News
Real experts now lament for not opposing govt.’s disastrous agricultural policy
By Ifham Nizam
The Academics’ Movement to Safeguard Agriculture (AMSA) Sri Lanka, a concerned group of University academia, representing Faculties of Agriculture and Technology, yesterday stressed that they would not allow a repeat of the mistake of last year when the government decided on a fertiliser policy that was a disaster to the country’s economy, particularly affecting the farming community.
Senior Professor Buddhi Marambe from the Faculty of Agriculture (University of Peradeniya stressed that they were now of the opinion that they should have come down hard and gone public about the devastation brought upon farmers by the government policy.
“Today, marks one calendar year since that irrational decision to ban the imports of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, two important categories of agricultural inputs that have contributed significantly in achieving national food security over the past six decades”, Prof. Marambe said.
He however maintained that the abrupt decision taken during the early part of the Yala season of 2021 to move into total organic agriculture starting from the Maha season of 2021/2022 had run into stiff resistance from many scientists in the field of agriculture.
Professor W. A. J. M. de Costa, Senior Professor and Chair of Crop Science, Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya told journalists that scientists, academia and a range of stakeholder groups had pleaded with the government to reverse the decision soon without causing an imminent threat to food security.
However, all such efforts had been in vein, said Professor Marambe, adding “We are now experiencing the impact of a man-made disaster.”
He said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s recent statement that his decision against providing chemical fertiliser was a mistake spoke volumes for the negative impacts of the unfortunate decision made a year ago.
The new Minister of Agriculture, at the time of assuming duties in office, jhad pledged to import chemical fertiliser and regain the status of self-sufficiency in rice, AMSA team said.
They also said Sri Lanka annually required about 2.3 to 2.4 million tonnes of rice. With the exception of 2016 and 2017, when large parts of Sri Lanka experienced a prolonged drought, the country’s rice production had exceeded its requirement since 2008.
“However, things have changed dramatically since the Maha season of 2021/2022 as the country is now more dependent on the rice imported from other countries like Myanmar, India, Pakistan and China.”
AMSA consists of a group of concerned academics in agriculture who have come together as a think-tank and a pressure group to voice their opinions and proposals for the recovery and subsequent development of Sri Lankan agriculture as a vibrant component of the national economy.
This movement has emerged in response to the non-scientific and non-professional approach adopted for agriculture by the government with the support of so-called intellectuals with half-baked science, especially on agriculture. SuAt the press conference, AMSA said they would present the short- to-medium-term implementable work plans aiming at the recovery of the agriculture sector of Sri Lanka by addressing the following segments, especially focusing on the crop production segment.
(a) Agricultural input supply: seeds and planting material, fertilizer, pesticides, machinery, and service-oriented functions such as precision agricultural technologies (b) Crop management packages: good agricultural practices (GAP), including integrated plant nutrient systems (IPNS) and integrated pest management systems (IPM) (c) Increasing local and export market potential: post-harvest handling, value addition, market models, and food system approach.
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Iran has sought the Indian intervention, at the highest level, to provide lifesaving support to the crews of empty Iranian vessels stranded just outside Sri Lanka’s 12-nautical mile territorial waters off Galle.
Sources familiar with the issue said that Iran had brought the developing situation to the attention of New Delhi as the crews of almost 20 vessels, included Indian nationals. Sources stressed that the group of vessels that unloaded crude oil a couple of months back were now stranded within Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The US Navy torpedoed an unarmed Iran frigate, returning from India, on 04 March, 2026, about 19 nautical miles off the Galle coast. The unprovoked attack killed nearly 100 Iranians.
The Iranian Embassy in Colombo has inquired from the Indian High Commission of their response to the situation, sources said. The US has issued a global warning against providing food, water, medicine and other services to the Iranian vessels. The outcome of Iran-India talks on the issue at hand was not known, though sources asserted India may not throw its weight behind Iranian efforts to address the issue.
Responding to The Island queries, sources said both Sri Lanka and India were in a dilemma due to the US warning. India couldn’t ignore the plight of the Indian crew members and the Iranian vessels in its backyard.
The Sri Lankan government remains tight-lipped about the vessels stranded in its EEZ. Our efforts to elicit a response from relevant authorities were in vain. In addition to Indians, there are Bangladeshis among the crew members. Iran has explicitly stated the responsibilities of the countries concerned to provide assistance in terms of international law.
The Iranian position was articulated by its Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Dr.Alireza Delkhosh, recently. In a special statement, Ambassador Delkhosh emphasised that in terms of the Convention on the Law of the Sea (Article 98) as well as SOLAS and SAR
Conventions, Sri Lanka couldn’t refrain from providing the needs of the Iranian vessels stranded in its EEZ.
SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem lambasted the NPP government in Parliament for failing to provide assistance to the Iranian ships. The former Minister alleged that the government was simply carrying out dictates of the US. He strongly criticised the way Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath was handling the issue.
MP Namal Rajapaksa, who is in remand custody over the controversial Airbus deal, was further remanded until October 27 by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court yesterday (13).
Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama made the order after considering submissions by officers of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption and lawyers representing Rajapaksa.
Sri Lanka’s economy is expected to sustain its recovery over the next two years, although growth is projected to moderate amid mounting global uncertainties, according to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest World Economic Outlook.
In its World Economic Outlook 2026: Resilience Under Strain, Urgent Choices, the IMF projects Sri Lanka’s economy to expand by 4% in 2026, slowing to 3.7% in 2027, following estimated growth of 5% in 2025.
Inflation, meanwhile, is forecast to rise to 5.3% in 2026 and 5.4% in 2027, reversing the average deflation rate of 0.5% recorded in 2025.
Unemployment is expected to remain steady at 3.9% throughout the forecast period.
The projections come amid growing pressure on the global economy from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, elevated energy prices, geopolitical tensions and trade disruptions.
Sri Lanka’s external position is also expected to weaken, with the current account balance projected to shift from a surplus of 1.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025 to deficits of 0.5% in 2026 and 0.3% in 2027.
The IMF’s outlook points to continued economic expansion in Sri Lanka, but with slower growth, rising inflation and a narrowing external surplus giving way to current account deficits over the forecast period.
Heavy showers above 100 mm are likely at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Central, and North-western provinces and in Anuradhapura district.
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