining productivity is soil degradation. Cultivation of arable land for decades, particularly those in the wet zone, without practising adequate soil conservation measures, has eroded most off these lands with associated ill-effects, one of which is decrease productivity. For example, in some tea lands there is hardly any soil and the annual average yield of tea lands in some parts of the wet zone is only around 500 kg/ha which is considerably lower than the national average. Farmers complain that the response of crops to fertilizers has decreased, probably due to depletion of the colloidal fraction of their soils which retains the fertilizers added to soil.

Recent press reports indicate that the capacity of Polgolla reservoir has decreased due to silting, caused by soil erosion. It is a common site to see the banks of Mahaveli and other rivers cultivated with annual crops which promote soil erosion. There are many institutions, the mandates of which are closely related to conservation of soils. However, these Authorities and organizations appear to have no long-term plan to control soil erosion. Soil conservation projects, implemented mostly with loans taken from various foreign funding sources such as World Bank, apparently have not yielded any beneficial effects.

It is important that appropriate land use systems are practiced atleast for degraded lands to increase their productivity, rather than continuing to cultivate them with crops which would degrade the land further. For example, bringing marginal tea lands under forest or grass with associated animal husbandry may be a better land-use system than continuing with tea.

In spite of having a Land Use Division in the Department of Irrigation, Land Use Policy Planning Division in the Ministry of Agriculture, and a Department of National Planning there appears to be no effective Land use Policy in the country. As a result our soils, a national assests and a very valuable resource, are getting eroded.

Low Productivity can also be attributed to cultivation of low-yielding varieties. Except for rice and a very few other crop species, no new high yielding varieties have been developed during the recent past. Even in the case of developed varieties, not enough planting materials are available. The average yields of most crop varieties cultivated in many other Asian countries, except perhaps rice, are considerably more than that of our local varieties. Development of better varieties and their multiplication are essential in increasing agricultural productivity.

Agricultural Research:
Research is an essential component in realizing the agricultural potential of the country as it provides data and information which could be used in the development of improved and more effective agricultural practices. A primary objective of agricultural research in Sri Lanka must be to utilize locally available resources, and the research efforts need to be directed towards those aspects which have a more direct impact on increasing production, and reducing costs. It must be to solve those problems which limit production quantitatively and/or qualitatively.

In Sri Lanka, a plethora of institutions are involved in agricultural research. Around 1000 agricultural scientists are working in these institutions and annually, billions of rupees are spent. However, all this appear to have not made any significant impact on the agricultural sector and the rural economy as indicated in Tables 1 and 2. The average yields per hectare of most of the crops commonly cultivated in Sri Lanka, except rice, do not show any sustained increase during the last two decades. The pests and diseases, which affected crops two decades ago still continue to limit production. Not many new crop varieties, resistant to pests and diseases, have been developed. Rising costs, stagnant yields, increasing poverty among farmers etc. are prominent features in the agricultural sector. This maybe because most of the research programmes did not address towards finding solutions to some of the pressing problems of farmers such as high cost of production and developing effective alternatives to costly inputs. Practices such as Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and use of straw in paddy production, promoted by the Dept. of Agriculture, have benefited a small percentage of paddy farmers but not the farmers at large.

Even the results of some research programmes conducted in Sri Lanka, which would have an impact on costs, appear to have not been utilized to the benefit of the country For example the results of research studies on Biological Nitrogen Fixation (BNF) conducted by some research scientists, involving millions of rupees, indicate that BNF can be profitably used to partly replace fertilizer nitrogen, However these studies appear to have not benefited a single farmer in Sri Lanka, although we continue to import nearly Rs. two billion worth of nitrogenous fertilizers annually.

The author of this article is the Director (Agriculture Development) of the Samurdhi Authority, a former Professor of Agronomy and a United Nations Consultant)

What is Kamma?
Reproduced from the book titled 'The Buddha and His Teachings' by the Ven. Narada Maha Thera

Continued from yesterday

Some there are, who cavil thus: So you Buddhists too administer the opium of kammic doctrine to the poor, saying:

"You are born poor in this life on account of your past evil kamma. He is born rich on account of his past good kamma. So be satisfied with your humble lot, but do good to be rich in your next life.

"You are being oppressed now because of your past evil kamma. That is your destiny. Be humble and bear your sufferings patiently. Do good now. You can be certain of a better and happier life after death."

The Buddhist doctrine of kamma does not expound such a fatalistic view. Nor does it vindicate a post-mortem justice. The all-merciful Buddha, who had no ulterior selfish motives, did not teach this law of kamma to protect the rich and comfort the poor by promising illusory happiness in an after-life.

According to the Buddhist doctrine of kamma, one is not always compelled by an iron necessity, for kamma is neither fate nor predestination imposed upon us by some mysterious unknown power to which we must helplessly submit ourselves. It is one’s own doing reacting on oneself, and so one has the power to divert the course of kamma to some extent. How far one diverts it, depends on oneself.

