• Farmers have taken up the challenge of cultivation amidst serious hardships
• Worldwide food crisis getting worse, some countries may stop rice exports
• Nearly 365,000 MT of rice imported so far, more rice imports pending
• Requested fuel and issued tenders for hire of lorries needed to transport fertiliser
• No drastic drop in harvest, rice supply sustained till November-December
• Food Security Action Plan being drafted, PM to present to Parliament
• Loans from State banks taken by small farmers to be cut off at next budget

By Asiri Fernando Sri Lanka’s farmers have once again stepped up and answered the call to feed the nation amidst severe hardships, as policymakers scramble to get governance geared to help them. As the risk of a worsening food shortage looms on the horizon, ordinary Sri Lankans are mobilising to grow, with aid from international agencies and friendly countries. Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera told The Sunday Morning that Sri Lanka was planning to use the crisis as an opportunity to reach self-sufficiency in cultivation of rice, the staple food of most of Sri Lanka. According to Amaraweera, the ongoing global food crisis will make it difficult for some foods to be imported and selling at reasonable prices will be almost impossible in the foreseeable future. Therefore, increasing local production is key to ensuring short to medium term food security. He said that there had been strong public interest in the plan to increase urban agriculture, while paddy farmers had taken up the challenge of cultivation amidst serious hardships. In an interview with The Sunday Morning, Minister Amaraweera discussed the challenges that needed to be faced in reviving the agriculture sector. Following are excerpts of the interview: How much rice stocks are there and how long will they last? (SL needs on average 2.4 million MT of rice each year for human consumption) Nearly 365,000 MT of rice has been imported to Sri Lanka over the last few months and some of it is already being sold. We are planning to import more, but that stock will be to replenish stocks we need in the future. We need to ensure there are adequate stocks till about February 2023 when local paddy crops can be harvested. We have placed the orders for them early as we fear that with the worldwide food crisis worsening, some countries may not export rice in the coming months. For example, India has already banned the export of maize due to shortage fears and to maintain its stocks. At present we are in the process of milling nearly 43,000 MT of paddy, headed by the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB), which we will be releasing to the market soon. We are sustaining rice supplies to Sathosa, cooperatives, and supermarkets, which has helped to control the price of rice. Some paddy stocks that were cultivated by the Civil Security Department (CSD) are also being converted into rice and those stocks will also be in the market soon. We hope to continue this. We have introduced a new brand called PMB Rice and will continue to supply the market through that brand too. The Government is also planning to expand the limited milling capacity that is controlled by the State. I have got Cabinet approval for it. To start with, we want to revive a State-owned rice mill in Panagamuwa and another in Kalankuttiya in Anuradhapura. Our aim is to continue providing the public with quality rice at an affordable price, while giving paddy farmers the best price we can offer. The Prime Minister has indicated that there is a need for $ 600 million to purchase fertiliser needed for paddy and other crop cultivation. Has Sri Lanka secured funds from donors or international agencies? What fertilisers have been selected for import? We are importing the urea chemical fertiliser needed for the Yala cultivation season and will import what is needed for the Maha season too. The World Bank has promised to provide us the funding to purchase the fertiliser stocks needed for paddy cultivation. At present, the World Bank has promised nearly $ 110 million for this task. However, we also needed to import the fertiliser needed for other crops. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has come forward with a donation of 375,000 bags of urea fertiliser weighing 50 kg each for low-income communities. The FAO is also going to roll out a programme to provide women in selected low income communities a grant to grow green gram. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is in discussions with several State and non-State agencies to explore the possibility of importing other fertilisers that are needed. A consignment of 40,000 MT of urea is expected to arrive between 8-10 July. Will there be adequate stocks of fuel to distribute the fertiliser? Has your Ministry secured fuel for the distribution operation? Another 25,000 MT of urea will follow the 40,000 MT. Out of the 25,000 MT some will be given for the cultivation of maize and tea. I have notified the Cabinet and the Minister of Energy about our requirements for fuel for the distribution of the fertiliser. We have also issued tenders to hire the lorries needed to transport the fertiliser. I am confident that we will get the fuel and we will work night and day to deliver the fertiliser to the needed areas as quickly as possible. Even though fuel stocks are low, we will use them for this purpose. Agricultural cultivation is listed as essential now, and we plan to utilise Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) depots and other State depots to fuel the trucks that we need for distribution. How much of an impact has the fertiliser ban had on the last crop season? What is the total expected production of rice?  