The lifeblood of the nation

Sunset over the Minneriya Tank, the lifeblood of water for my paddy fields, for which I pay the state Rs500 a year(about US$4) as water taxes.

Trees that are usually found in the home gardens in the Polonnaruwa District

I spent the whole morning yesterday, plucking the remaining mature mangos from the home gardens of my neighbors in Godabima, across the river from my place. Most of the people live in one or two acre properties with a “colony ge” constructed and given by the government decades ago, to attract settlers to the area. The homes were usually constructed in one or two designs, but as wood was plentiful, often Ebony and Satinwood was used for the rafters, and the roofs were tiled and a nice verandah was part of the design. Very few of these homes have been maintained, though various additions for kitchens and rooms have taken place. Actually they look rather decrepit.

Technically this home functions as the ‘Maha Ge’ and is therefore passed down to the youngest son or child if there are no male children, and the others given land for homes from agricultural land given by the government at time of the settlement creation. It is an interesting study in social anthropology to note that the inheritors of this property knew form a young age of this inheritance and did little to better themselves, usually falling into alcoholism by being the spoilt child, with whom the parents live till they pass away!

The trees that are now on the property are fully grown and it is almost completely shaded. Coconut forms the greater number, as there is enough for the family’s daily needs as well as sufficient to dry and mill for coconut oil as well. Then there are very tall Mango trees, which earn the homeowner between a thousand and three thousand a crop, when people offer for the tree and pluck and remove the mango. There are a collection of others that don’t give an income, namely, Jack and Del, Belli and Pomegranate, Katu Atha and Amberella, Pera and La ulu, Puwak and Siyambala, Woodapple and Orange and off course a lime tree for home use. If space permits there are a few Papaya, Banana and short term vegetable crops.

One of the comments I received was that if people are happy doing nothing then why should they improve their lot, to which I replied its fine if they purchased the means of livelihood and then made their choice. It is the state that provides, namely home, land, education, healthcare, water and electricity at minimal cost to them so that they can do nothing. That is the point. Is it any wonder that we are therefore known as the land of the “lotus eaters?”

Some of the homes of course have trees that are of value for timber, such as Teak, Mahogany, Ebony, Nadun, Halmilla, Kumbuk, and Kohomba. Some of the other trees mentioned earlier like Jack also has Timber value, then there are other trees that grow wild like Ahatu, Attikka, Bamboo, Wal kohomba, which is a type of willow, Madang, Buckmee, Cotta. I am sure I have not mentioned half of the wild species that grow unaided or unplanned.

While all these trees are accepted as quite normal to have, many of you readers, living in apartments or small homes in urban areas would nevertheless wish you were able to step out of your front door and walk amongst this veritable delight, with rare and beautiful birds singing their praises at such choice.

Making use of the Agricultural Extension Officers and Veterinary Resources

If one reads through this blog in detail one would realize that the knowledge required of a physician in General Practice pales in comparison with the knowledge required of a peasant farmer if he is to perform his tasks productively. Sadly the best brains in the country are streamed into Medicine, an area where we will soon have a surplus of, while those who are unable to do anything else are forced into fields of Agriculture, where we are desperately short of talent. Herein lies another of the predicaments I constantly try to expose. While a doctor has the training in Western Medicine or Ayurvedic Medicine, the farmer needs to know the diseases both plant borne and pest borne and know how to cure them by the use of chemicals and organic means. Having the knowledge in one only is not sufficient.

My 10acre farm is in Godagama, Meegoda, and so my nearest town for everything is Homagama 4 kilometers away. I first visited the vet to ask him about a foot injury a newly born calf has, and how I should treat it as the first aid administered of Iodex, the usual remedy had not worked. I then had to ask him about the cow whose uterus was washed, but despite 4 attempts at artificial insemination we failed to get a conception, so we on the due date will provide a bull to see if the natural method will work. I was pleased to see the construction in progress of a lab to test blood etc so that we can get immediate results of tests, rather than the time it takes currently to get it from Welisara.

I then went next door to get some advice and also call upon the local agricultural advisor to visit the farm to give me some ideas of improvement to my current practices. I have for the first time, possibly due to the unseasonably dry conditions, seen a disease, borne by a small caterpillar affecting all my papaya plants. I grow them in organic conditions, but all my known methods have not worked. I discovered it was a virulent worm that attacks primarily papaya and manioc, both of which I have a number of plants, but also other vegetables. The only organic means is to destroy all affected plants, that means my whole crop, or else I have to use a pesticide to spray the affected plants and hope it kills the worm. I have chosen the latter, what would you chose? If your livelihood depended on it!