The Cause of Kamma
Ignorance (avijja), not knowing things as they truly are, is the chief cause of kamma. Dependent on ignorance arise kammic activities (avijja paccaya samkhara), states the Buddha in the paticcasamuppada (law of dependent origination).

Associated with ignorance is its ally craving (tanha), the other root of kamma. Evil actions are conditions by these two causes. All good deeds of a worldling, though associated with the three wholesome roots of generosity (alobha), goodwill (adosa) and knowledge (amoha), are nevertheless regarded as kamma because the two roots of ignorance and craving are dormant in him. The moral types of supramundane path-consciousness are not regarded as kamma because they tend to eradicate the two root causes.

The Doer of Kamma
Who is the doer of kamma? Who reaps the fruit of kamma? Is it a sort of accretion about a soul?

In answering these subtle questions, Venerable Buddhaghosa writes in the Visuddhmagga:

"No doer is there who does the deed,

Nor is there one who feels the fruit,

Constituent parts alone roll on,

This indeed is right discernment."7

According to Buddhism there are two realities-apparent and ultimate. Apparent reality is ordinary conventional truth (sammuttisacca). Ultimate reality is abstract truth (paramattha sacca).

For instance the table we see is apparent reality. In an ultimate sense the so-called table consists of forces and qualities.

For ordinary purposes a scientist would use the term water, but in the laboratory he would say H2O.

In the same way, for conventional purposes such terms as man, woman, being, self and so forth are used. The socalled-fleeting forms consist of pscycho-physical phenomena which are constantly changing, not remaining for two consecutive moments the same.

Buddhists therefore do not believe in an unchanging entity, in an actor apart from action, in a perceiver apart from perception, in a conscious subject behind consciousness.

Who then is the doer of kamma? Who experiences the effect?

Volition or will (cetana) is itself the doer. Feeling (vedana) is itself the reaper of the fruits of action. Apart from these pure mental states there is none to sow and none to reap.

Just as, says the Venerable Buddhaghosa, in the case of those elements of matter that go under the name of tree, as soon as at any point the fruit springs up, it is then said "the tree bears fruit" or "thus the tree has fructifield," so also in the case of "aggregates" (khandhas) which go under the name of Deva or man, when a fruition of happiness or misery springs up at any point, then it is said "that Deva or man is happy or miserable."

In this respect Buddhists agree with Prof. William James when, unlike Descartes, he asserts:

"Thought itself is the thinker."

Where is Kamma?
"Stores within the pscyhe," writes a certain psycho-analyst, "but usually inaccessible and to be reached only by some, is the whole record, without exception, of every experience the individual has passed through, every influence felt, every impression received. The subconscious mind is not only an indelible record of individual experiences but also retains the impress of primeval impulses and tendencies, which so far from being outgrown as we fondly deem them in civilized man, are subconsciously active and apt to break out in disconcerting strength at unexpected moments."

A Buddhist would make the same assertion with a vital modification. Not stores within any postulatory "psyche," for there is no proof of any such receptacle or store-house in this ever-changing complex machinery of man, but dependent on the individual psycho-physical continuity or flux, is every experience the so-called being has passed through, every influence felt, every impression received, every characteristic-divine, human, or brutal-developed. In short, the entire kammic force is dependent on the dynamic mental flux (citta santati) ever ready to manifest itself in multifarious phenomena as occasion arises.

"Where, Venerable Sir, is kamma?" King Milinda questioned the Venerable Nagasena.

"O Maharaja," replied the Venerable Nagasena, "kamma is not said to be stored somewhere in this fleeting consciousness or in any other part of the body. But dependent on mind and matter it rests manifesting itself at the opportune moment, just as mangoes are not said to be stored somewhere in the mango tree, but dependent on the mango tree they lie, springing up in due season."9

Neither wind nor fire is stored in any particular place, nor is kamma stores anywhere within or without the body.

Kamma is an individual force, and is transmitted from one existence to another. It plays the chief part in the moulding of character and explains the marvellous phenomena of genius, infant prodigies, and so forth. The clear understanding of this doctrine is essential for the welfare of the world.

FOOTNOTES
1. Anguttara Nikaya, III, p. 415; The Expositor, I, p. 117; Atthasalini, p. 88.
2. See La Vallee Poussin, The Way to Nirvana, pp. 68.69.
3. Atthasalini, p. 68; The Expositor, I, p. 91.
4. Dhammapada, vv. 1, 2.
5. See Compendium of Philosophy, Ch. 1; Manual of Abhidhamma, Ch. 1.
6. Vol. I, p. 227; Kindred Sayings, I, p. 293.
7. XIX, 20; see Warren, Buddhism in Translations, p. 248; The Path of Purity, III, p. 728.
8. Psychology, I, p. 401.
9. See Visuddhimagga, Ch. XVII.