For the Maha season, studies indicate that there was a 40% drop in the crop yield in 2021/’22. This year we think there won’t be a drastic drop in cultivation. However, with the farmers and public mobilised to grow, for 2022/’23 we have cultivated over 400,000 acres, compared to the 250,000 acres last year, so we anticipate that production will not be low as cultivation has increased. Farmers were earlier predicting that we will be out of rice by August, but now I can confidently say we will have crops to sustain rice supply till November or December. Many farmers began to move away from agriculture over the last year due to lack of fertiliser and fuel. How will this impact food security? With the building of awareness about the crisis situation, I think the farmers have taken up the challenge. We were able to support them by supplying fuel and they have moved to cultivate a range of crops and expand the volume of land cultivated (400,000-420,000 acres). Many have begun to grow on their own lands. We expect a good green gram and maize crop next crop season. Because of this, we will be able to mitigate the impact. We will not be able to solve the problem 100%, but we can manage. The Agriculture Ministry was tasked with formulating an action plan on addressing the food security situation and to prioritise rapid cultivation. What is the plan and when will it be ready? The plan is being drafted and will be ready by the end of next week. The Prime Minister will present it to Parliament. The Prime Minister’s office, Trade Ministry, Agriculture Ministry, Treasury, and other line ministries are involved in drafting the plan. Are you concerned about infant nutrition and the nutrition of children in low-income communities if the food security crisis gets worse? What is being done to prioritise their nutritional needs? This is a main concern for the Government as it can have long-term repercussions. This is a challenge the Government has to face. No one ministry can address this alone. We have raised the need for funds at Cabinet level and the PM has responded favourably. The Government is currently allowing funds to provide food relief and nutrition packages for children, pregnant mothers, etc. The Prime Minister has proposed to amend laws to enable unused State land to be used for agriculture and cultivation. How will this be implemented? How much land has been identified and has work begun? We are focused on the use of State land; we have asked State institutions to cultivate, to grow on the lands they have under their purview on a temporary basis. Such institutions can task their own staff or encourage retirees to help with cultivation. We also plan to get the armed forces and Civil Security Department to help cultivate more than 3,000 acres of land which belong to the National Livestock Development Board (NLDB) but remain unused. The Ministry of Lands and the Ministry of Plantations have also identified land that has been unused which can be cultivated and are working with local growers and youth to cultivate them. The Education Ministry is also working on cultivating some school lands.   There are places of worship like temples, churches and others that own land that can be used to cultivate, at least on a temporary basis. We encourage them to do so. All State personnel involved in agriculture will be a part of this drive. We plan to have a motivation programme for them with the support of the private sector. With a food crisis at hand, what budgetary allocations will the Agriculture Ministry seek for 2023? What will be priority areas for funding? We have several priority areas we need funding for. One is on technology, especially for getting a better crop volume from the same amount of land. Others are to reduce crop wastage, improve quality and availability, etc. Our target is to reduce food imports and improve value addition and export opportunities. We need to aim for better exports. From the next crop cultivation season, paddy farming land that remains unused will be re-cultivated. If the owner does not do it, the Government will take the land on a five-year lease and cultivate the land, with help from the youth and public officials. If we get this right and Sri Lanka is not hampered by bad weather like floods, I am confident that we can stop the import of rice by the end of next year. Similarly, we want to grow at least 50% of local maize requirements and 25% chilli. At present we produce only around 2% of the chilli requirement. This is our target and I am confident we can do it. By the end of 2023, we want to be self-sufficient in rice and green gram. We have done this with rice before. If you look at the 2019 Central Bank report, you’ll see that our efforts from 2016 delivered over and above the requirement of rice in 2018. What has the response been to the Government’s request to begin urban farming? We have had a very good response from the public. I think everyone has understood the depth of the crisis and responded. We have issued a range of seeds that can be used for urban farming. Many people are buying seeds and seeking advice from our Agriculture Ministry offices. Our Ministry is doing all it can to support the urban agricultural drive. Many farmers are struggling to pay off debt – loans which they can’t honour due to low crop yield. What is your Ministry doing to help them? Will the State absorb some of the debt? The Prime Minister, through the next budget, plans to cut off some of the loans taken by small-scale farmers from State banks. This will apply to those who cultivate one hectare or less of paddy. There are many of them and this will bring them some relief. There has been a request to increase the scope of the loans absorbed by the Government. Not only farmers, there are requests from small-scale entrepreneurs in the agriculture sector to get relief for their loans. The Ministry is currently discussing this with the Treasury. However, the Government is also in a tough situation. We will do all we can.