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MONLAR accuses govt. of allowing India to play bigger role in country’s agriculture

Published

4 years ago

2021/11/26

By Rathindra Kuruwita

The government has allowed India to play a bigger role in Sri Lankan agriculture due to its recent actions regarding agrochemicals, moderator of Movement for National Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR,) Chinthaka Rajapakshe alleged yesterday.

Rajapaksa told The Island that the government had banned agrochemicals to break the existing cartel that controlled fertiliser imports and thereby help its business associates.

Rajapakshe said that the actions of successive governments had greatly undermined the country’s food security and sovereignty.

“The government’s impotence was shown during the rice issue. It put out a number of gazette notifications to control the price of rice and the mill owners ignored these gazettes and created a shortage. The government finally allowed mill owners to determine prices. This shows that the government does not understand the ground realities, i. e. that it can’t influence the market because all the tools it has at its disposal are ineffective, and it has no plan.”

Rajapakshe said that since banning the import of agrochemicals, the government had not held any discussions with stakeholders involved in organic agriculture in the country.

“It is now obvious that the government has no intention of going green. All it wants is to ensure that its associates will control the agrochemical market in the future. However, the government is bungling that up, too,” he claimed.

Rajapakshe added that if the government held discussions with those already involved with organic farming, it would have learnt that the first thing to do was to restore the microbes in the soil biodiversity. A healthy soil had a variety of living organisms.

“Plant roots can also be considered as soil organisms in view of their symbiotic relationships and interactions with other soil components. These diverse organisms interact with one another and with the various plants and animals in the ecosystem, forming a complex web of biological activity. Because we have been overusing agrochemicals for decades, most of our soil is dead. While supplying compost is a component of this, it is not everything that we can do. There are so many other things we could have done.”

The government was compelled to ban the import of fertilizers because it faced a dollar shortage, Rajapakshe said. If the government was serious about reducing the cost of importing fertiliser it could have worked with farmers and introduced easy compost making methods, he said. “Instead, the government tried to give their associates an opportunity to mass produce compost and when that failed it resorted to importing organic fertiliser,” he said.

“This has also allowed India to come into our agriculture. Adani is already working in Sri Lanka and he plays a major role in Indian agriculture. I don’t think he is here only for the West Container Terminal,” he said.

MONLAR worked with a large number of farmers and most of them were ready to switch to organic farming if a transparent and feasible path was made available, he said. The ground reality was that the government’s actions were increasingly driving out small scale farmers and those lands were being taken over by large companies.

“This has been happening for a while and farmers are highly suspicious. The government keeps on transferring land owned by small farmers to large companies. These companies are export oriented. During the first phase of shifting to organic agriculture, there has been a drop in the yield. We must take that into account and increase the area of farmlands but we are doing quite the opposite,” he said.

On the other hand, the government had done nothing to educate the farmers on how to engage in organic farming. Those who planted tea used compost the way they used agrochemicals, which is not an effective way of using compost, he said. MONLAR had introduced certain practices used in Andhra Pradesh, India, to some Sri Lankan farmers on recovering lost soil diversity. Those practices have been embraced by farmers with great enthusiasm, he said.

“There are ways of boosting soil biodiversity within days. They have not been explored. Having TV programmes on organic agriculture is not enough, the government has to go to the farmers,” he said.

Moreover, compost is only one component of organic agriculture. There are a number of specialised equipment and machinery needed to successfully engage in organic agriculture. We also need things, like cutters and crushers, to make compost on a large scale. There are a number of Sri Lankan companies that produce these machines, but they have not been given the necessary support to expand production, he said.

Rajapakshe said that Sri Lanka also needed to gear its waste management system towards compost making. Although a large quantity of biodegradable waste was collected daily, most of it was thrown into dump sites. Compost could be created with the biodegradable waste and systems should be introduced to prevent heavy metal contamination.

“Heavy metals can come from things like batteries, bulbs and e-waste. We need to establish protocols to prevent such items from mixing with biodegradable waste,” Rajapakshe added.

