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Home gardening must shift from production fix to nutrition strategy – Prof. Marambe

Published

3 months ago

2026/05/8

Sitting from Left: Prof. Shiromi Perera, DG, NSF, Prof. Renuka Silva, Wayamba University, Thusitha Malalasekara, Member, NSF Media Committee, Dr Sudath Samaraweera, Chairman, NSF, Prof. K. K. D. S. Ranaweera, Emeritus Professor, University of Sri Jayawardenapura and Dr Hiranya S. Jayawickrama Consultant Community Physician, Family Health Bureau.

The notion that home gardening can be treated as a blanket remedy for Sri Lanka’s deepening agricultural crisis is fundamentally misplaced, Senior Professor of Crop Science at the University of Peradeniya, Buddhi Marambe has warned.

Delivering the keynote address at the Science Forum on Food Security held at the National Science Foundation (NSF) on 29 April 2026, Prof. Marambe cautioned that while home gardens have an important role, they cannot substitute systemic solutions required to address structural weaknesses in the country’s food production sector.

Speaking at the forum, held under the theme, ‘Facing Agriculture Crisis – Home Gardening as a Tool’, Prof. Marambe said Sri Lanka’s food security challenges were increasingly shaped by shrinking agricultural land per capita, climate volatility and rising input costs.

He noted that global agricultural land per person had fallen sharply from about 1.45 hectares in 1961 to 0.6 hectares in 2023, while in Asia it had declined to 0.35 hectares. In Sri Lanka, he said, the figure had dropped further from 0.17 hectares to just 0.13 hectares over the same period, underscoring severe land constraints.

Against this backdrop, Prof Marambe said home gardening could not be expected to compensate for the loss of large-scale production systems such as paddy cultivation, which depended on wetlands that could not be replicated in residential spaces.

He also pointed to the growing impact of extreme weather events, citing Cyclone Ditwah (2025), which brought record 24-hour rainfall of 375 mm in parts of the country and caused extensive damage to paddy and other field crops. Climate-related losses in paddy production were estimated at 35.4 per cent, with policy-related disruptions accounting for a further 34.1 per cent.

Several districts, including Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Batticaloa, recorded damage to over 20,000 hectares of cultivated land, he noted, warning that such shocks are becoming more frequent and unpredictable.

Prof. Marambe speaking at the science forum

Prof. Marambe highlighted economic pressures on agriculture, particularly the volatility in fertiliser prices. Citing global market data, he said urea prices had peaked at nearly USD 750 per tonne in early 2026 before easing marginally, placing additional strain on farmers.

Referring to the COVID-19 pandemic experience, he cautioned against unstructured promotion of home gardening, noting that during lockdowns many households had turned to cultivating crops such as ginger and turmeric, eventually leading to market gluts that disrupted livelihoods of commercial producers.

“Different crises require different solutions,” he said, arguing that home gardening should not be seen as a universal production substitute but rather as a targeted intervention.

He stressed that the most practical and sustainable role of home gardening lay in addressing household nutrition rather than bulk food production. At a time when rising food prices were contributing to nutritional decline, he said, home gardens should be reoriented towards improving dietary diversity.

“Even small-scale interventions such as keeping a few hens for eggs to obtain daily protein requirement or cultivating leafy vegetables in limited space can significantly strengthen household nutrition security,” he said.

Prof. Marambe advocated a shift towards “nutrition-focused home gardening”, integrating crops and small livestock within urban and rural homesteads. He also pointed to successful models of urban farming, community gardens in Colombo flats, and school gardening initiatives supported by development partners.

He said such systems, if properly structured, could play a meaningful role in cushioning vulnerable populations against food price shocks while improving dietary outcomes.

However, he reiterated that home gardening must be viewed as one component within a broader agricultural strategy rather than a standalone solution to Sri Lanka’s food security challenges.

The forum, organised by the Media and Event Management Division of NSF under the purview of the Ministry of Science and Technology, brought together leading experts in food science including Emeritus Professor K. K. D. S. Ranaweera, Prof. Renuka Silva and Dr Hiranya Jayawickrema, alongside representatives from print, electronic and social media.

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New Chairperson and Members appointed to the Finance Commission

Published

10 hours ago

2026/07/22

Priyan

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed Ms N. R. Anees as the new Chairperson and a member of the Finance Commission.

J. M. C. J. Wijetunga and K. Karunaharan have been appointed as the other members of the Commission.

The letters of appointment were presented to the appointees by the Secretary to the President, Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, at the Presidential Secretariat ton Monday (20) afternoon

The appointments were made to fill the vacancies createdy following the expiry of the terms of office of the previous members of the Finance Commission.

(PMD)

News

True leadership is not about titles or power, but about acting responsibly for the well-being of others – Prime Minister

Published

12 hours ago

2026/07/22

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that true leadership is not about titles or power, but about acting responsibly, with compassion, and working for the well being of the others.

The Prime Minister made these remarks while attending the President’s Guide Award and Prime Minister’s Award Ceremony, organized by the Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association, one of the country’s leading voluntary organizations dedicated to empowering girls and young women. The ceremony was held on Sunday (19th July )at Temple Trees in Colombo.

During the event, the Prime Minister presented medals and certificates to the award recipients.

