News

Plantation expert slams ‘politicisation of science’ by two administrations

Published

5 years ago

2021/11/11

By Sanath Nanayakkare

Science was a major casualty in two key agricultural policy decisions made by the previous Yahapalana and the current governments, which on both occasions brought disastrous consequences to the agriculture sector, says Dr. Roshan Rajadurai, Managing Director of the Plantation Sector of Hayleys PLC which comprise Kelani Valley Plantations, Talawakelle Tea Estates and Horana Plantations recently.

Issuing a press statement, he slammed the previous Yahapalana government’s suspension of glyphosate imports and the current government’s decision to ban the import and the use of synthetic fertilisers with a sudden passion for transforming Sri Lanka into a nation with 100% organic agriculture.

Citing the fate of Prof. Buddhi Marambe, he said: “The nation’s best agricultural experts are being ignored or sidelined and silenced because Marambe had simply stated scientific facts regarding the current agro-chemical ban. Marambe had been consistent in doing so when the occasion demanded; he had previously spoken up against the Yahapalana government’s disastrous decision to suspend glyphosate imports.”

“Suspension on glyphosate imports was a policy decision, which resulted in the rejection of Sri Lankan tea exports as a result of issues with Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs), and caused the permanent loss of extremely high value markets in Japan, and it proved costly: all without a single shred of scientific evidence being considered to assess the lasting damage it would have caused. As a result, the government of the day was compelled to back-pedal its decision, but not without irreversible damage being done,” he claimed.

Referring to the chemical fertiliser ban imposed by the current government, he said “Without any prior planning or notice, our entire sector has been coerced into blindly participating in the most unscientific experiment ever attempted in Sri Lanka’s history. Now we are all left to anticipate what the implications of an immediate, nation-wide halt to all established and essential best practices relating to plant nutrition, pest, fungus and weeds would be.”

“Almost seven months from the current government’s initial decision to ban the import and use of synthetic fertilizers and as at today, Sri Lanka’s entire agriculture and plantation economy is still frantically in search of any viable option to mitigate the threat of declining yields.” he said.

“We are told that arrangements are being made to import organic fertiliser from various, untested sources, and agreements are minted to produce organic fertiliser locally, much akin to attempting to fix the engine troubles on an airplane while it is in flight. Nevertheless, the inconvenient truth is at present, all supplies of ‘organic’ and inorganic fertiliser are in short supply.”

“Stocks which are available, have increased in price owing to supply-demand imbalances, disrupted supply chains and unprecedented increases in landed costs. Such escalating payments are making Sri Lankan tea’s already high cost of production (COP) even higher, which is placing Sri Lankan plantations under further stress. This is happening just a few months after an increase in worker wages was thrust through the Wages Board.”

” With the end of the year approaching, and the window for fertilising crops closing, it appears that the industry will be locked into at least one – if not more – growth cycles without basic nutrients of Nitrogen, Potassium, and Phosphorus, and with no ability to control pests and weeds. Without immediate solutions, the broad consensus among those with expertise is that we could see exponentially worse crop losses starting from the end of 2021, hitting approximately 40% by next year.”

“If RPCs had disregarded agronomic practices and norms in such a manner on their own volition, it would have been called ‘criminal mismanagement’. With agricultural best practices now being roundly ignored in favour of a largely undefined and unplanned strategy for transforming Sri Lanka into a nation with “100% organic agriculture”, this historic, and intentionally misinformed self-sabotage is being repackaged as visionary and progressive. Regardless of short-term political expediency, reality has a way of asserting itself,” he said.

Referring to the negative impact on employment, he said, “Spread across 14 districts, the tea industry alone provides direct employment to over 600,000 people engaged in cultivation and processing and indirect employment to a further 200,000 involved in the supply chain. The sector provides complete livelihood support for a resident population of one million in Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) and 450,000 tea smallholders with one million dependents, hence supporting a total population of nearly 2.5 million.”

“When considering both employment and livelihood generation, it is estimated that the industry sustains more than 10% of our national population and its net foreign exchange earnings are only second to the garment industry.”

“Even if “organic” fertilliser is made available, there are still serious concerns as to whether it can provide sufficient nutrients. Hence, it appears that the writing is on the wall. With insufficient nutrients as a result of the unplanned push for organic, we anticipate a series of cascading failures stemming from a collapse in productivity. No amount of rhetoric will be able to turn back the tide of negative repercussions of such developments.”

“The only measure that could at least temporarily mitigate this dynamic is the implementation of productivity linked wages. This is a model which has the support of all RPCs, and which has been widely practiced with tremendous success by tea smallholders.”

“If there’s any resistance to it, that’s not from workers who have experience with productivity linked wages, but from Trade Unions who would lose their relevance if such models were implemented. Under the proposals made by RPCs workers could earn between Rs. 37,000 and Rs 62,000 and the model would enable workers to choose flexi-hours. Given the labour shortages prevalent across the entire tea industry, such a move would at long last incentivize workers effectively, and reward them for achieving their full individual potential, thereby significantly optimising labour productivity.

“However, without a scientific resolution to the fertiliser crisis, wage reforms can only serve as a stop gap measure. As land productivity drops, RPCs, state plantations and smallholders alike will be forced to reduce the amount of work offered, leading to a continuous decrease in worker earnings,” he said.

Dr. Roshan Rajadurai was also a former chairman of the Planters’ Association of Ceylon with 36 years of experience in the plantation sector.

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Prison mayhem leaves at least 26 dead; five officers killed in revenge violence

Published

6 hours ago

2026/07/7

Sahan Weerasooriya

Police and STF personnel rushing an injured prison officer to an ambulance after yesterday’s clash at the Negombo Prison.

