What is green revolution?

Green revolution began with the slogan "Food for all around the world" by the initiative of the chemical factory owners after the end of the second world war in 1945. With this a full stop was kept to the traditional farming system while opening a door to the capital intensified mechanized and free trade.

What impact did it have on traditional agriculture?

It not only turned the agriculture upside down but also the entire social culture. By about 15 years this modern agricultural and development pattern completely destroyed the natural environment. Killing of insects by spraying chemicals from helicopters into large farms in America was a peak incident in commercial agriculture. The result of this was that not only the destruction of pests associated with agriculture but also insects like bees, butterflies and birds. A scientist by the name of Rachel Carson investigated about the consequences of applying chemicals and informed the authorities about her findings. The report was published by the name “Silent Spring“in 1962. Intelligent people who were awakened by her influenced the government and the corporations to impose laws against the use of agro chemicals.

How did it affect Sri Lanka ?

When the concepts of green revolution were rejected by the same countries that started it, developing countries like Sri Lanka had to embrace it. We too became dependent on the foreign incentives as a result of this green revolution.

Increasing production using hybrid seeds, tractors, chemical fertilizers pesticides and weedicides was the process of this revolution. This was spread worldwide after the summit of Food and Agricultural organization (FAO) in 1963.

By the middle of the decade 1960 the technology of those foreign corporations began to function in Sri Lanka as well. Our present generation is only aware of this so called “Slaughtering agriculture”. It is a national task of the intelligent people to make them aware of the traditional agriculture that was practiced by our ancestors.

What was our traditional agriculture like?

Traditional agriculture of Sri Lanka was subjected to appraisal and investigation by the agricultural scientists as “An environment integrating cultivation conserving method” long time ago. Our traditional agriculture which consists of Cultivation land, soil, surrounding environment, seeds, tank, stream, inputs, technology, labour, family, relatives, and temple existed as a single system for more than 2400 years from the time of king Pandukabhaya. To identify it as a mere cultivation method is an underestimation. Actually our traditional agriculture is not only a faming method but it is our lifestyle.

Our ancestors who accepted farming as a carrier resided close proximity to river valleys of Rajarata, Ruhunurata and Mayarata. Moon, stars, sunrise, blooming of flowers, behavior of animals including ants, birds, cats and dogs, plant movements were symbols of environmental conditions for them. As a result our life style was a smooth one which was bound to the plan of the environment.

Our agriculture consisted of the bio-physical, cosmic and intellectual subsystems. People lived a peaceful life without the interference of the king or any external forces. Building of tanks, maintenance, chena cultivation, protection of crops, building of houses and temples were collective events. Wants were limited.

What has happened today?

Today about half of the population has agriculture as their main source of income. They fulfill the hunger of the entire nation without even a monthly salary. They have no bonus, no vacation or leave. No labour unions to win their rights.

Today farming is done targeting trade. The tranquil lifestyle has turned into a frustrating one. Even cultivated under tremendous hardships a reasonable price is not received for the harvest. Sri Lankan farmer is subjected to blame and criticism. As a result their children no longer engage in agricultural jobs. Some farmers even commit suicide failing to pay off debts.

What is sustainable development?

Sustainable development is development which fulfills present needs without interfering with the future generation needs. Development process should focus not only on the physical needs such as food clothing and shelter but also on intellectual needs.

Development process of today is based on commercial economy. The unsuccessfulness of this method is evident by 46% of the population being poor. In order to overcome from this there is only one solution. That is the economy of the environment.

It is the responsibility of the government to provide the necessary facilities in order to obtain what is provided free of charge by the nature to the people of Sri Lanka .

Granary concepts that were established by our ancestors long time ago based on the forest, water, cattle and child resources are valid even today.

What is sustainable agricultural technology?

It is sustainable agriculture which consumes the land fulfilling the facts like protecting the liveliness of the soil, gradual reduction of the artificial inputs, minimizing mechanical methods based on fuels, strengthening the farming community and certifying equal supply of food around the world.

What are the components of sustainable agricultural technology?

Uniting traditional knowledge with the modern, minimum or zero land preparation, mulching or growing cover crops, applying organic fertilizers, agricultural forestry, biological terraces , alley cropping crop rotation, mixed cropping, animal husbandry, water conservation, shade management and wind breaks, biological pest control and many more.

Why do we have to shift to sustainable agriculture from the present agriculture?

Present technology that is in practice is extremely harmful to not only farmers but also the environment system. This ultimately causes grave effects on the consumers as well. This method of agriculture is also intolerant to natural disasters.

Can you give some examples of short term inputs that can be used for sustainable agricultural technology?

We can recycle straw and also apply organic fertilizers. This will develop the soil organic storage which will in turn increase the soil fertility. This also acts as a natural weed control method.

What are the medium and long term practices?

We can cultivate paddy during the Maha season and do mixed cropping with vegetables or legumes during the Yala season. We must always go for integrated pest management systems. There are modern method which adopt these new concepts like ‘SRI method' and ‘Nawa Kakulama' . Practicing these methods can bring about promising results such as water conservation, minimizing of artificial fertilizer thus reducing the cost of production, weed control and efficient pest control. Another important is to leave the field fallow for sometimes by planting a suitable crop. Suitable crops can be grown in bunts and the residues can also be added as additional fertilizers.

What is ‘Nawa Kakulama'?

It is composed of three sub systems namely intellectual energy, cosmic energy and bio-physical energy. In the intellectual system it put into use practices such as pirith chanting, offerings to Gods and different rituals associated with traditional believes.

Using the universal energy advantageous to cultivation based on genetic and hormonal functioning is included in the cosmic sub system. Here our traditional knowledge is put into practice.

In the bio-physical system light, soil, water, air and organisms are used in a way that facilitate the success of cultivation.

This is closely associated with the rainfall pattern. In addition it uses minimum tillage. Seed paddy has to be prepared by sprouting in water in 24 hours and allow germinating for another 2-3 days. Then the germinated seeds could be broadcasted.

This method gives a yield of 88-122 bushels of paddy from an acre of land and could be increased further to about 145 bushels if liquid fertilizers are used. This method is completely bonded with nature and humanity.

What is ‘SRI method'?

Seeds should be planted in a nursery for about 5 -10 days and when two leaves appear should be planted. Spacing should be selected according to the soil ad the climate of the area. During the growing season no flooding is done but the moisture is conserved. Organic fertilizer is used from the very beginning of the land preparation. A weeder is used for weeding and therefore the plants should be planted in rows.

What is cosmic energy?

It is the energy that controls all forces of nature. This energy is in constant transition in the free space between the earth, sun, moon and other planets in the universe. This results in a multitude of effects which affect both the man kind and the nature as a whole. The science of astrology is based on this. This energy is been used specially in the concept of modern bio dynamic farming.

Finally do you have any comments to give our readers?

Agriculture is the most important source of living and most outstanding carrier that is practiced by thousands of people distributed throughout the world. As for Sri Lankans it has been from the dawn of our civilization and is still the number one industry in the country. It is very closely associated with our way of life, our culture and tradition. We are gifted with a vast knowledge bank from our ancestors that cannot be obtained by any means of available resource in the present world. Thus it is our duty as Sri Lankans to preserve this knowledge and use it in practice and uplift our state of agriculture. We must always remember that there are forces in the nature that influence our routine activities. If we harm the nature thus the impact will be ultimately on us. Thus we must preserve our environment and use it in a sustainable manner.

By Chithranga,KT for kamatha.com
Chithranga@kamatha.com