I farm my paddy fields in Hingurakgoda. I depend on water from the Minneriya Wewa (Tank) My fields are at the end of the Ela, tributary of the canal. I do not get any water allocation, as the farmers further ahead of me have diverted the water to their fields.
I have spent a lot of money to plough my fields and transplant my paddy to ensure a high yield, but due to many factors beyond my control I may have no option but to abandon my fields and take the loss. I was told to cultivate only 75% of my land which I did so and took only 75% of the allocation of the fertilizer subsidy available to paddy farmers.
All the other farmers took their whole allocation and planted all their land and I have to pay the price for obeying the request, while those ahead of me being further up the water receiving end, benefit.
I am not the only farmer to suffer, many farmers further down from the canals origins are also suffer ring with no water as those farmers up stream have already taken the water. I assume that owing to lack of water in the Hill country and Kandy in particular less water was diverted on the Yoda Ela to the Giritale and Minneriya tanks.
How can we be put in an unbearable situation like this, as we have nothing left with all our savings invested in our land. We will now become slaves to the money lenders and will be in debt for the rest of our lives. Is taking poison the only answer to our problems.
There is no one to hear our voice or understand our predicament through no fault of our own.
The allocation of water to fields must be better managed especially for this season as water is a precious resource which is abused by those farther ahead of the line than us, where the excess goes into the kunu ela and into rivers that by pass us. How can this annual problem be resolved satisfactorily. Can anyone help us
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Papaya cultivation
I decided to grow papaya on my land in September 2006. I started in a small way with 35 plants. I first dug holes and mixed it with dry cow manure and prepared the land and planted seedlings that were grown in polythene sacks for about a month. When I first started growing, it was in the middle of the dry season, but as soon as the rains came in October and November, I discovered that the plants were looking sickly with too much water. So in order to save the plants I had to dig deep drains so the excess water would drain off rather than rot the roots.
So with the next set of seedlings I planted I decided to plant it above ground on mounds so there will never be water retention. This meant that I had to ensure when it no longer rains I have to deep water once a week so they get the required moisture.
I am told the dry zone is good for papaya as it is sweeter than in areas where it rains all the time. I decided to plant the Rathna variety. I initially found it hard to get seeds, and finally got some at Sara Lanka in Dambulla. All farmers in my area know of Sara Lanka, and I am sure seeing the crowds shopping there there is more business done there in a day to farmers than any other single establishment in Sri Lanka. They also sell products at a reduced rate.
The Red Lady variety of papaya seeds were 10,000/- for a kilo so the Rathna was more economical. While it is easier to grow the Red lady as many farmers would say, the fruit is too big, between 2 and 3 kilos each. If I had a Hotel account to sell then it would be OK but the people I sell my papaya want smaller fruit between 300g and 1kg and for that Rathna would be better even though the yield would be less.
Now I have about 400 plants. I have had a lot of problems with these plants, namely various viruses that stunted the plants and reduced the yields. I have only just begun harvesting my papaya. Every week I am able to pluck more fruit. I believe my fruit are the sweetest! and I am very careful as to how the fruit is plucked and packed as transporting papaya is most important to get it to the customers in the best condition.
I or my partners have to wear gloves when plucking and immediately wrap it in paper so that no human hand touches the fruit and no fruit touches each as other as that can leave marks on the fruit when they ripen. This is most important as the loss in spoilt fruit otherwise will be very high.
I have other problems too, mainly with Monkeys, both varieties, Rilawa and Wandura who love to eat the papaya leaf and therefore ruin the plant. Other animals like the pole cat and the various birds as well as rock squirral also affect the fruit. I have to cut the fruit the moment it colours as otherwise if it ripens on the tree the kola kottoruwa, the green barbet will eat it in no time.
As I am one of the few farmer in the area who sells my produce direct to the consumer, I am able to sell my papaya at between 40/- and 60/- a kilo. To customers in Colombo to whom I home deliver I can get 60/- and they can be assured that my fruit have not weedicides or pesticides. I use a thing called greener to combat the virus, but that is compatible with organic farming and is allowed.
I have got chicken manure from a local chicken farm and have also put it to improve yield and as my soil is not the best I have had to use some Chemical Fertilizer also to increase yield. I am hoping soon to develop organic fertilizer but until I have perfected it I have to use this fertilizer as otherwise my yield will be insufficient.
At the moment my plants are giving me 100kg of papaya a week. I am thankful for that as my first crop other than rice from this land from what I have planted. I got the mangos from trees already on the property when I bought it in August 2006
So with the next set of seedlings I planted I decided to plant it above ground on mounds so there will never be water retention. This meant that I had to ensure when it no longer rains I have to deep water once a week so they get the required moisture.
