Politics behind Sri Lanka paddy crisis

(August 27, 2010) Sri Lanka’s major opposition United National Party (UNP) Anuradhapura district MP P. Harrison charges that the farmers cannot afford a fair price for their rice harvest as a result of short-sighted policies of the government. The MP pointed out that the government that was ahead of elections imported 122,330 metric tons of rice from January to May 2010. He also highlighted that 30,000 metric tons out of these rice stocks are still in markets. The government accuses the UNP for selling 61 of the 378 paddy stores of the Paddy Marketing Board to the private sector. But MP P. Harrison said that some of the businessmen that...

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Posted in paddy , Paddy Marketing Board , rice farming , rice harvest

Ray Wijewardane: a scientist and a simple man

(August 19, 2010) Vidyajothi Dr. Ray Wijewardane was one of the top most scientists in Sri Lanka. His contributions are well known in the country and in the rest of the world. He is the person who first designed the land master hand tractor. One of his most favorite efforts was with aircrafts. He is known to have attempted to build his own aircraft and fly it himself, when he was only a young college student studying at St. Thomas's College, Mt. Lavinia. His first attempt failed and he crashed down flying only a very short distance. He says that he was given a public punishment for this...

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Posted in dendro power , Gliricidia , Ray Wijewardane

Rice prices expected to soar

By Saliya Kumara Gunasekara, LakbimaNews (15 July 2010) Rice cultivators are facing a dilemma as the government has not implemented a proper plan to purchase surplus paddy after the Yala harvest. As a result a farmer was forced to burn his produce last week. Meanwhile, in another incident there was an attempt by a farmer in the Ampara district to set a sack of paddy on fire while simultaneously setting himself on fire. The government is accusing the UNP of motivating the farmer to self immolate. “ We investigated the Ampara issue and found that a powerful figure in the UNP was behind it. The UNP is playing games with the lives of the people....

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Posted in paddy , Paddy Marketing Board , Rice

No programme to purchase paddy; Price declines worry the farmers in Sri Lanka

(August 08, 2010) The farmers in Sri Lanka’s major rice cultivation districts complain that the lack of proper programme of the government to purchase paddy has caused sharp decline in purchasing prices at Yala season. They also point out that the hyped state programme for purchasing paddy is a sham. The farmers point out that the price of a kilo of Nadu rice is between Rs. 15 and 17 while the government registered price is Rs. 28 per kilo. The price of a kilo of Samba rice is Rs. 18 and 20 while the government registered price is Rs. 30 per kilo, farmers of Polonnaruwa say. The private traders have taken advantage of the inefficiency of...

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Posted in Government registered price for paddy , Paddy Marketing Board , Rice

World Bank's Leaked Report on Land Grabs Contradicts its Advice to the Developing Countries

August 2, 2010. Oakland (CA): Recently leaked draft report from the World Bank, The Global Land Rush: Can it Yield Sustainable and Equitable Benefits, challenges the publicly held position of the World Bank on investments in agricultural lands in poor nations - a trend that has come to be popularly known as land grabbing. Although such investments have been hailed by the World Bank as a way to generate jobs and infrastructure, the report states, "investors are targeting countries with weak laws, buying arable land on the cheap, and failing to deliver on promises of jobs and investments," and in some cases inflict serious damage on the local resource base. "Conclusions of the leaked report confirm those of(Mis)Investment in Agriculture: The Role of the International Finance Corporation...

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Posted in land grab , land grabbing , World Bank