As the Maha approaches – 2

he chorus of protests over the abandonment of chemical fertiliser to be replaced by organic fertiliser is growing, compelling us to revisit the fertiliser issue for the second successive week amidst concerns of a drop in production of Sri Lanka’s key crops.

Also worrying is that tests of two samples taken of a planned consignment of organic fertiliser from China have shown impurities while a third test is being planned on a new sample. This is amidst pressure from high-ranking officials to clear the consignment without any further (testing) roadblocks.

Interestingly, it’s some of the government’s ‘hurrah’ boys who are raising red flags of concern over the deep-dive into organic fertiliser without a phased out process over two to three years, as most experts have advised. In fact, some of these experts didn’t take it seriously or chose to be silent when the ruling alliance’s National Policy Framework - Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour was presented. In that it promised a revolution in the use of fertiliser promoting a system that would provide inorganic and organic fertiliser both free of charge to farmers; and conversion of traditional farming villages into users of only organic fertiliser.

For that matter, not many of the proposals in this document have been fulfilled, almost two years since President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected. For example, in a section on ‘Defeating Corruption’, the framework promises to ensure that none of the politicians or senior public officials engages in any form of corruption, but how far has the government succeeded on this front with corruption at the core of many deals and deal-making becoming a way of life?

Let’s make it clear. No one is opposed to organic fertiliser but not through this panic-stricken approach of the government in pulling out all the stops to make sure it works. And that’s unlikely to happen. What seems to be sure is that there will be a drop in production (just as the Maha paddy season gets underway), a drop in quality (particularly important as far as tea is concerned) and an erosion in the earnings of farmers.

Before delving deeper into the subject, my attention was drawn to the ‘music’ from choon- paan karaya Aldoris’s mobile bakery tuk-tuk as he came down the lane and stopped at our gate where the trio had gathered.

“Miss, piti-kiri mila ihala yanawa (Miss, milk powder prices are going up),” he said happily, since he was often angrily confronted by the trio on rising bread or sugar prices which affected bakery products.

“Ethin oya santhoshai (So you’re happy),” chortled Serapina. “Mama hithanne seeni mila aapahu wedi wei kiyala (I am sure sugar prices will go up again),” noted Kussi Amma Sera, while Mabel Rasthiyadu joined the conversation with: “Haal milath ihala yayi, pohora prashna nisa (Rice prices will also go up because of the fertiliser issues).”

“Goviyo aapahu sadde danawa wee mila gena. Egollanta prashna godak thiyenawa (Farmers are once again complaining about paddy prices. They have many issues),” added Kussi Amma Sera.

An anticipated shortage of organic fertiliser would affect all crops. Paddy production which recorded a bumper harvest in 2019, further increased by 11.5 per cent to 5.1 million metric tons in 2020; tea production fell by 7 per cent to 278.9 million kg in 2020 from 300 million kg in 2019; rubber production rose by 4.6 percent to 78.2 million kg from 74.8 million kg in 2019, while coconut production fell by 9.5 percent to 2.8 billion nuts from 3 billion nuts in 2019.

As I was midway into my column, the phone rang. It was Shifty’ Silva, the always-inquisitive IT expert, on the line.

“Hello… hello, haven’t spoken to you for a long time,” I said pleasantly.

“I am calling you not to discuss the car market which has collapsed but the fertiliser issue. Is it true that they have found impurities in the organic fertiliser samples?” he asked.

“That’s right. This has happened in tests done on two samples,” I said, adding that a third test is being done on a fresh sample.

“But I read newspaper reports that they want to import this consignment of organic fertiliser from China at any cost – even if it is contaminated,” he said.

“You’re right… there seems to be pressure from the top to clear this cargo,” I said, ending the conversation after discussing many other issues including the car market which ‘Shifty’ said has badly affected his income.

Amidst numerous statements from a range of respected sources and experts urging the government to reverse its decision on a one-shot ban of chemical fertiliser and pesticides, the most prominent statement of concern came this week from the Sri Lanka Agripreneurs’ Forum, a representative body of growers, farmer organisations, agri value-addition enterprises, agri professionals and academics, agri scientists, local and global marketers of agri produce, providers of agri inputs and local agri investors.

In a statement, it raised grave concerns surrounding the contaminated samples of imported organic fertiliser.

It said: “With respect to the declared samples of organic fertiliser imported from China, the forum has identified a few anomalies. First, the prescribed process declared by the National Fertiliser Secretariat to import organic fertiliser has not been followed. According to the Minister of Agriculture, even though the sample that’s already here in Sri Lanka was tested positive for contaminants, the commercial shipment will be cleared into the country and then go through further testing. We are deeply concerned that such breach of protocol could lead to the foreign microorganisms being released unwittingly to the environment, which could cause irreversible damage to our natural ecosystems with far reaching implications for the agriculture sector.

“Secondly, the Forum is concerned about the lack of disclosure and lack of stakeholder engagement by the authorities in this regard, beyond an acknowledgement that the samples contained contaminants. Thirdly, according to the official statements, this individual sample of organic fertiliser was supposedly tested by a Chinese testing laboratory. However, in subverting the nationally accepted standards of due diligence in Sri Lanka, this decision sets a dangerous precedent, where greater reliance is placed on dubious reports forwarded by suppliers from tests conducted by non-accredited labs, which may not be independent.”

As I wound up my column, Serapina brought a mug of tea into the room saying, “Kussi Amma Sera call ekaka (Kussi Amma Sera is on a call).”

I acknowledged the tea and realised that waiting for a domestic helper to finish her call before giving her some work is a rule of thumb these days. That wasn’t a major worry but what will be of concern is the coming weeks and months when food production drops and food prices rise.