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Operation Covid-19: 60-day battle to tackle food security 

22 May 2020

By Prof. Buddhi Marambe Sri Lanka has emerged the “shining star” in efforts to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the global economic recession has started impacting the country at all levels. Globalisation and its much talked about benefits have been heavily questioned and challenged. The negatives of heavy reliance on food imports to feed our nation, costing a colossal sum of foreign exchange, have been realised day-by day. Agriculture has become the talk of the town. His Excellency the President has already given directives to strengthen the production economy, and highlighted the priority given to agriculture. The national food production and productivity enhancement drive, which started even before Covid-19, has made a leap forward. Although agriculture is not the only economic sector that contributes to national food security, “growing what we can grow best” and “doing what we can do best” seems to be the key to success beyond any reasonable doubt.  [caption id="attachment_80263" align="alignright" width="300"] Closing down of shops was not allowed until the last customer had purchased goods even after the curfew was re-enacted[/caption] Covid-19 has hit our health and economy hard. All parties across all sectors have finally teamed up together, started thinking together, to achieve a common goal – to ensure a “normal life” in a “new normal” world. Tackling any challenge of this magnitude is a Herculean task. Achieving the perceived success during the post-crisis period requires meticulous planning and shared responsibility in putting those plans into action with a focus. We are feeling the pressure to change gears in the economic drive. Sound evidence-based decision making, while having a holistic view of the agriculture sector is a must. The Ministry of Mahaweli, Agriculture, Irrigation, and Rural Development and its line departments are in the forefront in agricultural operations and we must let them lead the way. What they require is unconditional political will and support. The nation should not fall prey, at this crucial juncture, to those parties with vested interests who exploit situations with their whims and fancies, as we have experienced in the agriculture sector in the past. His Excellency the President, the Presidential Secretariat, the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Finance, Economic, and Policy Development, the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Export Agriculture, the Ministry of Transport Services Management, the Ministry of Defence, the tri-forces, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA), the Sri Lanka Police, etc. have all fallen in line, taking many decisions and giving directives to support the agriculture sector in Sri Lanka during the pandemic. University academia (e.g. eight deans of faculties of agriculture in the universities), professional associations/groups in agriculture including the private sector (e.g. Sri Lanka Institute of Agriculture (SLIAg), Agri.lk – Agripreneurs’ Forum), etc. have offered to be partners in making the most prudent decisions to support the economic revival of the country, and support the food production drive (productivity enhancement drive) during Covid-19 and in the post-Covid-19 era. It is not clear whether their proposals, and few more submitted by other professional groups in the field of agriculture, have been given due consideration by the Government. As we saw in many newspapers, those recommendations are well articulated, prepared by groups with sound technical knowledge and experience at ground-level implementation, and warrants urgent attention.  In national-level crisis management, the decisions made will change with continuously emerging scenarios. Agriculture is not an exception. We have seen the Government changing its original stance, for example on fixing maximum retails prices for food products. This article briefly looks at some of the key decisions made by the Government of Sri Lanka (see Box 1) during the 60-day period from 11 March, the day the first Covid-19-positive case was reported in the country, to 11 May (official removal of the lockdown) in its efforts to maximise the contribution of agriculture to national food security.  
Box 1: Chronological events of directives, orders, and regulations from 11 March to 11 May 2020 
27 January First Covid-19-positive case reported in Sri Lanka
1 11 March First Covid-19-positive Sri Lankan national reported in the country
2 12 March Maximum retail price imposed for broiler chicken meat (Gazette Extraordinary No. 2166/29) – Consumer Affairs Authority
3 12 March Maximum retail price for maize (used for any purpose) (Gazette Extraordinary No. 2167/30) – Consumer Affairs Authority
4 17 March  Maximum retail price imposed for red lentil (Mysore dhal), big onion, and canned fish (Gazette Extraordinary No. 2167/9) – Consumer Affairs Authority
5 19 March Temporary restriction of imports of non-essential goods (Schedule B of the Banking Act Directions No. 1 of 2020) to curtail imports and foreign exchange restrictions – Central Bank of Sri Lanka
6 24 March Closing down of shops is not allowed until the last customer has purchased goods even after the curfew is re-enacted – Sri Lanka Police
7 25 March Facilitate cultivation of vegetables, paddy, maize, black gram, green gram, cowpea, and finger miller, and fisheries activities without any interruption even during curfew time – Presidential Secretariat
8 25 March  Distribution of food items to consumers commence while protecting domestic farmers and the national economy – Presidential Secretariat
