King coconut water – the wonder drink – cure for all ailments

One of the great tragedies of nutrition in Sri Lanka is the lack of appreciation for both the King Coconut (Thambili – some friends call me thambili!) and Coconut (Kurumba) water as a liquid refreshment. If one google’s this you can find numerous references as to its incredible powers over ailments and wellness.(e.g reference - http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/coconut-water.html)

I have a few hundred king coconut trees on my property, but am finding it increasingly hard to sell it. When I returned to Sri Lanka in 2004, I was able to sell about 8000 nuts a month, both from my property and those of my neighbors. I worked hard going around plucking the nuts and taking them to market in Colombo myself with a man Friday. I personally carried bunches to the kades on the road, chatted with the kade mudalali and generally had a one to one with my customers. They usually buy a bunch at the rate of Rs15 each and sell them for between Rs25 and Rs30 a king coconut.

Since of late, I have lost all the business due to my accident, and lack of transport, however till then I was steadily losing my customer base, because all the one man sales outlets were removed courtesy of the UDA or Defense Secretary which both amount to the same person. He removed them as they had no permission to sell this on the public highway. He is technically correct, but did not afford them an opportunity to get the license or permission. Instead he gave permission for people who obtained a DIMO Batta from leases at People’s Bank at Rs30K a month(they are struggling to make the payment) to sell their wares like the Coca Colas in those places. They are either people more favorable to the UPFA and were some of the people helped by the Divi Neguma. Does he spare a thought for those whose livelihoods were lost, who amount to the same number of people?

More importantly, while other countries scramble to get hold of this refreshment due to its nutritional benefits, we in Sri Lanka are moving in reverse, removing the chances available for the smalltime entrepreneurs like myself and my customers to exist selling the most wholesome beverage on the face of the earth. This is what is called economic growth by the Sri Lankan Government. In this pursuit of America Centric policies of cleaning up the roads and permitting orderly establishments, by preventing University Students from partaking in a healthy drink between classes is tantamount to even obstructing the freedom to learn. I know when I have a cool ‘thambili’ that refreshes me, I feel more energized in the pursuit of whatever activity I may indulge in at the time. I am sure this holds true for students or any passers-by who trust a King Coconut over any bottled beverage.

Milk! Have you got milk? Oh what I would do for a fresh glass of unadulterated milk!

Two of my cows in Godagama, Meegoda have just calved. The man who takes care of the cattle, decided to play a game of passive aggressive behavior against the supervisor and decided not to milk the cows. That is a serious problem as cows that are bred for milking must be milked, preferably twice daily, as otherwise they could be prone to disease as their calves can only drink a certain quantity.

In the case of local animals, most are not milked as they are grazing herds that lead a nomadic life and calves and mothers are taken out of pens in the morning and taken to far off grazing lands before they come home for the nights. I realized this when one of the boys who came to work for me from Ampara said that his family have a herd of over 100 animals and none were milked even for home consumption. The wealth is in the head of cattle, and whenever they need money they sell a bunch of animals for the best price they can get at the time. No doubt they end up in some abattoir to be eaten for flesh!

So we had to rush around to find a solution. Finding experienced people to manage a small herd is now impossible in Sri Lanka. They either have their own animals or once they get efficient and earn a decent income realize it is too much like hard work and change careers to easy and better paying jobs like security guards in Colombo doing night duty! So the next best was for me to use the services of a person who has his own animals, to come to my cowshed (too late in the morning) to milk the animals, and for him to take the milk along with his to the chilling center. Though his skill means he takes twice the volume of milk my lazy geezer could manage with his dexterity, I only get a fraction of the money per liter though with double the volume, it is still a better total income than the former state.

Two issues arise from this actual example. We are expected to become self sufficient in Milk production, by two principle means. One by large scale operations run with professionals, with a huge capital investment that requires a return, the other is from small timers with a few animals, who have to work very hard once they get the skills and knowledge of taking care of a herd, something that takes about 5 to 10 years of practical experience. The latter scheme has no future due to low productivity and few considering this as a livelihood. Simply do a survey of the government vets all over the country and get their first hand opinion of the “kiri goviyas” within their jurisdiction to get an opinion of the real deal. The overwhelming evidence is that despite the heavy emphasis by the State to develop this sector it is destined for failure. We are about to import many heifers from Australia or New Zealand. Who are we expecting to distribute them to?

