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Tuesday, 22 July 2014 00:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Uditha Jayasinghe
Q: What is the purpose of your visit?
A: First time I came was 2003 or 2004 during the time of peace talks. The second time I came was after the tsunami, this is the third time after ten years and my main purpose is to observe the observe the agricultural situation in Sri Lanka as well as FAO’s programs in Sri Lanka and monitor the activities. Also to exchange views with Government policy makers and development partners and find out how best we can promote our cooperation.
Q: What impressions did you have this time?
A: I was very pleased. When I arrived at the airport the big difference, compared to 10 years ago, was the highway. Last time the road was so bad I thought Sri Lanka was very behind development in Asia but now there is a big difference. Sri Lanka has seen high economic development in the past and move towards middle income country status, self-sufficiency in short there are many developments. I’m very pleased.
Q: What are the progresses and issues you still see in local agriculture?
A: Sri Lanka has achieved self-sufficiency, especially in staple food production rice, this is very important. At the same time nutrition status, Sri Lanka is on track to meet the Millennium development Goal (MDG) number one by 2015. These are two key indicators that show how Sri Lanka’s agriculture is moving forward. Of course at the same time there are also many challenges, particularly negative impact of climate change. Parts of the country are facing drought. Then diversification of agriculture. Now that self-sufficiency is reached the next step is to diversify agricultural sector to provide more benefit to small scale farmers. Environmental issues are always of top concern.
Q: Sri Lanka’s agriculture is hugely dependent on fertiliser subsidies and protectionism, especially for rice; in such an environment how can agriculture become market competitive?
A: Subsidies given from time to time are important for farmers to cope with price volatility and other issues. But there are different types of subsidies to look at, particularly to improve productivity or improve variety of seeds. But such subsidies should be time-bound so that when farmers gain sufficient returns the subsidies can be phased out. Also crop insurance schemes are important. Farmers are facing more and more negative impacts from climate change so even if they put resources to grow new varieties, the environment can discourage farmers from changing their practices. Crop insurance will also protect against price volatility. At the very beginning the Government may wish to spearhead such a venture but once it becomes established then even the private sector can step in and continue.
Q: Do you think farmer pensions are a worthwhile investment by the State?
A: Yes. Generally, farmers should be provided a pension scheme similar to other employees.
Q: Climate change is expected to have severe socio-economic implications for South Asia. How can small holder farmers counter this challenge?
A: Sri Lanka’s north is undergoing drought at the moment and there is hardly any water left in the tanks. Historically local farmers have faced drought and floods but agriculture has continued in Sri Lanka for thousands of years and the water tank is one of the very important traditional agriculture practices. So we have rehabilitated more than 50 minor water tanks in partnership with the Government. This is the type of assistance we need to look at. At the same time introduction of drought, saline and flood tolerant varieties of seeds needs to be looked at. Another aspect is a clear disaster-reduction strategy, which we are evolving with countries. We are ready to promote this to Sri Lanka and have discussed it with officials. We are also promoting climate-smart agriculture; this is again a UN joint global exercise, adapting agricultural practices to meet the challenges of climate change.
Q: FAO is involved in Sri Lanka’s fisheries sector. Can you please expand on this?
A: The Asia-pacific region produces over 90% to the world’s aquaculture while resources for captured fisheries are limited. Also the dietary habits of developing countries are changing, particularly the rapid increase of the middle class. According to recent UNDP data between 2009 and 2020 the middle class will triple, between 2009 and 2030 the number of middle income class with increase six fold. This means six times the number of people in just 21 years. People who are richer tend to consume high quality proteins; we anticipate demand for fish will double in the next decade. So we have to prepare for a rapid demand change. So aquaculture has a real answer to this demand. But if we continue old practices of aquaculture there will huge environmental degradation such as loss of mangroves and polluted water. We really have to move towards sustainable aquaculture. We have launched a new Sustainable Intensification Aquaculture Program and Sri Lanka would be one of the key participants. Even in FAO our aquaculture expertise is coming from Sri Lanka. So we are looking at making a comprehensive program for sustainability.
Q: How sustainable is Sri Lanka’s aquaculture?
A: Sri Lanka is an important part of the regional move towards sustainable aquaculture and FAO is starting a program later this year that will look in particularly at feeding techniques and also related aspects. Primarily we work with the Government and will have a joint consultation mechanism for stakeholder participation. The budget will be about $ 300,000.
Q: Sri Lanka is facing a “yellow card” from the European Union. Is this situation being dealt with effectively?
A: One of the ongoing discussions with Sri Lanka is the Port State Measures Agreement to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. Sri Lanka has agreed to join this agreement, so this is a process we are working on. Also Sri Lanka is part of a larger Bay of Bengal program to promote conservation and management of fisheries and coastal resources so in this way Sri Lanka is moving in good directions.
Q: Food security remains a huge challenge in South Asia and experts have suggested greater intra-regional trade as the solution. But many trade barriers on agriculture exist between SAARC countries, especially India. Is it possible to change this situation?
A: FAO has assisted SAARC in a regional food security program. It was about 10 years ago. So SAARC has its own food security program. But it did not really translate into implementation. The weakness of SAARC is in the weakness of the secretariat, the need to strengthen the secretariat leadership to bring food security interventions to be actively implemented.
Q: So is it lack of political will?
A: Yes. Now we are going to start a new program with SAARC to expand the capacity of the secretariat to handle food security issues. The program is being compiled and I expect it to be approved by October or November. We also need to learn from Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN). We are now assisting ASEAN in the second phase of their food security framework and ASEAN integration begins next year. Barriers are being removed and this can be one of the good examples for SAARC to look at.
Q: Artificial scarcities and hoarding is a common problem in South Asia. Can governments really break this trend?
A: In 2007/08 when Vietnam was affected by drought the rice price jumped up over three times in one year. It was not shortage of rice but speculation that drove the price. More and more agriculture is becoming the target of speculators. This is why FAO has organised a food security summit in 2009 followed by the G8 L’Aquila, summit. We have put a strong agenda to discourage speculation. But we cannot discourage it completely because most of this is done on a free trade basis and speculation is a natural phenomenon. But we must discourage speculation that goes beyond a certain limit and also to influence staples that affect the wellbeing of poor people. So the international community should create such consensus.
Q: What can a government do?
A: One of the main reasons this happens is lack of reliable data. So FAO has established a secretariat to promote such information so that worldwide we provide support to each country to provide reliable market information. This also enables policy makers to make accurate decisions. At the same time private sector can also use this to prevent speculation. So this is where we are moving forward. FAO also provides price monitor updates on staples such as rice.
Q: Food safety in Sri Lanka is a significant problem. Chemicals are heavily used during and after harvest and consumers are barely protected. What policy changes/initiatives are needed to deal with this problem?
A: We need to oversee market and consumers for this. We are now implementing a Technical Cooperation Program (TCP) of about US$280,000. These are resources FAO has within its own budget to fund specific projects in countries. This aims to promote food standards, make adjustments, residue analysis, increase capacity and safe disposal of pesticide containers. Sri Lanka has potential to export fruits and vegetables. So farmers need to look at how best to produce foods to meet international standards.
Q: But export of organic food does not ensure farmers and consumers locally have access to healthy food. So wouldn’t this create a larger disparity?
A: Yes, organic food is seen, case by case, as a very expensive process because the process is very costly and smaller farmers cannot afford it. It must be done large scale. So we are now promoting in Sri Lanka more affordable and easier systems so smaller farmers can participate. I agree that at its present form organic farming is so expensive it is eliminating small-scale farmers.