Concluded

The rape of our forests
by M. B. Dassanayake

Our economy is predominantly agricultural. Our wealth lies in our land and not in the negligible quantities of minerals that are found here and farther there. So our wealth must be husbanded diligently. To be indifferent to it would be reminiscent of the callow youth who uses the paternal capital for the sowing of his wild oats. Our land must be kept with all its richness to last us and posterity.

Our representatives talk loud and long of 'Going back to the land' but are completely unaware of or totally indifferent to the rape of our earth. Year after year, monsoon after monsoon, day after day the surface soil of our land is being carried away by every gully streamlet and river to the sea. What has the government done to prevent this pillage and rapine of our greatest wealth?

Out of the country's 16 1/2 million acres nearly 8 1/2 million acres are subject to erosion. It is particularly bad in the Kandyan areas, in Uva and the Sabaragamuwa. The North alone has been spared of this evil! A peasantry dispossessed of its ancient lands continues to fritter away what is left of its wealth by employing wasteful methods of cultivation. It continues to burn the forest and stir the soil following in the footsteps of their primitive forefather cultivators.

Chena cultivation
The Chena cultivator is the most reprehensibel of those who indulge in the rape of our earth. The State must step in and stop all chena cultivation. The indiscriminate and callous way in which green forests are felled and burnt and the land given over to the most uneconomic cultivation must cease forthwith.

Our revenue is founded mainly on tea but the time will come when we will have to think again whether the opening up of tea on our wooded slopes was the happiest thing that could have happened to us. Tea undoubtedly brings millions of rupees... the wherewithal for all our social welfare schemes - but the methods adopted in its cultivation are a crime against our earth. The better maintained estates are paradoxically the most guilty - for they are all clean weeded, robbing the soil of the all too precious grass cover that prevents erosion.

The invaluable top soil - the few inches that holds the magic of a wood crop - is washed away by every shower of rain. This process has been going on for decades. The mind quails at the immensity of the wealth lost to us for ever. For the future, the state insist upon the discontinuance of scraping and clean weeding of lands and legislate for the planting of new tea in hedges along true contour lines.

The top soil is washed away where there is inadequate plant cover. It is rushed down hill in a flood. Soilerosion does not stop with this removal of the soil. Water is prevented from getting into the lower reaches of the soil and rocks. This results in the drying up of springs and fall-off in water supplies. The valuable chemical salts in the soil so necessary for the plants are washed away. Neither can new soil form because there are no plants for leaves or roots to rot and help in its genesis.

Drought and floods
Droughts and floods have become endemic in our land. The slightest shower chokes our channels, swells our rivers, blocks our roads and floods our revering regions. This is not a visitation of wrathful gods or insane scientists but merely the logical consequence of erosion. The rain water runs off all too quickly from our eroding acres, very much like panic-stricken people rushing for the same exit at a burning cinema or a dynamited bus!

The quick draining of water results in another catastrophe. There is no time for the water to seep into the ground, for the moisture to be conserved. Inevitably, therefore, the slightest delay in the monsoons results in drought.

The evil demon of erosion, not content with taking our soil, with satanic perversity deposits them as sandbanks in the river beds. This interferes with canals, bridges and hydro-electric works. The bed of the river is filled up and the level is raised above that for which the electrical work was planned.

Immediate action
The State without further dilly-dallying should deal with this urgent problem. It has waited enough. Our farmers should be taught improved cultivation methods - how to terrace fields with grass banks and level them, not to ridge down-hill, to use compost manure to rejuvenate the exhausted soil. The beneficial effects of rotation of crops must be explained to them - that plants of the tea family like green gram and sun hemp can be cultivated between the cash crops and so increase the amount of nitrogen in the soil. Uncontrolled grazing must be stopped. The number of grazing animals should be reduced or the land given a rest by providing out fodder for the cattle.

The estates should be asked to do away with scraping and clean weeding in tea; instead the weeds should be kept slashed back. Contour drains should be constructed and streams controlled where gullies are found by means of check dams. Thus the run-off of the water is delayed and the force of the stream checked.

The desecration of our virgin soil by chinas should also be prevented. The slopes of our mountains need to be afforested.

The future
All this is no small task. It requires the co-operative endeavour of numerous departments. There should be a separate Soil Conservation Department to co-ordinate everything. It is too big a problem to be just one of many handled by the Department of Agriculture. We have the satisfaction seeing a flourishing Co-operative Movement in Sri Lanka.

This is not suggestive of any indictment on the Department of Agriculture. It is only indicative of the magnitude of the task. Soil conservation planning needs vision and foresight. The results won't be seen the next year or the year after. Perhaps the rewards will not be apparent for a decade. But the government must religiously and zealously persist in its task. For the good earth is the most precious of all our possessions.