9 26 March A special Presidential Task Force appointed to co-ordinate with the relevant authorities to facilitate the import of essential foods and drugs as well as the export of goods such as tea and sanitary clothing – Presidential Secretariat
10 30 March Circular issued to provide essential food items at concessionary rates and allowances to low-income and vulnerable families/persons – Presidential Secretariat (later approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on 8 April 2020)
11 4 April The “Saubhagya National Programme on Harvesting and Cultivation” which aims to develop one million home gardens was launched, coupled with reimbursement of the seed costs up to one acre, 50% up to the next 4.5 acres, comprehensive agriculture insurance, and guaranteed price for crops – Ministry of Mahaweli, Agriculture, Irrigation, and Rural Development
12 4 April The first ever e-auction of tea was launched – Colombo Tea Traders’ Association and Sri Lanka Tea Board
13 9 April The first ever e-auction for coconut was launched – Coconut Development Authority
14 10 April Maximum retail price for different rice types/varieties (Gazette Extraordinary No. 2170/7) – Consumer Affairs Authority
15 10 April Rice mills declared as an essential service – Presidential Secretariat
16 15 April Sri Lanka Railway to deploy special trains to transport vegetables fruits, grains, rice, and other essential commodities cultivated from various parts of the country to ensure availability of these products during the curfew, imposed to prevent the spread of Covid-19 - Ministry of Transport Services Management
17 16 April Temporary suspension on imports of several agricultural items for a period of three months (Gazette Extraordinary No. 2171/5) - Minister of Finance, Economic, and Policy Development
18 17 April New Comprehensive Rural Loan Scheme (NCRLS) launched to be repaid via state banks within nine months to grow paddy, chilli, onions, cowpea, green gram, soya beans, finger millet, maize, sesame, sunflower, potato, sweet potato, manioc, coffee, yam, and vegetables – Presidential Secretariat
19 17 April Alternative arrangements to procure fruits and vegetables owing to the closure of Manning Market in Colombo – Department of Government Information
20 21 April Maximum retail price on turmeric powder imposed (Gazette Extraordinary No. 2172/5) – Consumer Affairs Authority
21 22 April Establishment of the Task Force for Economic Revival and Poverty Alleviation in terms of powers vested in His Excellency the President by Article 33 of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Gazette Extraordinary No. 2172/9) – Presidential directive
22 23 April Guaranteed price for 16 main crops for the Yala Season 2020 in a bid to strengthen the income of local farmers by uplifting the country’s agriculture sector – Cabinet decision
23 28 April Maximum retail price for white sugar fixed by Extraordinary Gazette 2092/64 rescinded (Gazette Extraordinary No. 2173/6) – Consumer Affairs Authority
24 30 April Maximum retail price fixed for Mysore dhal and canned fish from Order No. 61 published in Gazette Extraordinary No. 2167/9 on 17 March 2020 removed (Gazette Extraordinary No. 2173/9) – Consumer Affairs Authority
25 30 April The order made under Section 2 of the Special Commodity Levy Act, No. 48 of 2007 and published in the Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 2160/63 of 1 February 2020 in respect of big onions (HS Code 0703.10.20), is rescinded with effect from 1 May 2020 (Gazette Extraordinary No. 2173/12) – Ministry of Finance, Economic, and Policy Development
26 30 April Allocation of Rs. 10 million to import 150,000 MT of fertiliser to cultivate 253,000 acres during the Yala Season and distribution of fertiliser from 20 May; encouraging the cultivation of 16 additional crops for which the Government has provided a guaranteed price; introducing a new loan scheme “Aswenna” up to Rs. 3 million through the People’s Bank and establishment of 200 specialised agriculture cluster villages; and establishment of 50 green gardens and 200 harvest-selling outlets and use 10,000 acres for special crop cultivations – Cabinet decision
27 4 May Fixing a certified price to purchase 16 crops as per Cabinet decision No. 20/0737/217/036-i dated 23 April 2020 – Ministry of Mahaweli, Agriculture, Irrigation, and Rural Development
11 May A new beginning – removal of the 49-day lockdown imposed on 18 March 2020
  Making food available, accessible, and affordable The Sri Lankan economy is badly hit by the widening global crisis of Covid-19. The country was totally locked down from 18 March to 10 May 2020. Almost all industries were shut, apart from some essential services, such as water, electricity, fuel, and food distribution and those producing food (farming) and medical supplies. Increasing both the plant productivity and land productivity are important approaches to enhance availability of food in Sri Lanka.    