News

MONLAR: Agriculture output has dropped by between 30 and 50 percent

Published

4 years ago

2022/04/22

By Rathindra Kuruwita

There had been a 30%- 50% drop in the country’s agricultural output, Chinthaka Rajapakshe, Convener of the Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR) told The Island yesterday.

“The farmers, like almost everyone else in this country, are uncertain of their future and they have only sold a portion of their produce. So, for example, if a farmer produced 100 kilos of paddy, he would keep 50 kilos for his own consumption and sell only 50 kilos,” Rajapakshe said.

According to Rajapakshe widespread hoarding coupled with a steep drop in production means that there will be a food shortage in the coming months. “The government is already importing rice from India, Pakistan, Myanmar, and China has donated rice to us rice,” he said.

“Given the dollar crunch, I am not sure if we can spend hundreds of millions of dollars on food imports. The main problem with the government’s organic drive was that there was no planning. The Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Agrarian Services and the Mahaweli Authority failed to give proper directions to the farmers.”

The situation would have been better if the government had given cash directly to the farmers to produce compost and other inputs. However, the government insisted on handing over the production of compost and other inputs to businessmen who were their political supporters. These businessmen had produced low-quality fertiliser that was rejected by farmers, Rajapakshe said.

“Farmers had no faith in the government or organic agriculture because they realised that it was not done in good faith. It was done either because of the dollar shortages or because the government wanted to enrich its cronies,” he said.

MONLAR Convenor said that the other problem plaguing agriculture was the fuel shortage. Many farmers used pumps to irrigate their farms that ran on diesel and there had been a severe diesel shortage for months, he said.

“The current crisis in farming is a reflection of the chaotic nature in the country. The main problem is not the fertiliser or fuel shortage alone, it is that the farming community has lost its faith in the government.

Meanwhile, Dr. Lionel Weerakoon, former senior scientist at the Department of Agriculture said that the switch-over to organic agriculture could not be effected by fiat overnight. It had to be done over a period of time.

“27% workers, out of a labour force of eight million, are engaged in agricultural and related industries. There is a belief that the government banned agrochemicals due to the belief that excessive use and elevated exposure to fertilisers and agrochemicals might be a contributing factor to Chronic Kidney Disease. But this is not what scientists, economists or farmers believe,” he said.

In 2020, Sri Lanka imported through both state and private sector, fertilisers worth $259 million and this was 1.6% of the country’s total imports.

“The 2021 bill could have been anything between $300 and $400 million given international prices. The situation is even worse now because Russia, Belarus and China have limited their fertiliser exports. If we are to purchase a similar quantity of fertiliser as we did in 2020, we might have to spend 600 million US dollars,” Dr. Weerakoon said.

In 2019, the fertiliser subsidy programme cost the government around 46 billion rupees or $253 million, which is roughly 2% of the government’s recurring expenditure. Fully-subsidised fertiliser for smallholder rice production was one of the reasons why people overused fertiliser.

“The fertiliser subsidy was extended to other crops, including tea, vegetables, coconut, rubber, potatoes, fruit, and minor export crops. The government subsidises anywhere from 48-to-88 percent of the market price of a 50-kilo bag of fertiliser. In 2019, the government distributed around 300,000 MT of subsidised imported fertiliser among the cultivators of other crops. 44% went to tea plantations, 24% to vegetable producers, and 12% to coconut plantations with the balance being allocated to rubber, fruit, potatoes, and minor export crops,” Dr. Weerakoon said.

“There have been many attempts by the government and NGOs to promote more effective use of chemicals in agriculture for decades. These have not been successful and our agricultural systems are unsustainable. Given this context the decision to go organic was a very bad idea.

“There was a better plan in 2015. It was a soft shift to organic agriculture. The overall management of the country under the incumbent government has been disastrous. The current chaos in agriculture sector is a good example,” the senior scientist said.

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SJB: Govt. trying to reappoint Jayakody, who resigned from Cabinet amidst coal scam

Published

1 hour ago

2026/10/16

Thilina Walpola

MP S.M. Marikkar

Marikkar claims coal losses more than twice Treasury bond scam

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The SJB has accused the NPP government of trying to create an environment conducive for the re-appointment of Kumara Jayakody who resigned on 17 April 2026 over a coal scam perpetrated in 2025.

Colombo District MP S.M. Marikkar Tuesday (13) alleged that Jayakody’s successor Anura Karunathilaka was spearheading the efforts at the behest of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

Addressing the media at the Opposition leader’s Office at No. 30, Sir Marcus Fernando Mawatha, Colombo 07, Marikkar said that the NPP was busy propagating a lie that the losses amounting to Rs 15.68 bn could be entirely recovered by way of penalties and funds held as deposits in line with the supplier. The Opposition MP placed the amount held by the government at Rs 16.48 bn.

Marrikar claimed that the NPP’s propaganda project to whitewash Jayakody was meant to bring Jayakody back into the Cabinet of ministers in January next year. The top SJB spokesman said that the findings of the Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on Infrastructure and Strategic Development report on the losses suffered by the use of substandard coal had been used to back the government move.

The inquiry was held into procurement for 2025/2026 seasons made from Trident Chemphar, an Indian company whose selection was questioned by the National Audit Office in a special report submitted to parliament before the vote on no faith motion against Jayakody.