At least 26 people, including five prison officers and 20 inmates, have been confirmed dead following violent unrest at Negombo Prison, hospital sources said yesterday, as authorities struggled to restore full control over the facility.

According to unconfirmed reports the prison officers were killed by rioters yesterday morning, in retaliation, and weapons carried by those officers were grabbed by them.

Negombo General Hospital Director Consultant Dr. Pushpa Gamlath said nearly 100 injured persons had been admitted, following the clashes, and eight of the critically wounded had been transferred to the National Hospital, in Colombo, for further treatment.

The violence, which initially broke out on Sunday (5) between remand prisoners and convicted inmates, left two inmates dead and 38 others injured before being temporarily brought under control.

However, tensions flared again on Monday (6), with prison officials reporting renewed unrest inside the facility despite earlier assurances that the situation had stabilised.

Police said the initial confrontation was triggered by a dispute linked to the exposure of an alleged drug trafficking network, operating within the prison, and was reportedly orchestrated by a drug trafficker, identified as Suresh, who is said to have links to an underworld figure known as ‘Booru Moona’.

The violence rapidly escalated, with female inmates staging a protest on the Prison roof in support of those involved in the clashes, while relatives gathered outside demanding information on detainees. Police later facilitated visits for selected family members to hospitalised inmates.

The Negombo Prison, which houses around 1,800 remand and convicted inmates, descended into widespread disorder as rival groups clashed, with reports indicating that the violence later spread beyond the initial confrontation.

Authorities said rioting inmates had allegedly seized firearms during the renewed unrest on Monday, prompting heightened security measures.

The Sri Lanka Air Force deployed drones for aerial surveillance and a Bell 412 helicopter to monitor the situation, while additional military personnel were sent to reinforce security around the prison.

Prisons Department spokesperson A.C. Gajanayake said a special investigation team had been appointed, under the direction of the Commissioner General of Prisons, to probe the incident, while a separate police investigation is also underway.

Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara told The Island that he had called for a detailed report on the disturbances.

By Norman Palihawadane

News

Cleaner, cheaper electricity gathers momentum with rapid progress in 50 MW Mannar wind power project

Published

6 hours ago

2026/07/7

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sri Lanka’s drive towards cleaner and cheaper electricity gathered fresh momentum with the reported rapid progress in the 50 MW Mannar Wind Power Project, which is expected to produce the lowest-cost wind-generated electricity in the country’s history while saving billions of rupees in annual fuel imports.

The Ministry of Energy announced that the first wind turbine for the project had already arrived in the country, while the remaining turbine components have reached the Port of Trincomalee and are currently being unloaded, signalling a major milestone in the construction of one of the country’s key renewable energy ventures.

The project, inaugurated by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in January this year, is expected to become a cornerstone of the government’s strategy to transform Sri Lanka’s electricity sector by expanding renewable energy generation and reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels.

According to the Ministry, electricity generated by the Mannar wind farm will be purchased at USD 0.0465 (approximately Rs. 14.37) per unit, making it the lowest tariff ever secured for wind-generated electricity in Sri Lanka.

Energy experts say the competitive tariff demonstrates the growing economic viability of renewable energy and could help stabilise future electricity prices.

The Ministry also estimates that once the wind farm is connected to the national grid, Sri Lanka will save approximately Rs. 4.7 billion annually by reducing the import of fossil fuels required for thermal power generation, easing pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

The Mannar project is expected to support the government’s ambition of substantially increasing the contribution of renewable energy to the national electricity mix, by 2030, while helping Sri Lanka move towards its long-term goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Hayleys Fentons PLC, selected through an international competitive bidding process, is responsible for the installation and maintenance of the wind turbines.

The National System Operator (NSO), operating under the Ministry of Energy, will oversee the integration and management of electricity generated by the project within the national grid.

By Ifham Nizam

News

Tech-enabled trafficking, fake foreign jobs pose growing threat, MPs told

Published

6 hours ago

2026/07/7

Sahan Weerasooriya

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa speaks to Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananda Wijepala during a special awareness programme on human trafficking held in the House recently

Human trafficking has become increasingly sophisticated, with deceptive overseas employment offers, fraudulent recruitment practices and technology-enabled recruitment emerging as major threats that require a coordinated national response, Members of Parliament were told at a special awareness programme held in the House recently.

Addressing the programme, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Chairman of the National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force, retired Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha, said trafficking in persons had evolved significantly over the years and was now closely linked to organised transnational criminal networks.

He warned that fake foreign employment opportunities, fraudulent recruitment agencies, online recruitment platforms, forced labour, sexual exploitation and, in some instances, the use of victims for forced criminal activities had become key challenges confronting authorities.

The awareness programme organised jointly by the National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force of the Ministry of Defence and Parliament, was aimed at strengthening legislators’ understanding of emerging trafficking trends, the legal and policy framework governing the issue, and the role of Parliament in strengthening anti-trafficking legislation.

MPs were also briefed on the National Strategic Action Plan on Combating Human Trafficking (2026-2030), which focuses on preventing trafficking, identifying and protecting victims, strengthening the criminal justice response and improving coordination among State institutions.

Special emphasis was placed on the growing use of digital platforms for recruitment, deceptive migration practices, labour exploitation and the coercion of victims into criminal activities.

The programme featured presentations by Additional Solicitor General Haripriya Jayasundara, PC, and State Counsel Sajith Bandara of the Attorney General’s Department.

The event, held under the patronage of Deputy Chairperson of Committees Hemali Weerasekara, was attended by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananda Wijepala, Deputy Defence Minister retired Major General Aruna Jayasekara, Members of Parliament and senior officials of the Ministry of Defence, the National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force and Parliament.