Making food available In 2018, Sri Lanka has spent Rs. 422.5 billion to import food and beverages (11.8% of the total imports). Being a country with the capacity and high potential to produce the requirement of our main food crops, and with all the efforts of the Department of Agriculture, we still produce only about 69% of maize, 10% of big onion, 58% of cowpea, 84% of groundnut, 49% of black gram, and 80% of red onion, as of 2018. However, we can be happy with the rice sector. With 3.2 million tonnes of bumper paddy harvest from the 2019/2020 Maha Season obtained recently, before the Covid-19 lockdown, and the anticipated harvest of 2.03 million tonnes from the 2020 Yala Season with the new production and productivity drive, is sufficient to make rice available in the country for approximately another 16 months (according to the Department of Agriculture). While lots of promise and progress has been shown in rice production, there is ample opportunity to progress in many of the other food crops, having considered the economies of scale. However, evidence-based decision making has not taken place once again, for example, in determining the agricultural input requirement. An enhanced demand for agricultural inputs was obvious with the countrywide home garden development programme (Box 1 – Item 4) and increased cultivation extent in the Yala Season. We now hear complaints of the unavailability of fertilisers even to be purchased at market prices. The Cabinet decision taken on 30 April (Box 1 – Item 26) would help, but with a significant delay. Ground realities should have been understood better. It is needless to say that delayed cultivation due to non-availability of inputs or due to any other effect, and the untimely input supply that does not match the growth stage of the crops could adversely affect their productivity. Temporary restrictions imposed on food imports until 15 July 2020 (Box 1 – Item 5) and the introduction of a guaranteed price for 16 priority crops identified and agricultural insurance (Box 1 – Items 11, 22, 26, and 27), subsidised inputs (Box 1 – Item 11), allowing farmers to continue to cultivate irrespective of the islandwide curfew (Box 1 – Item 7), etc. would no doubt have encouraged the farming community to support this massive food production and productivity enhancement drive. The directive given to “work from home” had to be re-defined to suit the agriculture profession. We have to make sure that the momentum gained is not lost. To make food available, several efforts were made by the Government focusing on the consumers by fixing maximum retail prices for essential food items (Box 1 – Items 2, 3, 4, 6, 14, and 20) and allowing customers in the queue to purchase items irrespective of the time of the imposition of curfew (Box 1 – Item 6). However, the imposition of a maximum retail price had to be withdrawn owing to rapid devaluation of Sri Lankan rupee (Box 1 – Items 23 and 24). The appointment of the Task Force (Box 1 – Items 9 and 21) for Economic Revival and Poverty Alleviation is an important move forward to make the country food secure. However, the country urgently requires an agriculture task force to include the director generals of the Departments of Agriculture (DOA), Export Agriculture (DEA), Animal Production & Health (DAPH), directors of the relevant provincial departments, directors of tea, coconut, rubber, and sugarcane research institutes, other relevant state institutions, academia from faculties of agriculture, and the private sector, who have been leading the task forces in reality by implementing agriculture-related actions on the ground with the farming community, including education and awareness creation. This is a serious drawback in the system as knowing the ground reality is a must in making national-level decisions. Despite these hiccups, the efforts made by the authorities to support farming and also make some important agricultural operations in the supply chain essential services (Box 1 – Item 15) are commendable.   Making food accessible and affordable The perennial problems such as failure of having timely availability of required high-quality inputs including seed and fertiliser, high-priced technology due to tariff-related matters, unavailability of skilled labour, ineffective food distribution mechanisms, etc. have overshadowed the efforts of the Government during this crisis situation. Historically, the inefficiencies in the supply chain have resulted in lower farmer profits and higher consumer prices. These perennial problems are an accumulated outcome of unwise decision making. Absence of evidence-based decisions when it comes to food importation has become a habit of every government.    Some important decisions have been taken by the Government of Sri Lanka as a solution to support the marketing of agricultural produce through farm gate marketing (Box 1 – Item 8), reduce food miles by introducing new transport options (Box 1 – Item 16), facilitating the introduction of alternate marketing systems (Box 1 – items 12, 13 and 19) such as online systems, reducing post-harvest losses of perishables, etc. The e-auctions of tea (for the first time in 126 years of tea trade) and coconut (for the first time in 26 years of coconut trade) are landmark events. The ideas have been floating around for some time (e.g. 20-year dialogue on having e-auctions for tea) have materialised. The once thought “mission impossible” is now a reality. Although panic buying of tea occurred at the e-auction which started on 4 April, both tea and coconut auctions would have eased the country’s economic situation to some extent. The sustenance in these and many other improved mechanisms such as the online delivery of food to doorsteps, introduced during the pandemic, requires strong partnership among the stakeholders, especially through the involvement of the private sector, while ensuring food quality and safety. The Government also needs to focus on making technology affordable to the farmers. This requires revisiting the custom tariff imposed on several imported technologies, including seeds and micro-irrigation systems, to help their adoption by farmers contributing to the overall agricultural economy and food security. Agriculture needs to be modernised by infusing modern technology. Precision agriculture is the need for now and the future.    (The writer is a Senior Professor in Crop Science at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya)


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