President seeks new thrust for agriculture in North

(June 10, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) President Mahinda Rajapaksa sees the need for a new thrust in the agricultural development of the North, as the people are resettled and they return to their traditional livelihoods, mainly agriculture.

He sought the assistance of Prof. MS Swaminathan, who is considered the Father of the Indian Green Revolution to help in the agricultural development of the North, which has been devastated by the recent war with the LTTE and the livelihoods of the people there shattered.

The Government was working on a plan for the expeditious resettlement of the people now displaced, and was proceeding with de-mining of all affected areas, and the establishing of infrastructure facilities and utility services to serve the needs of the people.

During a meeting with Prof. Swaminathan at Temple Trees yesterday (09) President Rajapaksa said the priority of the government was to give hope to the people of the North who had suffered immensely under the tyranny of the LTTE, and sought the help of the great Indian agriculturist to help finalize a road map for rehabilitation of the displaced with enhanced restoration of their occupations in agriculture and fisheries.

Prof. Swaminathan was told that over 80 per cent of the population in the Northern Province covering Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya and Mannar depend upon agriculture and allied occupations for their livelihood and revival and revitalization of agriculture is the need of the hour. The President requested Prof. Swaminathan to review and provide his inputs to the strategy for agricultural and fisheries development of the resettled people that the government had already prepared.

The eminent Indian agriculturist, who was optimistic about the development of the North, told the President that every calamity also presented an opportunity. “A new chapter in the agriculture of the Northern Province can be opened up by introducing farmers to the use of soil health cards and more income per drop of water techniques. Post harvest processing and value addition are also essential, particularly for increasing earning opportunities for women,” he said.

Women in agriculture

The President was keen to have special attention paid to women in agriculture and said that initially the State banks would make available credit for both on-farm and off-farm livelihood opportunities. He welcomed India’s assistance in strengthening agricultural research and training, which would be timely, as there is a need to move fast, as government machinery, whether in Sri Lanka or India, tends to move slowly.

The possibility of choosing an appropriate centre in Vavuniya for strengthening participatory research and education for farmers, and the use of mobile soil-testing vans, farm machinery and other essential equipment to revitalize the agriculture economy, were also discussed.

On fisheries sector development, Prof. Swaminathan, was of the view that it would be useful to develop one of the existing centres in the North into a “Fish for all” training centre based on the model set up at Poonpahar by the M.S. Swaminathan Foundation.

Prof Swaminathan was the principal mover in the astonishing transformation of agriculture in the last century, in what is now known as the Green Revolution, which had its origins at Swaminathan’s Laboratory in New Delhi and related work in the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, which he later headed. The research in rice production led by him turned what many feared to be imminent tragedy in India into a new hope for all of Asia, paving the way for the Asian economic miracle in the 1980,s and 1990s. Brought up under the Ghandian tradition he was a prime mover in changing the “ship to mouth” consumption pattern for main foods in post- independence India, and transformed the pattern to greater self-reliance in food.

Swaminathan now believes farmers must adopt more eco-friendly methods, and is using his influence to spread the message. Although populations continue to mushroom, he maintains that still greater harvests are possible. All that's needed, he says, is "inspiration, perspiration and luck."

President Rajapaksa observed that the policies followed by the Government, based on the Mahinda Chinthana are also directed towards greater self-reliance in food production and explained to the Indian scientist to work already being done under several progammes such as “Api Venum Api” to increased agricultural production in the country, and the expectations of the “Northern Spring” for development of the North.

-Sri Lanka Guardian