A total of 350 awards were presented at this year’s ceremony, comprising 338 President’s Guide Awards and 12 Prime Minister’s Awards, in recognition of the recipients’ discipline, resilience, integrity, and commitment to serving others.

Addressing the occasion, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that one of the greatest strengths of the Girl Guides association is its commitment to providing equal opportunities to every child, regardless of their background or abilities. The Prime Minister also emphasized that true leadership is not defined by titles or power, but by acting responsibly, listening with compassion, and working for the well-being of others.

The Prime Minister further noted that while women had limited opportunities in the past, today increasing opportunities are being created for girls and women across all sectors, and young women are making remarkable progress in every field. The Prime Minister further stressed that every girl and young woman deserves equal opportunities to improve themselves, noting that the country needs young women leaders who are ready to step forward to build a better future for Sri Lanka.

The Prime Minister also highlighted that, particularly at a time when Sri Lanka is undertaking significant economic and democratic reforms, achieving sustainable national progress requires not only economic growth but also the development of citizens who uphold strong ethical values and social responsibility. In this regard, she commended the invaluable contribution made by the Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association.

Guided by its motto, “Be Prepared,” the Girl Guiding Movement in Sri Lanka was first established on 21 March 1917 at Kandy High School by Miss Jenny Calverley Green. Today, the movement operates through seven branches; Butterflies, the Little Friends, the Guides, the Rangers, the Youth, the Differently Abled Guides, and the Community Guiding Units, catering to different age groups and abilities. The President’s Guide Award is the highest honour that can be achieved by a Girl Guide and is awarded only to those who successfully complete the required challenges, written and oral examinations, and the BP Challenge. The Prime Minister’s Award is presented as the highest recognition within the Ranger Guide section.

The event was attended by at the President of the Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association Swarnika Pitigala, Chief Commissioner Dr. Kushantha Herath, President’s Guide Commissioner Pushpa Perera, Prime Minister’s Guide Commissioner Aruni Karunaratne, other senior officials of the Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association, President’s Guides and Prime Minister’s Guides, as well as a large number of their parents.

(Prime Minister’s Media Division)

News

Customs asked to resume probe or face legal action

Published

20 hours ago

2026/07/22

Sahan Weerasooriya

Rs. 16 bn BMW revenue fraud:

Public interest litigation activist Nagananda Kodituwakku has said he will initiate appropriate proceedings against Director General of Customs, Wimal S.K. Liyanagama, in terms of the Anti-Corruption Act No 9 of 2023, unless the Customs carries out a revenue fraud inquiry to recover approximately Rs 16 bn in lost government revenue.

General Secretary of Vinivida Foundation, and former Customs officer, Kodituwakku said that though the Department, in response to his request for a meeting to discuss the issue, in writing, assured them that the investigation was underway, they found that the actual situation was not so.

Kodituwakku alleged that the Customs Chief had neglected what he called statutory duties under the Customs Ordinance, by disregarding his request for a meeting.

Kodituwakku said the investigation into the importation of 1,728 brand new BMW vehicles, under the concessionary duty permits issued by the government for the public servants, between 2011 and 2014, had been stalled.

The civil society activist said that investigations had revealed the vehicles hadn’t been imported by the permit holders themselves but others. It also transpired that the value of the imported vehicles, mentioned in the commercial invoices, proforma invoices and the CusDecs, tendered to Customs in the names of the permit holders, were not the actual values for the vehicles in question.

The high-profile case has been handled by the Central Investigation Directorate, at that time headed by Murugesu Thayabaran, a batchmate of Kodituwakku.

The ex-Customs officer said that he had appeared as counsel for Thayabaran in Court of Appeal and was determined to bring the case to a successful conclusion. According to him, the importer, over the years, had been represented by nine President’s Counsel as the case dragged on from the time of P.S.M. Charles, Director General, Customs.

Kodituwakku made available letters he wrote to the Customs and other parties on this issue, to The Island. Pointing out that the Court of Appeal on 7 May, 2024, dismissed the importer’s final appeal regarding the case pertaining to the revenue loss of Rs. 16 bn, Kodituwakku said that although the court had cleared the way for the Customs probe, no action had been taken.

However, the Court of Appeal ruling was given before Liyanagama succeeded Seevali Arukgoda as DG Customs on 6 May, 2026. Liyanagama served as Director General of the Department of Management Services at the Treasury before the new appointment.

Kodituwakku said that he had also brought the Customs case to the attention of the Commission to Investigate Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).

Emphasising the failure on the part of the Opposition to raise this issue, both in and outside Parliament, Kodituwakku said that since the exposure of the BMW scam, during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s presidency, there had been four presidents, namely Maithripala Sirisena, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Ranil Wickremesinghe and incumbent Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Unfortunately, successive administrations had allowed the interested parties to drag the case. The lack of interest shown by political parties revealed that they not only protected those responsible but encouraged corrupt practices of allowing third parties to import vehicles in terms of permits issued to legitimate recipients of such permits.

Having campaigned on an anti-corruption platform, during the presidential and parliamentary polls in 2024, the NPP couldn’t, under any circumstances, turn a blind eye to this situation, Kodituwakku said, adding that even the IMF should be concerned of the failure on the part of successive governments to recover the money.

By Shamindra Ferdinando