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Israel resumes attacks as Iran vows to avenge supreme leader’s death

Published

13 hours ago

2026/03/2

Sahan Weerasooriya

An explosion caused by an Iranian missile in Tel Aviv

* Iran begins 40-day mourning after Khamenei killed in US-Israeli attack

* President Pezeshkian condemns killing as ‘a great crime’

Iran has begun 40 days of mourning after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in ongoing attacks by the United States and Israel, according to Iranian state media.

Top security officials were also killed in Saturday’s strikes, along with Khamenei’s daughter, son-in-law and grandson. The killings mark one of the most significant blows to Iran’s leadership since the 1979 Islamic revolution Al Jazeera has reported.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned the killing as “a great crime”, according to a statement from his office. He also declared seven days of public holidays in addition to the 40-day mourning period.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi said people were pouring into the streets of the capital following the news of Khamenei’s killing.

“There will be expected ceremonies,” he said, noting they would likely take place amid continuing bombardment across the country.

Protests denouncing Khamenei’s killing were also reported elsewhere, including Shiraz, Yasuj and Lorestan.

“There will be expected ceremonies,” he said, noting they would likely take place amid continuing bombardment across the country.

Footage aired by Iranian state media showed supporters mourning at the shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad, with several people seen crying and collapsing in grief, according to Al Jazeera.

The killing also led to protests in neighbouring Iraq, which declared three days of public mourning. In Baghdad, protesters confronted security forces in the heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses Iraqi government buildings and foreign embassies.

Videos verified by Al Jazeera showed demonstrators waving flags and shouting slogans, with witnesses saying some were attempting to mobilise towards the US Embassy. Footage also showed protesters blocking vehicles at a roundabout near one of the entrances to the area.

There was also a protest in the Pakistani city of Karachi, where footage, verified by Al Jazeera, showed people setting fire to and smashing the windows of the US consulate.

However, there have also been reports of celebrations in Iran, with the Reuters news agency quoting witnesses as saying some people had taken to the streets in Tehran, the nearby city of Karaj and the central city of Isfahan.

Meanwhile, the official IRNA news agency reported that a three-person council, consisting of the country’s president, the chief of the judiciary, and one of the jurists of the Guardian Council, will temporarily assume all leadership duties in the country. The body will temporarily oversee the country until a new supreme leader is elected.

Ali Larijani, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, accused the US and Israel of trying to plunder Iran, in an interview aired on state TV.

He also called on Iranians to unite. “Groups seeking to divide Iran should know that we will not tolerate it,” he added.

Smoke rises over central Tehran following ongoing U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran yesterday.[EPA]

Khamenei assumed leadership of Iran in 1989 following the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who had led the Islamic revolution a decade earlier.

While Khomeini was regarded as the ideological force behind the revolution that ended the Pahlavi monarchy, Khamenei went on to shape Iran’s military and paramilitary apparatus, strengthening both its domestic control and its regional influence.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) pledged revenge and said it had launched strikes on 27 bases hosting US troops in the region, as well as Israeli military facilities in Tel Aviv.

Explosions have continued to be reported in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, while security alerts are in place in several countries across the region.

US President Donald Trump, in a social media post on Sunday, warned Iran that it would be hit “with a force that has ?never been seen before” if it retaliated.

Iran’s retaliatory attacks since Saturday have targeted Israel and US assets across multiple Middle East countries, including Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Harlan Ullman, chairman of the strategic advisory firm Killowen Group and an adviser to the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, said the US may have made a “big mistake” by killing Khamenei.

“Decapitation only works when you get all the leaders, and I don’t think that we got all the leaders,” Ullman said, adding that the US should not expect Iran’s leadership to enter negotiations in the immediate aftermath.

Iranian state media reported on Saturday at least 201 people have been killed in the joint US-Israeli attacks across 24 provinces, citing the Red Crescent. In southern Iran, at least 148 people were killed and 95 wounded in a strike on an elementary girls’ school in Minab on Saturday, with the toll continuing to rise, according to state media.

News

CPC has enough fuel stocks

Published

13 hours ago

2026/03/2

Sahan Weerasooriya

There would be no delay in fuel shipments scheduled for April and May, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) assured yesterday.

