Government distributed tractors in Wanni Districts – (File photo)
By the Friends of the Mahathma Gandhi Centre Colombo and Dr Lionel Weerakoon
The insights acquired leads invariably to one conclusion. National reintegration without which there can be no movement for all communities of this country has to give Food and Agriculture a central and pivotal position. Food security, food availability and cheap and "clean" food will ensure economic and social stability. It will bring with it meaningful employment. Moreover, from a global perspective, it will help in reducing the Carbon Footprint. All these factors are relevant to the entire country. It is of paramount importance for the process of development and interaction in and with the Northern and Eastern Provinces.
Promoting Sustainable Agriculture is a moral obligation. It is a programme for ensuring Food Security for a world where over one billion go hungry everyday and where the spectre of climate change and its implications haunt us. In Sri Lanka, what better way is there for reconciliation and rehabilitation than this point of entry. This is why Sustainable Agriculture remains the strongest medium for Post War healing in Sri Lanka.
This article is based on insights gained through work with LTTE detainees and with villages in the Northern and Eastern Provinces and elsewhere in Sri Lanka.
The insights acquired leads invariably to one conclusion. National reintegration without which there can be no movement for all communities of this country has to give Food and Agriculture a central and pivotal position. Food security, food availability and cheap and "clean" food will ensure economic and social stability. It will bring with it meaningful employment. Moreover, from a global perspective, it will help in reducing the Carbon Footprint. All these factors are relevant to the entire country. It is of paramount importance for the process of development and interaction in and with the Northern and Eastern Provinces.
Making the North a granary once again
As resettlement commenced in the North, the government came up with two programmes, "Uthuru Wasanthaya" and Nagenahira Navodaya". The Government also launched "Api Wawamu, Rata Nagamu" (we grow and develop the country), "Gama Naguma" (develop the village). The infrastructure of the two provinces has improved. Agriculture is once again beginning to flourish. With the Yal Devi being extended to Jaffna, the Northern Province will again have its rightful place as one of the granaries of the country. Now with resettlement progressing a new culture of empowering will have to evolve to make the villages major partners in the development of the post war period.
Prior to the conflict, the livelihoods of the farmers were dependent upon agriculture based on traditional practices. Cow dung, Adathoda vasica and tephrosia were important to improve soil fertility. Farmers used their own seeds through a process of selection which guaranteed quality. Mixed cropping was a dominant feature of their traditional agriculture. They grew perennial crops like coconut, mango and semi perennial fruit crops like banana. In addition different kinds of yams such as Amorphophillus (elephant foot yam) and Diascoria, vegetables and green leaves were raised in the home gardens and farms. Livestock too had been integrated to their farming system. These agricultural practices helped maintain soil fertility and soil moisture and provided a year round income. The commercial crops cultivated were red onions, potato and chillies for which artificial fertilizer was used.
War has destroyed the homesteads of the returnees. The government is making all efforts to settle them in their original villages but there is an acute shortage of funds to purchase inputs and implements to commence agricultural activities.
The homesteads have been provided with seeds but since the seeds provided are hybrid varieties, purchases of seeds have to be made for every new crop. This recurring expense is an added burden to the returnees. Moreover, the hybrid varieties are fertilizer responsive and involve high production costs.
The Mahathma Gandhi Centre, MONLAR and the Bio-Energy Association
Two movements, MONLAR and the Mahathma Gandhi Centre in Colombo together with the Bio Energy Association of Sri Lanka have made some progress to study and introduce sustainable agricultural practices.
There were two initiatives which need special mention. The first was a training programme on sustainable agricultural practices which was organized for LTTE detainees in Kandakaduwa in Polonnaruwa district.
There were 12,500 detainees under the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation in 2010. Out of them 2,500 were women. Around two thirds of them had expressed their willingness to receive training in agriculture. Out of the 700 detainees at Kandakaduwa camp, 200 were initially trained and 60 out of them were selected and provided intensive theoretical knowledge as well as practical training to work as trainers. What was mapped out was to start agricultural activities in the villages after the returnees got back to their homes. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) also participated at the training sessions and agreed to support the detainees once they returned to their areas of original residence.
The training provided to detainees was carried out at the request of the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation and the initiatives of the Mahathma Gandhi Centre. Green Movement of Sri Lanka also provided assistance. The armed forces were also very helpful in promoting the programmes.
The theoretical training provided from time to time included:
Training on
1. The prevailing problems of agriculture in Sri Lanka
High production cost, price fluctuation in the market, depletion and deterioration of natural resources like land and water, water pollution, health related problems such as blue baby syndrome and renal failures that are the consequences of using excessive chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Alternatives proposed were sustainable agricultural practices, the principles of which were explained; need for preservation of indigenous seeds; cultivation of mixed crops and its significance. In addition, concepts like Farmer Organizations, farmer to farmer technology transfer, Farmer Cooperatives and farmers’ rights were also explained to them.
1.1. Practical Training – This included several components. Land in all the districts in the Northern Province are either flat or undulating with a gradient of 4 %. However, Kandakaduwa farm comprises of rolling to undulating land as well as flat lands and valley bottoms. The rehabilitees were trained how to develop land taking in to considerations these differences. They were trained how to construct graded contour bunds or contour bunds using A frame. They received training on construction of drains, to drain excess water in flat lands; establish stone bunds; lock and spill method for arresting soil erosion and for soil moisture retention. Also to avoid ground water depletion and thereby maintain water levels in wells etc. Finally, they were made further aware of the need for construction of small ponds to keep drainage water stored in them and use them for crop cultivation during dry spell. In addition, technologies like mulching that help retain surface soil moisture, arrest soil erosion, improve soil fertility and maintain organic matter content of soil as well as increasing the functioning of micro organism in soil were also explained and discussed.
2. Soil fertility improvement
For this purpose indigenous cattle are essential. Urine and cow dung of these animals play and important role in soil fertility improvement.
a. Compost Preparation
a. For preparing compost, green leaves (especially Gliricidia and grasses) and dried leaves, are chopped in to small pieces and mixed with cow dung in liquid form and then ground. Water is then sprayed from time to time. They are also mixed with fertile top soils from the jungle and mixed together with water and chopped further in to smaller pieces. After mixing, they are heaped together to take the form of a box and oriented towards East-West and then covered with grass or straw. The materials decay within a short period and can be used as compost after a period of 4 weeks.
b. The waste from the kitchen left in live cages for decaying can also be used as compost. For this purpose, cages are made from the Gliricidia sticks and compost can be obtained from the cage bottom opening.
(to be continued)
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