Our rice crisis: A holistic solution – I

By Emeritus Professor Ranjith Senaratne
Department of Crop Science, University of Ruhuna (ransen.ru@gmail.com)

Present scenario

Recent prohibitive prices of rice and its unavailability caused untold hardships and inconveniences to the people of the country. The problem was so severe that it posed a serious constraint even on celebrating the new year and Thai Pongal this year, which was unprecedented in living memory. Given the complex, intractable multi-faceted and multi-dimensional nature of the problem, there are no quick fixes. The value chain of rice encompasses the entire process of production, from the initial planting of rice by the farmer to the final sale of processed rice to the consumer. This chain involves many stages, such as land preparation, planting, fertilization, irrigation, weed management, pest and disease control, harvesting, threshing, drying, milling, grading and sorting, storage, packaging, distribution, and retail. This invariably entails a large number of diverse actors and players, including farmers, traders, millers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers and a host of public sector institutions, including the Dept. of Agriculture, Meteorological Department, Agrarian Services Department, Paddy Marketing Board, Consumers Affairs Authority and banks. Besides, the rice value chain is closely linked to several sectors, including land, water, environment, energy, transport, machinery and fertiliser which further exacerbate the issue, adding to its immensity and intractability.

There have been a plethora of newspaper articles and discussions, including useful and constructive ones, on how to deal with the rice crisis. However, they have mainly addressed only certain aspects of this huge, multi-dimensional and complex problem. Given the nature, magnitude, urgency, complexity and far-reaching social, economic, health and political implications and ramifications of the issue, a holistic systems approach is essential, without further delay, in order to prevent the recurrence of such untoward situations in future and to find a sustainable solution to this “island–shaking” issue. This article attempts to define this critical problem and outline the interventions needed to address it effectively.

Key problems and challenges and proposed interventions

A problem well defined is half solved. Therefore, I wish to identify the key factors contributing to this multi-dimensional problem and outline the interventions needed.

= Lack of required data and databases and unreliability and non-interoperability of the data available.

= Uncontrolled and unregulated cultivation of rice in almost all districts without paying due attention to land suitability and potential yield and cultivation of varieties for profit maximization without regard for the consumer preference and national demand.

= Inefficient and indiscriminate use and management of resources.

= Low and stagnant yields, resulting in high cost of production and high prices of rice.

= Presence of a large number of economically non-viable fragmented paddy fields and small holders (more than 70% of paddy holdings are less than 1 ha and only about 5% of farmers have holdings greater than 2 ha).

= Prohibitive prices of the imported pesticides and weedicides and the lack of controlled prices. As in paints, discounts up to 40%, or even more, are given to large scale farmers, while the resource-poor small farmers, who are the vast majority, get only a measly discount, resulting in higher cost of production and less profit.

= Inadequate adoption of modern technology.

= Inefficient, inadequate and outdated field advisory service with hardly any application of digital technology.

= Heavy post-harvest losses up to 15-20%, including during storage.

= Lack of satisfactory marketing channels and failure of the governments to date to regulate the oligopolistic competition resulting in unfair prices for the farmers and consumers.

= Announcing the guaranteed price of paddy by the government only after the harvest, instead of prior to the beginning of the cultivation season; this provides no opportunity and space for the farmers to decide whether to go into commercial production and, if so, to what extent.

= Voiceless farmers and toothless farmer organizations.

= Lack of robust laws governing the hoarding of essential food commodities, including rice, by some large scale millers, traders and farmers

= Extreme climatic conditions.

Defining the problem

Agriculture consumes over 80% of fresh water and occupies around 40% of land in the country which is not sustainable given the other important competing considerations. Moreover, of the 8 million national workforce, about 2 million (25%) is engaged in the agriculture sector of which around 1 million is in the paddy sub-sector. Paddy, with a total extent of over 700,000 ha, is cultivated in over 20 districts in the county and an appreciable yield variation is observed between districts, i.e. from 3 to over 7 metric tons/ha depending on the soil and climatic conditions, management regime, variety used, etc. As the national average is only about 4.3 metric tons/ha, there is considerable scope for yield improvement by cultivating rice in high potential areas and improving crop management. Besides, in order to produce 1 kg of rice, nearly 2,000 litres of water is generally required in Sri Lanka, which is extremely high and unsustainable.

Lack of reliable data related to the rice sub-sector

This issue has been highlighted time and again and the high priority accorded by the government to transform Sri Lanka into a digital economy should prove very useful in this regard. Given below are some key indices that need to be determined with reasonable accuracy through digital interventions in order to address the rice issue.

