The link below talks of the fact that in the last ten years, Argentina has had 18million hectares, that is three times the surface area of Sri Lanka planted with GM Soya Bean. This GM Soya seed has been produced so it is resistant to Round Up the herbicide, we also use in Sri Lanka to kill all weeds including ...

Sri Lanka grows big onions only seasonally and harvests 90% of its local production in the months August to October, before the October rains. Therefore the Government in order to help the local onion producer had slapped an import levy of Rs50/kg in August satisfying the local farmers as imports would create an oversupply.Those traders who knew about the import ...

People in countries and states where water is scarce, know and practice the art of conserving and careful use of this scarce commodity. People are very used to going to great lengths to use as little as possible for their daily needs. Almost all homes in those countries have water meters and people are charged under different bases for water ...

In today’s (3rd October 2012) Daily News it was reported that subsequent to the Yala Season harvest only 65 Tonnes of paddy have been purchased by the PMB from the Polonnaruwa District. There is no reason given as to why this amount is so low. Is it because the farmers just had no surplus paddy to sell the state? No ...

It was barely two months ago when the farmers were screaming blue murder that they had surplus vegetables that they could not sell. Tomato was rotting on the trees too costly to pluck. Now tomato is Rs300/kg at retail! So what gives?Tomato was always transported in boxes to prevent being squashed so the crate law does not impact them ...

A Presidential Advisor on agriculture and a former MP and minister, who defected to the UPFA from the UNP, and lost his seat at the last elections, Hemakumara Nanayakkara resigned his post today in disgust at the Government Agricultural Policies or lack of them. He is also the younger brother of Vasudeva Nanayakkara, an MP and leftist!This blog is full ...

There is so much pontificating words written about sustainable agriculture and I believe very little of that comes directly from someone who earns 100% of his income from existing agriculture, sustainable or not.Why is that? The person who is a full time farmer cannot see the practical side of the concept as he cannot contemplate doing without many of the ...

There is a huge ongoing issue in the Bakamuna Elahera, Yoda Ela stretch, Mahaweli H zone I believe it is called. No water has been supplied to the farmers after a promise that water would be released on May 1st. Water was released for a few days, which confused the farmers into getting ready for planting and then it was ...

I missed the 7am SLTB bus to Hingurakgoda, because it left the Ratmale junction at 6.45am and so took the Private bus at 8am. Rs37 is the bus fare and it was packed with the locals going to the Sunday Pola (farmers market) including those who missed the earlier bus.I got the chance to chat with my friends in the ...

I am in Minneriya during the Poson weekend, for some rest and relaxation, but I have been confronted by a problem that the local farmers have brought to my attention that I believe needs to be noted at the national stage and I do not see the prominence given to it as it deserves.As I came by bus to Minneriya ...

I would like to point out that in my travels in the Gampaha district lately, I see huge swathes of land that remain uncultivated. They are mainly the paddy lands which we see all around us. This is simply a shame. The government as usual tries to make rules for people to follow, not make the foundation for a solution. ...

In my blog entry yesterday I reported on how once farmers were given a guaranteed price for their produce, in this case corn of Rs35/kg they were able to produce a bumper crop, which for the first time made Sri Lanka a net exporter of corn. If this is a real life example then we must adopt it for other ...

I must confess that I am pleasantly and unbelievably surprised that after many years of Sri Lanka being a net importer or corn, we are now a net exporter of this product for the first time. If the government statistics are to be believed, our annual consumption of corn is 180,000 tonnes and this year due to a harvest of ...

I was asked why I was so harsh on the Divi Neguma program. It is simple. It was designed by fools who can’t think beyond their noses. They have fooled everyone for what? Let us just take an example of the two aspects of farming. One by those engaged in it for a living, the GOVIYA! And the other the ...

I have maintained that there is no one in the policy making bodies who understands farming and its practices and practicalities. Bureaucrats and Ministers who own land, farmed by others think they know what the real problems are. This is not like running a plantation, this is a hand to mouth existence and lying to them merely makes the liar ...

I was taken to task by a one advocating export of surpluses by my criticism in yesterday’s blog entry about the efforts of the agricultural department to export varieties of rice. I know I was rather harsh on the Secretary to the Ministry, who in the past would have initiated a common sense approach, but in the current heavily politicized ...

It was reported a short while ago today, April 18th 2012, that the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, KA Sakalasooriya, has announced the creation of four zones for export. One in each of Mannar for growth of Keeri Samba, Hambantota for growing red rice, (presumably long grain) and Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura for growing BG 357 a variety of white ...

In today’s (April 17th 2012) Daily News, Mr MABD Bandaranayake, Sec to the Provincial Agriculture Ministry of Wyamba told farmers who were struggling to get a price for their produce, who were contemplating changing to Tobacco cultivation, and I quote, “Farmers will not get the fertilizer subsidy provided to them by the government, if they start tobacco cultivation. Farmers should ...

There is no profit in growing paddy on an acreage that is less than 5 acres which comprise, 70% of the paddy land grown today. So REMEMBER the rice we eat is grown by people making a sacrifice!!! For no gain, not even enough to pay for a daily wage of Rs200. So what does the future hold? I spent ...

The Miller’s tale in my previous blog entry illustrated quite clearly, that the Miller cannot be unseated by Government intervention, unless the state wishes to get further into a hole to help the farmer. As it is they are in the Rs50B fertilizer subsidy hole not to help the farmer as I have amply illustrated, but to get the farmer ...