Prof. Buddhi Marambe honoured by International Weed Science Society

• Becomes only weed scientist from South and Southeast Asian region to be bestowed with coveted ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’

By Randima Attygalle

Senior Professor of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Buddhi Marambe was last week awarded the coveted ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ by the International Weed Science Society (IWSS).

He was the only weed scientist from South and Southeast Asian region to have been presented with the Lifetime Achievement award this year at a ceremony at the Marriot in Bangkok.

The high academic point of all weed scientists in the world, IWSS, recognises weed scientists every four years during the International Weed Science Congress.



This year at its eighth International Weed Science Congress held in Bangkok from 4-9 December, Prof. Marambe who is also the President of the Weed Science Society of Sri Lanka (WSSSL) and the Chairman of the National Invasive Species Specialist Group (NISSG) established by the Ministry of Environment, was honoured for his regional and international contribution made in the field of weed science.

“The award has given me, as an academic, more courage and impetus to move forward much stronger in the field of weed science, especially in R&D and communicating science at all levels,” Prof. Marambe told the Daily FT.

In terms of crop protection, weed management plays a significant role in determining agricultural productivity, be it a seasonal crop like paddy and maize or a perennial crop like tea, rubber, and coconut. “Sri Lanka is currently striving hard to overcome a food crisis. With limited resources available, enhancing productivity per unit area is the key to overcome the food crisis to achieve our future development targets,” said the scholar.

With unavailability of important agricultural inputs especially herbicides, effective weed control in different cropping systems has become a herculean task. But the country, Prof. Marambe noted, will have to look for all possible alternatives while ensuring gradual recovery of the supply and timely availability of the agrochemicals recommended by the Department of Agriculture and other commodity research institutes.

“It will be the responsibility of the weed scientists in Sri Lanka, including me, to be more proactive in these efforts. The international recognition has given me and my fellow weed scientists in Sri Lanka a wider opportunity to have effective partnerships with national and international organisations, universities and agencies to provide more weed control solutions to the farming community for the betterment of the agricultural sector.”

Galvanising collective human resource capacities in a crisis situation such as this to provide support to any government in power to take informed decisions and work towards overcoming the crisis as early as possible and sustaining growth thereafter is critical, maintains the scientist. “Sri Lanka is a ‘world of opportunities’.

“We are products of free-education who need to serve the country and bring prosperity to the nation with utmost passion and dedication. Myths and misrepresentation of facts should not have a place in our future development path. I strongly feel that the country needs the intellectuals most in such a situation. However, none of these will work without a strong political will and without visionary leaders at the helm.”

According to the World Bank data, the R&D expenditure of Sri Lanka as recorded in 2018 was about 0.13% of GDP, compared to 0.66% in India and 0.2% in Pakistan. Despite these low expenditure on R&D, Sri Lankan scientists have done wonders especially in the field of agriculture by developing high yielding rice varieties that have enhanced productivity from 650 kg/ha in early 1950s to 4,600 kg/ha in 2020, and developing five hybrids of maize, two hybrids of chili, climate resilient (drought tolerant) paddy varieties and tea cultivars, resulting in higher land productivity and economic gains to the farmers.

“Almost all high yielding paddy varieties developed by our scientists are at least moderately tolerant to the main pests and disease, thus minimising the insecticide and fungicide use. However, the returns to investment from such technological advancements have been hampered by the imperfect market operations,” said Prof. Marambe who moots more private sector investments in R&D in all spheres of agriculture including crop, livestock, poultry, and fisheries.

Private-public-producer partnerships (PPPP) should start operating stronger in Sri Lanka ensuring the maximum contribution from all players in the food system, he noted. “Research prioritisation based on the short, medium and long-term development agenda is a must targeting at achieving food security.

“We need more commitment with responsibility and accountability of all players in this regard, especially from the politicians. These will help us to revive agriculture and overall economy of the country and sustain a favourable growth.”