Why is the arsenic issue dragging on? It will not go away on its own steam!!

The Lakbima newspaper on Sunday carried another article about the Malaysian accredited laboratory that carried out tests on unnamed pesticides sent to it by the Ven Athureliya Rathena, which had confirmed the existence not only of Arsenic, but also of Mercury and Cyanide.

Whilst not disputing the accuracy of the results of the said laboratory, one must always qualify this by being able to make a relative study of the acceptable norms. After all we all consume arsenic, mercury and cyanide everyday, but in proportions that are generally too small to make any effect on our bodies and is present in many of the foods we eat irrespective of whether they are grown organically or with the use of pesticides. So in order for comparison we must know if the amounts represented in the article are too high or normal. I cannot comment on this as my knowledge does not extend to the levels of arsenic that is found in naturally occurring substances which we ingest nor do I know the acceptable levels before the body can treat it as either poisonous or liable to be toxic.

It is surprising that all the pesticide companies have kept "MUMM" about this fact so far fearing to tread on this murky subject hoping it will die a natural death. I am not happy with this stance as it smacks to ignorant me as being one done out of self interest as any word uttered in defense will exact revenge from the anti pesticide lobby and hence the course of action to say nothing is the best form of defense.

We must put this topic out of our system as it has caused so much anxiety amongst people and nothing has been done to allay their fears as the government seems inept at explaining to our public who lack an element of common sense due to the poor education that does not teach them to think. This goes back to the lack of the ability of the general public to sift through information in order to make a judgment for themselves without being prompted by interested parties with their own agenda. When will we ever get out of the brainwashed tag attached to us, and have instead the thinker tag attached instead?

It is just this sort of behavior that enables interested parties on both sides of the debate to make hay while the poor consumer, and farmer is left in the lurch and be accused of a numerous litany of wrongs, few of which he is able to understand!

It is time that the Government takes upon itself the responsibility of explaining what is and is not acceptable and what they or others should do about it with regard to this issue as we all want to improve the quality of the food we eat with reduced amounts of harmful substances that affect our health. We cannot make this judgment until we know enough about the issue in order to make the choices in favor of our health and those near and dear to us.

Until such time this is done we are groping in the dark not knowing whether what we use and what we eat is good or bad and what are naturally occurring that we can do something about and what are man induced that are harmful and not and come out with a compromise acceptable to all of us.

I never thought I would have anything in common with the Ven Athureliya Rathana Thera

In today's Sunday Times, there was a very forceful statement by the above MP who represents the Gampaha District for the UPFA under the JHU, which was that "Agrochemical Terrorism was worse than LTTE terrorism".

If one looks at the history of some of the International Agro Chemical Behemoths, such as Archer Daniels Midland, Monsanto, Cargill they have engaged in skillful chemical based agriculture, which includes GM (genetically modified) strains of Soya and Wheat which have made leaps in the productivity and output of some crops, enough to save the world from starvation.

In Sri Lanka's case the local Companies representing these and other multinational companies sell billions of rupees of toxic weedicides, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides collectively referred to as "BIOCIDES"to our poor farmers, who barely eke out an existence.

I have as a farmer used my share of these due to various factors, a major reason being the complete ruination of the soil over years of overuse, which necessitates further use in addition to chemical fertilizers to get a half way decent crop.

This proves that in order to get the farmers out of this catch 22 mere banning the use is not the answer. It has to be a gradual reduction in use coupled more importantly with the improvement of the soil, to historic levels, by considerable intelligent use of knowledge. We have to identify all the soils, break them up into areas, and make concerted efforts at improving the soil with the correct additives. If the Rs50B currently being wasted on importing and subsidizing chemical fertilizer, is used first in improving the fields for the use of mechanical means, as labor is now almost extinct in agriculture, then the soil needs to be improved, further the seeds used should be more adaptable to local conditions, and not the imported seeds one sees for sale.

By a careful long term plan, we can improve the resistance of local varieties to the common pests and by mixed farming practices both enrich the soil, and grow complementary crops, conserving the waste of water that currently takes place. It requires a huge investment in education of the farming community, that is those willing to farm, not the girls who go to Agricultural Faculty who do not want to dirty their painted nails.