= Extent of paddy fields cultivated district-wise during Yala and Maha seasons, including information on ownership and mode of production, whether self or “anda”? Each holding and its owner should be given a QR code so that the vital statistics and facts could be digitally recorded, which should then be used in providing the fertiliser subsidy, bank loan, crop insurance, etc., and selling the produce. This should be updated at the beginning of each season. In addition to the staff of the Department of Agriculture, Agrarian Services Department, Mahaweli Development Authority and the Vidatha Resource Centres (260) across the island, the Universities in the respective provinces could also be harnessed in this regard.

= Distribution of paddy holdings district-wise based on size, i.e. small (< 0.5 ha) , medium (> 0.5 and < 5 ha) and large (> 5 ha).

= Extent cultivated district-wise identifying the holdings cultivated for personal consumption and commercial production

= Level of usage of fertilisers, weedicides, pesticides, labour, water, machinery, etc.

= Average yield, district-wise, for Yala and Maha for the major types cultivated, i.e. Red Kakulu, White Kakulu, Nadu and Samba.

At present, a standard procedure is not followed when reporting yield, thus the figures reported cannot be compared because of different sampling procedures, sample sizes, moisture content, etc., and rice is sold in different forms, i.e. with husk. after milling, or after both milling and polishing.

In order to ensure interoperability of data, the procedure recommended by the FAO must be followed. (https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/909e539d-60eb-49d1-9539-192d262176ec/content)

= National requirement of the said types of rice with district-wise break-down and data on fluctuations in demand and price across the year.

=Classification and mapping of rice cultivating areas/fields (i.e. low, moderate and high potential) in each district/AGA division using digital technologies. such as GIS and remote sensing. Commercial paddy cultivation should not be permitted in low potential areas/fields and no subsidies should be provided for those cultivating in marginal fields for home consumption.

=Identification of outstanding lead farmers in each AGA division and district, so as to obtain their services to improve paddy production in the area.

= Identification of districts with excess, adequate and deficit rice production showing the degree (%) of excess/deficit.

= Paddy storage capacity of public sector and private sector institutions district-wise. (Information gathered under 9 and 10 will prove useful in minimising the “food mileage”, carbon footprint, cost of transport and market price of rice, and in identifying areas where storage capacity should be expanded and new storage facilities should be established.

= Quantities of rice used by industry, including SMEs, for making noodles, confectionaries, beer and other major rice-based products

Inefficient use and poor management of resources

Agriculture, as said earlier, consumes over 80% of water and occupies around 40% of land in the country; this is excessive and disproportionate, given the needs of the other sectors. For instance, paddy is grown in over 20 districts in Sri Lanka with a total extent over 700,000 ha. Besides, more or less the same amount of fertilisers and pesticides are used in the paddy production across the country, irrespective of the yield potential, i.e. 2,500 or > 7,500 kg ha-1. Consequently, a considerable variation in the cost of production (CoP) of a kilo of rice is evident among districts, i.e. between in Ampara and Kalutara. Therefore, every attempt should be made to expand the cultivation of paddy in high potential areas as far as possible so as make to rice available to the consumer at a cheaper price and improve the socio-economic standard of the paddy farmers.

Today water is a growing source of global conflict in nearly 50 countries in the world. Climate change and the ever-increasing population combined with growing economic and social imperatives and needs will create intense competition for water. Therefore, it is important to manage water efficiently. If suitability mapping is done and agro-climatic and soil potentials are optimized and matched with the agronomic requirements of rice, then the same level of production could be achieved from the dry zone with about half of the current extent cultivated. However, in order to ensure food security, commercial paddy cultivation in high potential areas in the wet zone should be maintained and necessary steps should be taken to remove the legal impediments for the cultivation of other crops in marginal paddy fields in the wet zone. As around 70% of the fertilisers and pesticides imported are used for paddy, the above proposal will help not only to reduce the price of rice and the imports to save much needed foreign exchange, but also to cut down environmental and health issues associated with paddy cultivation.

Excess of unproductive labour

In Malaysia, only 11.1% of the labour force is in agriculture, which contributes nearly 8 % to the GDP. On the other hand, Sri Lanka with over 25% of its labour force in agriculture contributes only around 7% to the GDP. While factors such as greater value addition in agriculture in Malaysia have contributed to the above situation, the low productivity of Sri Lankan agricultural labour is a major contributor to it. Therefore, by improving the land and labour productivity, about 50% of the agricultural labour force, i.e. about one million, can be transferred to the manufacturing and service sectors after reskilling and retooling without affecting rice production and offering better socio-economic conditions to the marginal farmers. (To be continued)