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Getting Our Agriculture Strategy Right

Writer's picture: Tharindu AmeresekereTharindu Ameresekere

Updated: Oct 15, 2024


Sri Lanka's Agriculture industry is one of the most vital sectors of the island nation's economy. With close to  27% of the workforce being employed in the agriculture industry, it plays an essential role in upkeeping the country's GDP and providing a steady  income for millions in the country, especially in rural areas. 


The agriculture industry in Sri Lanka can trace its roots back to the ancient times of the Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura kingdoms, where there is evidence of advanced irrigation systems being used for rice cultivation. The industry has undergone many changes since then with British colonial rule of 1815 to the advanced technological methods used in today's modern era, it is a resoundingly resilient industry. However, it is also a delicate one. Let's take a deep dive into Sri Lanka's agriculture industry with Professor Buddhi Marambe who is a Professor at the Department of Crop Science of Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya. 


Professor Buddhi Marambe is a distinguished academic with over 36 years of experience in crop science, specializing in weed science, climate change adaptation, and food security. He has earned prestigious accolades, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Weed Science Society and the Presidential Award in Sri Lanka. As President of the Weed Science Society of Sri Lanka, he has also contributed to national and international policy as a member of the UNFCCC climate negotiations and consultant to leading global organizations like the Asian Development Bank and United Nations on agriculture and climate-related issues.


What are the key challenges that the President will have to face in the agriculture sector?

There are multifaceted challenges and issues with respect to agriculture in Sri Lanka, but that doesn't mean we have to start from square one. Agriculture in Sri Lanka has evolved over the past several decades since we gained our independence and there has been lots of developments. In the early 1940s if we take paddy as an example,  the average productivity was only about 650 kilograms per hectare, and this was by using all of the traditional methods and without synthetic fertilizers. Since then, if we look at 2020 and early 2021, our average paddy yield has increased dramatically up to about 4500 kilograms per hectare. So this shows that there has been rapid progress in Sri Lanka with respect to agriculture. The extent of paddy cultivated land has increased by less than twofold in these past 70 years but the average productivity has increased by more than 7.5 times. We can see how we have developed due to our technical expertise, our research and development efforts at the state department and at university level and most importantly the private sector and the farming community who embraced the new technology to reap rich harvests. 


Whenever we talk about agriculture we must focus on food security. This is the first challenge the president will have to face. But, we should not forget that agriculture alone (crop and animal production) of any given country cannot contribute totally in achieving the overall requirements of food security. Our effort is to make sure that the contribution of agriculture is maximized.  Food security comprises the availability, affordability, accessibility, safety and the nutrition components, and this is something that the president should consider with utmost priority. In this regard, we need to have a holistic view on this overall operation starting from the supply until the end point. There are critical nodal points in a food system such as the input suppliers, farmers, processors , transporters, warehouse and storage facilities providers, wholesalers, retailers and finally the consumer. So unless we have an overall picture and identify the inefficiencies at the critical nodes of the food system we will never achieve the development targets of the agriculture sector.  Let's take an example, at the time when the paddy cultivation season starts we put a lot of weight and focus on the producer to provide inputs and subsidies, but when it comes to the harvesting season where marketing and pricing matters, we give priority to the consumer. This dynamic will not work well unless we do the decision making process having all the key players onboard in determining input supply, input prices, cost of farming, and the final consumer price. Unless we do these estimations at the very beginning and towards the latter part of the cultivating season, issues in pricing similar to what we experience now in the case of rice will continue to arise. So the president and his team will have to account for this whilst also bringing climate change concerns into effect.


Then about production - we have limited land with difficulties in expansion for cultivation. So what we can do is to ensure that production per unit area (productivity) is increased to the best of our ability, and this can only be achieved by looking at the overall food system. These are two key challenges that the president will have to face in the agriculture sector. 


What is smart agriculture and should we utilize it to strengthen the agriculture sector?

In smart agriculture what we do is make data driven decisions and  operations so there is optimization of processes and resources and finally there is sustainability that is achieved through improving productivity. Smart agriculture is something that Sri Lanka has kept its eye on for some time and we have seen many developments in this arena. To take an example, in the recent past,  there has been a lot of interest from the government and private sector to make sure that the farming community adopts smart technologies. We are now experimenting with drone technology to provide services to the farming community such as applying fertilizer and pesticides at affordable prices. You may think that flying a drone is like  flying a kite, but there is a lot of data driven information and decisions being used when practically operating these drones or unmanned aerial vehicles for agriculture purposes. 



The cohesion is truly beautiful to see,   with the private sector coming in with the technology and the government Department of Agriculture supporting the technology by publishing the first version of the guidelines on the safe and proper use of drones in agriculture. This is just one example of how smart agriculture is being used in Sri Lanka.


So as we can see there are already developments and advancements being made on the ground level. The president's job, being the current minister of agriculture as well, should be to expand this progress further, streamline the activities, and make sure the maximum benefit reach the farming community. Once smart technology is coupled seamlessly with Good Agricultural Practices that everyone is promoting at the moment, that will be the best match for the future of Sri Lanka's agriculture sector.


What were the consequences of the fertilizer ban, and what steps can the president take to prevent similar crises in the future?


We have to understand the basics of agriculture before implementing policies or regulation. When we harvest a crop, we are actually harvesting the nutrients from the soil. So if we continuously harvest these nutrients the soil will, over time, become infertile. To produce just one ton per hectare of paddy, we need at least 21 kilograms of nitrogen. When we produce 100 kilograms of manufactured tea, we remove about 11 kilograms of nitrogen from the soil. Do not forget we are thinking of producing about 300 million kilograms of manufactured tea and 95% of it will be going overseas. So who has to maintain our soil? It is us. Unfortunately, some rulers and their advisors did not understand this logic. Previously, in the crisis we faced in 2021 by banning the most important inputs that are required to make sure that the soil fertility is maintained,   our paddy production in 2022 went down by 34% and our tea production went down by 17%. The costs that we incurred and the losses we had to face in terms of foreign exchange was immense. Due to our low production of paddy, we had to import 783,000 metric tons of rice in 2022 at a cost of 292 million USD  at a time we needed the foreign currency the most. It was a tragic decision that even today we are still recovering from.


Have past presidents consulted academia and scientists? Yes. But unfortunately, politically motivated advisors have often influenced decision-making, leading to misguided policies. This is a dangerous situation that the future presidents must avoid.


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1 Comment


Kamal Gammampila
Kamal Gammampila
Oct 16, 2024

Almost everyone measures ‘food security’ only in terms of yield. Hardly any attention is paid to food safety. On the face of it, our health epidemics are caused by agricultural toxicants, though there are multiple associated factors such as use of Hill Country water for rice cultivation. It is the responsibility of experts such as Professor Marambe to ‘educate’ the politicians on this complex and difficult subject to address. Dr Kamal Gammampila

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