Let’s consider home growing as a ‘worthy job’ - EDITORIAL

Since of late we’ve read many articles about the need to promote community kitchens. This is largely because as many as 6.26 million Sri Lankans don’t know where their next meal is coming from. 

On paper Sri Lanka looks like it is a country which has the potential to grow or harvest what its citizens need. But the true story is a sad one. Even before the fuel crisis surfaced Sri Lanka was importing fish products of various kinds for a long time. The same was true about several kinds of teas and coffees and selected types of dairy products. True, the former president banned the imports of a long list of products which drained our foreign reserves. But the importing culture had made Sri Lankans used to ordering rather than producing what we need to consume.   

Now we are worried whether the basic essential food items like rice, vegetables and dhal would be scarce in the market. The loudest complains are coming from farmers; largely due to the lack of diesel to engage in agriculture activities. 

There is much concern regarding the upcoming ‘Yala Season’. This is because there was a 40% drop in the harvest from the last Maha Season. Hence the Government of Sri Lanka is earnestly trying to buy food to feed its people. Sri Lanka needs between185,000 -196,000 Metric tons of rice each month.  
The government appointed a committee to decide on the price to buy rice from farmers. This committee is functioning under the guidance of Commissioner General of the Agrarian Service. The purpose of the whole exercise is to provide rice to the consumer at a low price. 

Similar complaints are being raised by fishermen because they too need diesel to go out to the sea and bring home a catch. The basic flood plate of the Sri Lankan will have a generous portion of rice, at least one cheap type of fish and one vegetable. Most often the average householder has to struggle to put a meal of this sort on the table. 

The impending danger now is that more people will have to deal with malnutrition. There is a present television commercial where a child from a less affluent family brings just rice to school in his lunch box. On returning to his seat after washing his hands from a tap close-by he sees other children having chipped in with other accompaniments that go with rice. This child is now having a square meal because there were friends in class who are generous. But for how long can others be so generous regarding the food we consume?

The government must think of ways of cultivating on unused land. The government must think of land which has access to water from a tank or river. Television show host for Agriculture and farmers issues Wasantha Dukgannarala appearing on a morning television programme underscored that it’s challenging for householders to do cultivation at home. Some of the reasons he mentioned for this is costs soaring because the Water Board has to be paid for the water used for such cultivation. According to him growing at home would be cost effective when the water comes free; hence it is not suitable for everyone. Some of the other issues discussed regarding the challenges of growing at home are the wastage that occurs due to packing, transporting and what ends up as spoiled. Dukgannarala doesn’t dissuade people from growing at home, but calls for a better support structure which makes such a form of agriculture cost effective. 

Russia’s war in Ukraine is leading to a food shortage. The impending food crisis is global. The food crisis Sri Lanka is bracing for is not restricted to the islanders only. Sri Lanka must look at ways of making agriculture cheap and sustainable. 

A villager who has a small plot of land and cultivates some vegetables when he is free often refuses to consider that kind or work as employment. If you ask such a villager attending to his small plot of land what he is doing the answer would be “Sir I don’t have a permanent job”. It’s time Sri Lanka makes those who cultivate on their lands think that they are engaging in some serious work; a job that can be considered as something very serious and rewarding.