This leads me to the debate on organic foods. The most enthusiastic backers are those who have no idea how hard it is to grow truly organic. Even more surprising to them would be to know the real cost of growing that way will be completely out of reach of that person’s pocket. In the real world however well intentioned we are we have to take practical measures in combating emerging problems. I agree that much of the problems farmers face are as a result of the overuse of chemicals, cleverly marketed by MNC companies, which have destroyed some of the natural predators. However single farmers cannot combat this alone, and has to be done collectively, with close assistance from the non-profit sector if they are really serious about helping the rural low-income farmers. The government sector is lost in its own world of trying to find an agricultural policy, one which I intend coming up with before they can even get pen to paper.

It is apparent that for someone in a multi product enterprise like me, the tasks, hazards and challenges are constant, unpredictable and multifaceted.

Independence Day 2009

The meaning and significance of such a day differs from person to person based on his or her life experiences. I was born long after independence from Britain and so the significance of the word Independence from subjugation to rule from another nation does not have as much weight. On the other hand I have lived most of my life in the United Kingdom, and second most in Sri Lanka, closely followed by the 14 years spent in the United States so I am a person who has immersed himself deeply in three very different cultures. Apart from the last four years of life in Sri Lanka from which all my blog experiences have been born, it was only my pre-teenage years from birth, that I spent in Sri Lanka. Now as a peasant farmer in a village I speak Sinhala.

So when I view with awe on TV the arrival of guests, and members of government and the forces in very expensive gleaming vehicles, with spotless extravagant uniformed guard escorts and in attendance, if I was from outer space I would think this is the wealthiest place on earth. What grander place for the show than on Galle Face Green! Then the endless parade in immaculate dress of the different regiments of the forces, and the military hardware on show, and the sleek show of naval strength on the high seas with an even more impressive show of air force might, lead me to believe that we have the power to conquer lands outside our shores just as Britain did in years gone by.

While I believe unquestionably that this event was for home consumption, by the people gathered in front of their TVs as all channels were obliged to show this, no international TV channel would have felt it worthy of being shown in any other country. I was also saddened by the lack of the general public gathered to view the show live, as they were only permitted to see it on TV. It smacked of a private party for invited guests, making it an exclusive event for a few. I am told this is the first Independence or equivalent parade of any country in the history of the world where there were no members of the general public present at the proceedings.

The only other two events on the program were, the raising of the National Flag with the singing of the National anthem and the President’s address to the Nation. I am trying to be objective in my observations, so please tell me if I am being unfair. The President was asked to rotate a wheel to raise the flag, something only ever done in Sri Lanka, and the flag was not raised on a flag pole straight up but at angle like on the rear of a ship, which would be judged by perfectionists as an insult to the flag. Needless to say these minor details are lost amongst the organizers.

The President’s speech was too long, too political and not sufficiently unifying. He could easily have chosen the occasion to give a short, fiery speech of inclusion and entitlement where all the citizens of this country are called upon to serve the nation and motherland devoid of petty religious, racial, caste and language differences. He could have laid the gauntlet for a truly united nation where all people’s rights of freedom would be guaranteed in the constitution and we would have applauded. As he was making a party political broadcast, bearing in mind the provincial council elections in less than ten days, it was none of that, so it alienated half the nation, and for that I am truly disappointed.

What is happening to our agricultural land?

I had a woman come to me for help with money. She told me a little bit of history of her family, I would like to relate it as a true story, showing what was and what is to all these settlements we have created in the interests of improving the agricultural output of the land.

Her Grandmother was seen working in the fields one day by the government agent here in Minneriya who was riding on horseback reviewing the area under his control. In those days there was a lot of responsibility and power vested in such a person to manage the area on behalf of the government. I did not ask her if this man was white or local, but it was in the days prior to independence.

I presume in the British times with modes of transport and foot paths the norm the horseback mode was the preferred mode of travel of the British which also gave them some sort of level of superiority over their natives!!!

Anyway he had seen that she was a hardworking person and asked her if he gave her some land whether she would cultivate it, to which she agreed. She therefore got 10 acres of ‘mada’ waterlogged and a similar area of ‘goda’ higher elevation. She and her husband diligently cultivated this and she recalls her father being a very respected member of the locality, where people bowed their heads as he had inherited a valuable income earning agricultural land, which his parents had built up through hard work over a long period of years.