I am told the dry zone is good for papaya as it is sweeter than in areas where it rains all the time. I decided to plant the Rathna variety. I initially found it hard to get seeds, and finally got some at Sara Lanka in Dambulla. All farmers in my area know of Sara Lanka, and I am sure seeing the crowds shopping there there is more business done there in a day to farmers than any other single establishment in Sri Lanka. They also sell products at a reduced rate.
The Red Lady variety of papaya seeds were 10,000/- for a kilo so the Rathna was more economical. While it is easier to grow the Red lady as many farmers would say, the fruit is too big, between 2 and 3 kilos each. If I had a Hotel account to sell then it would be OK but the people I sell my papaya want smaller fruit between 300g and 1kg and for that Rathna would be better even though the yield would be less.
Now I have about 400 plants. I have had a lot of problems with these plants, namely various viruses that stunted the plants and reduced the yields. I have only just begun harvesting my papaya. Every week I am able to pluck more fruit. I believe my fruit are the sweetest! and I am very careful as to how the fruit is plucked and packed as transporting papaya is most important to get it to the customers in the best condition.
I or my partners have to wear gloves when plucking and immediately wrap it in paper so that no human hand touches the fruit and no fruit touches each as other as that can leave marks on the fruit when they ripen. This is most important as the loss in spoilt fruit otherwise will be very high.
I have other problems too, mainly with Monkeys, both varieties, Rilawa and Wandura who love to eat the papaya leaf and therefore ruin the plant. Other animals like the pole cat and the various birds as well as rock squirral also affect the fruit. I have to cut the fruit the moment it colours as otherwise if it ripens on the tree the kola kottoruwa, the green barbet will eat it in no time.
As I am one of the few farmer in the area who sells my produce direct to the consumer, I am able to sell my papaya at between 40/- and 60/- a kilo. To customers in Colombo to whom I home deliver I can get 60/- and they can be assured that my fruit have not weedicides or pesticides. I use a thing called greener to combat the virus, but that is compatible with organic farming and is allowed.
I have got chicken manure from a local chicken farm and have also put it to improve yield and as my soil is not the best I have had to use some Chemical Fertilizer also to increase yield. I am hoping soon to develop organic fertilizer but until I have perfected it I have to use this fertilizer as otherwise my yield will be insufficient.
At the moment my plants are giving me 100kg of papaya a week. I am thankful for that as my first crop other than rice from this land from what I have planted. I got the mangos from trees already on the property when I bought it in August 2006
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Cows' Milk and Powdered Milk the irony
I have a few cows. They are not anything special. Most of my stock are descended from one cow who is old and lives a pensioned life on the land. Her grand daughters are those that give me milk now along with her daughters.
I must confess I have not concentrated on this area of my farming as my hands are full. The government vet in the area does artificial insemination and that is how the cows get pregnant with supposedly sperm from good stock, and they say New Zealand jersey or friesan etc. The problem is I still have not had a cow that is a high yield one producing at least 10 litres a day, which I feel is a minimum to run a prductive dairy. The name of the game is to get as much output as possible for the same inputs just like higher yielding crops. I give fodder, water and vitamins so a better quality of animal is what I really should try and get.
The Ambewela farm in Nuwera Eliya has cows that average 25 liters a day, but the climate there is a distinct advantage.
That being said, the quasi government owned company, Milco has collection centers all over the country. I sell my milk to them and on average receive about 18/per liter. It is clearly unproftable to sell at this price and any bureaucrat worth his title should realize that they cannot encourage increased milk production in the country at these prices.
It must also be mentioned that 40 years ago the Polonnaruwa district had thousands of buffalo to till the soil and there was milk of high fat content from them, both for kids in the area and also for the tin milk factory set up there. I hardly see a buffalo anywhere today.
I have therefore decided to try and sell my fresh milk straight off the cow at 35/- a bottle and what ever I don't sell I take to Milco in the morning. I am only selling about 5 bottles a day now but with time hope to have a home delivery service at 40/- a bottle to the people living around me.
What I have had a problem with is this. The mass media is always advertising the benefits and vitamin content of powdered milk. The mothers' in the village believe it is bettter to give them powdered milk instead of fresh milk, properly boild. As most of you know the price of powdered milk is now near 200/- for a 400g pack. Over 95% of this poweder is imported even though local names are given to them. Most of it is imported from New Zealand.
I would like some information from Sri Lankans living overseas, as to whether powdered milk is even sold in those countries. I think this stuff is only available here and so what is not good for the Australians and New Zealanders is good for us.