Addressing a media briefing in Colombo, CPC Chairman D.J. Rajakaruna said Sri Lanka’s fuel supplies did not originate from the present conflict zone in West Asia and, therefore, supplies to the Corporation would not be disrupted.

He noted that the relevant consignments were due to arrive from India and Singapore as planned.

“We are making this statement responsibly. There is no need for the public to queue up for fuel. Distribution was not originally scheduled for Sunday (01), but due to increased demand, we have deployed all distribution staff to continue fuel issuance. Although Monday (02) is a Poya Day, fuel supplies will continue without interruption,” he said.

The Chairman added that all filling stations had been instructed not to dispense fuel into cans or barrels, warning that legal action would be taken against those attempting to purchase fuel in bulk containers for resale.

News

Lanka, Pakistan strengthen ties at 13th JEC

Published

13 hours ago

2026/03/2

Sahan Weerasooriya

Wasantha Samarasinghe, Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development and Haroon Akhtar Khan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan for Industries and Production at the 13th Session of the Sri Lanka–Pakistan Joint Economic Commission in Colombo.

The 13th Session of the Sri Lanka–Pakistan Joint Economic Commission (JEC) was successfully held recently in Colombo, reinforcing the strong and longstanding economic and diplomatic ties between the two countries.

The Sri Lankan delegation was led by Wasantha Samarasinghe, Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development, while the Pakistani delegation was headed by Haroon Akhtar Khan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan for Industries and Production. The session concluded with the signing of the Agreed Minutes by both Co-Chairs, formalising cooperation across multiple sectors.

The Pakistan High Commission in Colombo said that in the IT and digital economy, both sides agreed in principle to establish a Joint Working Group on IT and telecommunications, promote collaboration in emerging technologies, and support each other in international digital forums.

Industrial cooperation was a key focus, with discussions on expanding trade in chemicals, polymers, engineering goods, glassware, surgical instruments, and pharmaceuticals. Sri Lanka invited Pakistani pharmaceutical companies to explore investment opportunities in designated pharmaceutical zones. Both countries also agreed to strengthen collaboration in Export Processing Zones and enhance support for small and medium enterprises through their respective development agencies.

Significant progress was made in agriculture and livestock, including cooperation on meat exports, livestock farming, seed certification, sanitary and phytosanitary harmonisation, pest risk analysis, and capacity building. Procedures for the export of Sri Lankan pineapples and avocados to Pakistan were advanced. Both sides explored electronic phytosanitary certification (ePhyto), blockchain-based seed traceability systems, and increased trade in agro-commodities such as rice, sesame, and onions.

In education, the JEC emphasised academic and research cooperation, faculty and student exchanges, accreditation and quality assurance, and promoting Pakistan as a higher education destination for Sri Lankan students. A Joint Working Group on Education and Science was proposed, alongside renewal of several institutional Memoranda of Understanding.

Cooperation in science, technology, and innovation will continue under existing bilateral frameworks, with plans for joint research in advanced materials, biotechnology, climate change mitigation, and emerging technologies. Collaborative research projects, student exchanges, and co-authored publications were highlighted as key initiatives.

Health sector collaboration will focus on joint research, academic exchanges, regulatory cooperation on therapeutic goods, capacity building, fast-track registration of essential medicines, public-private partnerships, epidemiological surveillance, and coordinated responses to disease outbreaks.

Maritime cooperation was also discussed, with Pakistan offering technical expertise, training, and industrial collaboration through its shipbuilding institutions. Both sides explored enhanced maritime connectivity, including transshipment, port cooperation at Karachi and Gwadar, direct shipping routes, logistics integration, and maritime training programs.

Commerce secretary-level talks reviewed the progress of the Pakistan–Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (PSFTA), assessing current implementation and identifying measures to further enhance bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

On the sidelines, Special Assistant Haroon Akhtar Khan held discussions with Sri Lankan Cabinet members on collaboration in industry, labor and foreign employment, and health sectors.

Both delegations expressed satisfaction with the outcomes of the 13th JEC and reaffirmed their commitment to regular engagement and effective implementation of agreed initiatives. It was mutually agreed that the 14th session will be held in Islamabad, with dates to be confirmed through diplomatic channels.