There was one interesting thing he mentioned in his Q&A session which was that if Khomba or Neem ( also known as Margosa) seeds are crushed and sprinkled, the pests would avoid the area. I have tried so hard to get the local boys to collect all the Khomba seeds that fall of the trees in August and September in my area with a handsome payout, but they have singularly failed to do so. Is it that they are too lazy or that they have enough money? I don't have the answer, but it goes to show that even if we have the will the way has to be shown to the people to appreciate the importance of that.

We have to educate everyone including the youth on the value of such things like the Neem seed. This process cannot be done in a short time. There are insurmountable obstacles as the money in Chemicals is huge, and the pressure groups enormous to prevent politicians taking action, but it has to be done in a way that is practical and equitable, and we can then wean the companies to produce natural means of control, and better techniques more suitable to our soil, climate and conditions. We need a blue print on how to achieve this over a period of time, coupled with a conscious emphasis on training people in sustainable agriculture.

It is the people in the end that have to be persuaded, and there I find the majority not interested in the alternatives, which also reflect the government level of inaction. Until our society becomes more energetic, energized and not dependent on others for their employment we can go forward. It is an electorally unpopular move and the politicians who want sycophants around them do not want to miss a beat and do something unpopular, and so the nation dies.

Like the enlightened priest said, 20.000 have died due to poisoning and a further 20,000 are dying a slow death and we do nothing about it. Lets prevent the next 20,000 contracting these illnesses all this at a huge cost to the nation.

"Sustainable non-toxic Agriculture"

There was an extremely useful commentary today on page 8 of the Island Newspaper (July 22nd) by the biodiversity and "analog forestry" expert Dr Ranil Senanayake a grandson of Mr FR Senanayake with the above caption. It is very unfortunate that the very logical and practical suggestions made by him does not get sufficient prominence in especially the Sinhala media for the benefit of our rural farmers.

Unlike those who advocate a complete ban of biocides (pesticides, herbicides and fungicides) he recommends a gradual weaning off of our farmers of the definite overuse of the said biocides in order to improve the quality of our soils in order to return to a more productive and sustainable future in our Agriculture. In the same vein as I have been horrified by the increase in the subsidy on chemical fertilizer to a cost of Rs50Billion, we must try and reduce this dependence which has a very high carbon footprint in a country that is pretending to enhance its reputation as an environmentally sensitive and "GREEN" country.

The acts of the state for purely short term political gains is raping our future, by increasing the use and not reducing its use(fossil carbon). We must educate the people on this folly. It is not easy, but must be done to save our agricultural future before our land becomes completely infertile.

The article goes on to explain the food chain process, where right at the top we humans are consuming a lethal toxin to the extent that "WE SUFFER THE HIGHEST PESTICIDE RELATED DEATH TOLL ON THE PLANET" That is something for us to think about, as it is encouraged and not discouraged by the state!

So please lets start now before it is too late, understand the dependence, NOT REFER TO PESTICIDES AS BEHETH AND INSTEAD CALL IT WASA VISA, and give our farmers real help in presenting an alternative method at achieving the same or better net incomes for our farmers.

Thanks Ranil keep up the good work and try and get your points to the powers in subtle or direct ways, you owe it as a duty to create the vision of the country of your and our forefathers. Try and offer your services at no cost as a public service, as no one in SL agriculture can afford your NGO reflective remuneration.

CKDUE - An opinion down on the range

Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Etiology, (CKDUE) is a huge problem in the North Central Province but also to a lesser degree in the North Western Province and Uva Province as well. There are various studies being carried out by both state and non state sectors to find the cause of this as it is a debilitating disease that leads to kidney failure and death, and the a long list of people requiring dialysis and kidney transplants, which the state cannot currently cope with due to the lack of resources in the health sector to meet the needs of the suffering patients. It is a pathetic situation which innocent civilians are confronted with and to which they see no solution in sight.

Into this issue the University of Kelaniya team pounced on the Arsenic story, with prominence scaring the unsuspecting public. They were very clear that this is a result of the pesticides and weedicides being used by the farmers over a prolonged period of time. Arsenic in Pesticides is illegal and is banned, but they maintain that this along with traces of Mercury as well as other poisonous elements are present in these products. It is not up to us the casual observer to comment on but the government to issue a definitive statement on the facts. I understand that a resolution as to the real cause of the problem is still to be made, even though the Kelaniya team are absolutely certain that this is a case of Arsenic poisoning, as they have backed up their evidence by supporting evidence of patients in areas such as Padaviya, with Arsenic poisoning signs.