Marikkar said that the NPP in its haste to build a case for Jayakody’s return to the cabinet had conveniently forgotten that six of the 25 shiploads of coal ordered from Trident Chemphar were never delivered. In a desperate bid to cover the shortfall, the government paid Rs. 2,284 million above the market price in emergency procurement. As the SOC had rejected the tests conducted by an Indian company and ordered fresh tests on substandard coal, an additional Rs 26.6 mn had been paid to an Australian lab, MP Marikkar said, explaining other losses caused by the corrupt deal.

Marrikar explained how the procurement of substandard coal altogether cost the taxpayer nearly Rs 20 bn while the government engaged in a project to clear Jayakody. The former minister is also indicted in the Colombo High Court in an earlier corruption case.

Marrikar emphasized that the government should accept responsibility. Comparing the action taken in respect of 2015 and 2016 Treasury bond scams and the coal scam, MP Marikkar said that the losses caused by Trident Chemphar fraud was double the Treasury bond scam. A future government would investigate the coal scam and punish all those responsible. The NPP under any circumstances couldn’t bring back Jayakody to the cabinet as he was directly responsible for the fraud, the Colombo District lawmaker said.

At the time the UNP perpetrated Treasury bond scams, Marikkar represented the UNP parliamentary group which made desperate bids to protect the bond thieves.

The SJBer refused to answer questions regarding any other issue. Marikkar reacted angrily when a journalist sought to raise a group of SJB MPs meeting the Most Ven Thibbatuwawe Sri Sumangala Mahanayake Thera of the Malwathu Chapter in Kandy. Then the MP accused a section of the media of trying to suppress the coal scam by raising other issues. Marrikar vowed that they wouldn’t allow Jayakody’s return to the cabinet. The NPP government’s reputation had been devastated by the coal scam and current efforts to cover up the direct involvement of Minister Jayakody would not succeed, he said, warning the NPP should be prepared to face the consequences.

News

India busts Pakistani salt smuggling via Sri Lanka

Published

1 hour ago

2026/10/16

Thilina Walpola

India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted a transnational smuggling network that illegally imported more than 7,300,000 kilos of Pakistan-origin rock salt by routing shipments through Sri Lanka and using forged trade documents to conceal their origin, India Today reported yesterday.

Four people had been arrested in connection with the case, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday.

Under Operation Deep Manifest, the DRI detected 295 containers carrying 7,311 metric tons of industrial and Himalayan rock salt, with an estimated value of Rs. 104.5 million in Sri Lankan currency.

The consignments were routed through Colombo port in Sri Lanka, while fabricated certificates of origin and invoices issued by United Arab Emirates-based entities were allegedly used to disguise the goods as originating elsewhere.

The imports violated India’s prohibition on goods originating in or exported from Pakistan, the ministry said.

Acting on specific intelligence, the DRI conducted a coordinated operation between September 26 and October 11, searching premises linked to the suspected network in Gandhidham, Adipur, Veraval, Panipat, Pune, Patiala, Delhi and Mumbai.

The investigation found that nine importers had brought in the 295 containers through Mundra and Kandla ports since March 2026.

Of the total consignments detected, five containers carrying 140 metric tons of industrial and Himalayan rock salt, valued at Rs. 8.48 million in Sri Lankan currency, were seized at Kandla port. The agency also seized sales proceeds worth Rs. 7.3 million in Sri Lankan currency held in the importers’ bank accounts.

News

Monks brave heavy rains to press for Gnanasara Thera’s release

Published

1 hour ago

2026/10/16

Thilina Walpola

… stage sit-in protest near Presidential Secretariat

by Nishan S. Priyantha

Buddhist monks who marched to Colombo demanding the release of imprisoned Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera continued their sit-in protest outside the Presidential Secretariat yesterday, as discussions between their representatives and Presidential Secretary Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake were underway.

The protesting monks said they would not leave the site until the authorities gave a positive response to their demand for the release of Gnanasara Thera. The discussions were continuing at the time this edition went to press.

The monks arrived in Colombo despite heavy rain, completing the six-day “Nidahase Pada Yathra” (Freedom March), which began in Kandy on October 10. The final leg of the march commenced from Kadawatha yesterday morning, proceeding through Kiribathgoda, Peliyagoda, Maligawatta and Maradana before reaching the area near the Presidential Secretariat at Galle Face.

Ven. Ulapane Sumangala Thera, commenting on the protest, urged the government to take immediate steps to secure Gnanasara Thera’s release, saying the participating monks expected a favourable response to their demand.

“Today is our final day. The Maha Sangha came from all four directions not to return empty-handed. We strongly urge the government to grant freedom to Gnanasara Thera, which is the expectation of all, including the respected chief prelates,” he said.

Ven. Sumangala Thera said the monks were prepared to meet President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at any location designated by him, including Pelawatte, Parliament or the President’s House.

“We are waiting to receive that message. If that does not happen, we are prepared to come wherever the President is. We are prepared to settle this matter one way or another today,” he said, warning that if their peaceful appeals continued to go unanswered, the monks would consider alternative ways of conveying their demands to the government.

The march, which began in Kandy on October 10, passed through Kadugannawa, Kegalle, Warakapola and Nittambuwa before reaching Kadawatha on October 14. The procession was organised to demand the release of Gnanasara Thera and advocate for the religious rights of Buddhist monks.

Heavy police security was deployed around the Presidential Secretariat and nearby roads as the monks gathered in the area. Galle Road near the Secretariat was also closed to traffic during the march.