On her inheritance she shared this with her sister and so got half of the land, which in her lifetime she had to sell parts and distribute parts with her 5 children to survive. I did not ask her if her husband was an alcoholic or dissipated much of the wealth she inherited but I gathered that it was the case. She is now reduced to wanting to borrow small sums to meet expenses.

I know the whole strip of land she inherited as it borders my property and I know at least 15 families live on this land including 4 of her children, with one who is trying to sell her property so she could move into her husband's village. There is almost no agricultural property left, possible just for a family to grow enough paddy for their own consumption and now an asset is considered the home or house and not agricultural land that had earlier been earmarked by the state. This is what has happened to our agricultural land.

Salad leaves

One of my subsidiary goals for 2009 is to increase the volume of fresh leaves I can grow and deliver to my customers, as well as giving them a choice of about 20 varieties from which to choose. If I have a dedicated vehicle just to deliver the leaves and have the order forms filled with customers leaving the money for their order in their homes, I can actually have this service more organized so I can deliver to multiple locations as many times a week as the demand and supply fit.

Before I get in over my head with the ambitions to grow more varieties of leaf with mint being the latest I am trying to find cuttings to plant, I have just been successful in growing the first crop of salad leaves all of which sold out on my last delivery on Monday and I have put a few more seeds on the ground. In my case there was never any use of pesticides and so I was very surprised that they had not been attacked my any sort of bug. I know how much pesticides the farmers in Nuwera Eliya, who do not grow it under green houses use, so I was proud to show this to my customers who had no hesitation in agreeing to take them. I did not tell the price, of Rs30/- a bunch, which is the price of all my leaves, though I know it cost me a lot more than that to produce.

I took a photo of both my salad leaves and ‘kola guava’ to post here. This is traditionally known as Nuwera Eliya produce but if one saw how well they grow here in Godagama, only 28km from Colombo people will be surprised.

Just making one other point on leaves, I have decided as part of this same exercise to learn what leaves are used for kola kanda and attempt to locate them growing wild in my property and carefully husband them. It is amazing how much the locals know of the leaves and the preparation method for mallung. I am not a great leaf eater myself and am slowly learning some of the secrets and will share them with you my reader as and when I learn about them. In this regard I am trying to prepare a kola kanda mix to be part of my delivery items, so that the preparer will not have to do too much in its preparation, which is always a problem in Colombo homes which now have fewer domestics than in the past. Those who are there know less and less in of the ways of preparing the various items and will one day require handbook to accompany the product.

the field trip to Peradeniya amd Gannoruwa on 11th December 2008

I must say at the outset that I did not go on this field trip but 25 from the Gamidiriya society of our village did go along with a similar number from the equivalent society in Minneriya, who were all female also went in a hired bus. The total cost of the journey was borne by a state body that had allocated funds for the education of farmers from all parts of the Island. I gleaned information from a friendly farmer who talked about it afterwards.

Whilst the intention is honorable the whole organization is self-defeating. I was told that there were people from all parts of the country in attendance and the program on offer was extensive. Apparently topics covered include, raising goats, chicken, dairy cattle, mushroom farming, beekeeping, along with the regular fruit and vegetable farming. This is of no use to farmers who are going to improve their knowledge about a specific interest that they may have, rather than be confused into pursuing something that at that moment sounds very interesting.

I therefore feel, advance notice should have been given of all the programs available, with each participant permitted to chose from a series of alternatives in advance. Then upon arrival at the location, they can then be sent to their area of interest to study the program in depth, and obtain the necessary literature in that field of interest. General knowledge in the whole sphere of agriculture and animal husbandry is not the intention of this plan.

I learnt that true to form, the government shops were closed at 3pm, so that none of the people were able to purchase seeds or any other items on offer, as their program finished long after. It is most absurd when they know that there are so many people from all parts of the island present to close the shop at that hour just to keep to the timetable of the government service and not satisfy the critical service to the people they are paid to serve.

Farmers including myself are inundated with different possibilities we can pursue some of which are totally unsuited to the prevailing conditions in our area. We have an incredibly heavy bureaucracy assigned to assist the farmer increase their output and become more efficient and cost effective. No wonder none of the intentions are carried out because of the lack of planning in presenting all available possibilities to the audience. Some simple logical and thoughtful modifications must be made to produce better results. Lets stop the wastage of public funds and hold the officers responsible for results.