News
Environment Minister: Sri Lanka wastes 5000 tonnes of cooked, uncooked food daily
By Ifham Nizam
Sri Lanka wastes nearly 5000 tonnes of cooked and uncooked food daily, says Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera.
Speaking at a meeting yesterday at the Environment Ministry to mark the International Awareness Day on Food Waste and Food Pollution Reduction, the Minister said according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, about a one third of the world’s food production was wasted, and that amounted to 1.3 billion tonnes a year.
About 40 percent of the crops produced in our country were wasted and about 5000 tonnes of cooked and uncooked food were thrown away daily. It was a huge economic loss to the country, he said.
Minister Amaraweera said worldwide, countries were closely monitoring the food shortages and contributory factors. “Therefore, Sri Lanka has a target of reducing food waste by 50 percent by 2030,” he said, adding that at present some 820 million people in the world were suffering from hunger.
Worldwide, food waste was estimated at USD 939 billion. There were a number of factors that contributed to food waste. “When we look at our country, food waste is due to improper processing, damage caused by animals, improper harvesting and storage methods,” he said.
Minister Amaraweera also noted that high food consumption in the world as well as in Sri Lanka was also a cause of food waste.
The first recorded famine in the history of Sri Lanka was during the reign of King Walagamba. That famine caused by improper maintenance of canals and irrigation and foreign invasions led to massive food shortages.
“Today, the world as a whole is facing a similar threat. There is also a risk of food shortages, especially due to the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the collapse of the job market and facilities network, rising food prices, the depletion of dollar reserves in poor countries,” he said.
Minister Amaraweera also said that food shortages had also been exacerbated by food-producing countries’s efforts to conserve their food reserves. The number of people suffering due to food shortages worldwide in 2019 was 118 million. But by the end of 2020, that number had risen to 768 million due to the pandemic.
“When we were little our mothers prepared meals sufficient for not only family members but also several others, thinking that there would be unexpected visitors. “If there were no visitors, our mothers processed leftovers. Aggala, a sweetmeat, was made from sundried cooked rice.
“Time has come for us to emulate our parents and grandparents in handling food. Therefore, on this International Food Awareness Day, I suggest that we follow the example of Arapirimasma (thrift) that our culture has taught us.”
“Arapirimasma
is a modern economic science. That is, to manage the resources to the fullest extent possible”.
By Saman Indrajith
Thousands of police and military personnel had left the services recently as they did not want to carry out illegal orders, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka told Parliament yesterday. According to the war-winning army commander 200 policemen have resigned during the past two months and 25,000 soldiers have left the army during the last two years.
“We urged the law enforcement and military officials not to follow illegal orders. We will reinstate them with back pay,” he said.
Fonseka also urged the President and the government MPs not to take people for fools.
“Sri Lanka owes 55 billion dollars to the world. Ranil’s plan is to borrow another seven billion during the next four years. So, in four years we will owe 62 billion to the world.
Ranil and his ministers ask us what the alternative to borrowing is. These are the people who destroyed the economy and society. They must leave. Then, we will find an alternative and develop the country,” he said, adding that the IMF loans had made crises in other nations worse.
“Ranil says that by 2025, we will have a budget surplus as in Japan, Germany and South Korea. These countries are economic power houses, and this comparison is ludicrous.”
By Shiran Ranasinghe
At least five technical personnel of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) resigned daily for overseas employment, a senior CEB official said.They included electrical engineers, electricians and foremen, he added.
“Most of them are quitting due to the economic crisis while others are simply disillusioned. Trained and experienced technical staff are in high demand in many countries,” he said.
CEB United Trade Union Alliance President Ranjan Jayalal said that the CEB had lost about 2,000 employees in recent times due to the above reasons.
“We had about 24,000 such personnel a few months ago. Now the number has come down to 22,000. A number of people had to retire on 31 December, 2022.
By Saman Indrajith
The government had decided to charge Rs 225,000 from those enrolling at the Institute of Engineering Technology, Katunayake under the National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA), Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said yesterday in Parliament.
Premadasa said that the institute awards the National Diploma in Engineering Sciences (NDES) and no fee was charged from students until 2023.The IET awards the National Diploma in Engineering Sciences under the three major fields of civil, electrical and mechanical engineering, and eight sub-fields.
“This is an institute that has created over ten thousand tier two engineers. NDES is a four year programme,” he said.
The opposition leader said that the sudden decision to charge 225,000 rupees from students at a time when the average Sri Lankan family is facing significant economic challenges is unfair.
“This institute offered free tuition. We should continue this tradition. A large number of engineers are leaving the country and we need to ensure that we have a continuous supply of engineers to ensure we can maintain our essential technical services,” he said.
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