One must also look into the other aspects such as fluoride that naturally occurs in the area, and over ingestion of fluoride can also be harmful to the health as it is with the other elements such as Zinc and Cadmium that are are blamed in combination with Arsenic and Mercury. All this must sound gobbledygook to the local villager who does not even have access to science teaching in those schools to know what it is that is causing this. So whatever the newspaper reports as the likely cause is the one used by them in the conversations we have in this regard.

It is important that studies that have commenced over 5 years ago come to some sort of conclusion as without it we do not know what corrective action is to be taken immediately to prevent the problem getting out of control.

At present the football is being kicked around between, the ITI, Kelaniya experts, the government labs and the Customs, and the Department of Agriculture with occasional help from the debates in Parliament in this regard. It does not bode well for a proper unbiased inspection of the facts as all these factions seem to have agendas, and it is possible that no one wishes to confront the truth that may be unpalatable.

So let me add my two cents too. I have lived a while in this troublesome area. I take the water I drink from my farm in Godagama, where I cannot prove but believe the spring water is safe from all this as the area contains many bottling plants that produce SLS standard bottled water for sale all over the island. I also think that overuse of Pesticides and Weedicides, as well as Chemical Fertilizer, has fouled up the local groundwater supply and all the drinking water sources that when compared with naturally occurring chemicals such as Fluoride, and the use of Aluminium cooking utensils, that lie unwashed or are used as water containers allow a certain unhealthy proportion of Aluminium to leach into the drinking water supply.

A combination of a cocktail mix of all these seem to lead in some cases to these diseases. It is time that all diseases are investigated for causes relating to the water supply, as this appears to be the most likely source of contamination. It is also noteworthy that there are many other places that use as much or more fertilizer and pesticides per acre in the Island that does not have this kidney disease leading one to automatically assume that there are other factors as well that are the root causes.

I am no expert, and there are numerous experts and projects currently being undertaken to find the true cause of this disease, and I can only hope without further delay, that some rational solution can be found, and hitherto the Kelaniya University seem to get undue publicity leading to alarmist rumors that are very harmful to agriculture, consumption of our local produce and also to the medical profession. While they may be forceful and convinced in the correctness of their argument, they have not been able to do a good job to convince the majority of doubters of this fact.. We must therefore be careful in the evaluation process, to come up with the likely cause along with the probability of this disease occurring.

Lets not just on the case of the Multinationals just yet until we have an alternative practical solution to addressing this issue and not make it a knee jerk one on order to satisfy short term agendas.

Minneriya Tank –“the latest project as per the local Farmers and Fisherman”

I just had a chat on the phone with my fellow neighboring farmers in the Hingurakgoda area and they tell me a new tale out of Alice in Wonderland. So I just repeat what I heard and the reader should determine its likelihood, but the farmers firmly believe this story, which when it passes from one mouth to the next adds another dimension.

For centuries the waters of the Minneriya has been used for agriculture and primarily, for paddy cultivation, especially after it was rehabilitated in the early 20^th century. Then latterly due to the size and ease there is a large fresh water fishing industry that provides the livelihood for a couple of hundred families. There is enough water generally to cultivate two seasons. Usually once the water has been given for agriculture the water level in the tank drops sufficiently in August and September when the need for water stops, and the tank then becomes a huge plain of green where the famous Minneriya Elephant Gathering takes place. This has the added benefit of making it a tourist destination, especially in the off season of August and September to fill the local hotels and provide employment to the trackers and jeep drivers and owners and related services.

Recently, I am told a tender had been given to a private party to clear the tank for the take-off and landing of sea planes. This same party I was told was also given the go ahead to begin a pleasure boat service on the Minneriya tank, which hitherto only had hollowed out wooden fishing craft. Added to that I was told trees are being cut in the Minneriya National Park to facilitate the safe landing of the aircraft, and that too is a prohibited activity in a National Park, for which permission is not usually granted.

For such aircraft landings the water level has to be a minimum, and in many seasons, once the water is used for irrigation, the level will drop below this minimum. This then implies that water will not be released for needed irrigation due to the need to maintain a minimum level and farmers will suffer substantial crop loss. I was also told that the sound of planes landing will affect the egg laying characteristics of the local lake fish and that will reduce the potential catch. Local people are up in arms but this has not reached the press yet, either because the facts I have stated may be incorrect or no one has bothered to investigate.