To be fair fresh milk cannot be kept for long except under refrigerated conditions, and hence powdered milk was promoted in the past as it was easy to keep and make. However, many people in the village, where I live, have fridges and they only have water in them. They do not keep food because it is eaten fresh for each meal. The fridges were bought due to pressure from sales-men promising attractive payment terms and not because they need them, but that issue will be dealt with another time.
The issue of powdered milk given to infants in favor of mothers' milk will also be covered at a later date.
When i met one of my neighbors who was also selling his milk to Milco, while he was giving his children powdered milk, I tried to explain his folly, but he was adament he was doing the right thing by them. What can I say if a milk producer does not have faith that his milk is far superior to the stuff that comes out of a packet, I am fighting a losing battle.
The public appear to believe what advertising says, over their gut instincts, and we should try to teach people to analyse what they hear and read rather than take anything at face value. The ability of a person to think for him or herself is a mark of an educated society, more than the ability to read or write, the great literacry rate that we keep talking about. I am sure our ancestors were more able to think logically despite their inability to read or write and therefore made choices that were well thought out.
The blogs are a great avenue to promote debate and original thought and too many articles are just extracts from other sources rather than new thinking.
I must confess I have not concentrated on this area of my farming as my hands are full. The government vet in the area does artificial insemination and that is how the cows get pregnant with supposedly sperm from good stock, and they say New Zealand jersey or friesan etc. The problem is I still have not had a cow that is a high yield one producing at least 10 litres a day, which I feel is a minimum to run a prductive dairy. The name of the game is to get as much output as possible for the same inputs just like higher yielding crops. I give fodder, water and vitamins so a better quality of animal is what I really should try and get.
The Ambewela farm in Nuwera Eliya has cows that average 25 liters a day, but the climate there is a distinct advantage.
That being said, the quasi government owned company, Milco has collection centers all over the country. I sell my milk to them and on average receive about 18/per liter. It is clearly unproftable to sell at this price and any bureaucrat worth his title should realize that they cannot encourage increased milk production in the country at these prices.
It must also be mentioned that 40 years ago the Polonnaruwa district had thousands of buffalo to till the soil and there was milk of high fat content from them, both for kids in the area and also for the tin milk factory set up there. I hardly see a buffalo anywhere today.
I have therefore decided to try and sell my fresh milk straight off the cow at 35/- a bottle and what ever I don't sell I take to Milco in the morning. I am only selling about 5 bottles a day now but with time hope to have a home delivery service at 40/- a bottle to the people living around me.
What I have had a problem with is this. The mass media is always advertising the benefits and vitamin content of powdered milk. The mothers' in the village believe it is bettter to give them powdered milk instead of fresh milk, properly boild. As most of you know the price of powdered milk is now near 200/- for a 400g pack. Over 95% of this poweder is imported even though local names are given to them. Most of it is imported from New Zealand.
I would like some information from Sri Lankans living overseas, as to whether powdered milk is even sold in those countries. I think this stuff is only available here and so what is not good for the Australians and New Zealanders is good for us.
To be fair fresh milk cannot be kept for long except under refrigerated conditions, and hence powdered milk was promoted in the past as it was easy to keep and make. However, many people in the village, where I live, have fridges and they only have water in them. They do not keep food because it is eaten fresh for each meal. The fridges were bought due to pressure from sales-men promising attractive payment terms and not because they need them, but that issue will be dealt with another time.
The issue of powdered milk given to infants in favor of mothers' milk will also be covered at a later date.
When i met one of my neighbors who was also selling his milk to Milco, while he was giving his children powdered milk, I tried to explain his folly, but he was adament he was doing the right thing by them. What can I say if a milk producer does not have faith that his milk is far superior to the stuff that comes out of a packet, I am fighting a losing battle.
The public appear to believe what advertising says, over their gut instincts, and we should try to teach people to analyse what they hear and read rather than take anything at face value. The ability of a person to think for him or herself is a mark of an educated society, more than the ability to read or write, the great literacry rate that we keep talking about. I am sure our ancestors were more able to think logically despite their inability to read or write and therefore made choices that were well thought out.
The blogs are a great avenue to promote debate and original thought and too many articles are just extracts from other sources rather than new thinking.
Farmers fighting for water
I am going to relate a true story of my efforts to obtain my basic entitlement of water from the Minneriya Wewa to cultivate my paddy for both the Yala and Maha season.
Sri Lanka has had an elaborate system of irrigation transporting gravity fed water from Irrigation Tanks to paddy fields. While this was a documented system in the ancient kingdoms of a thousand years ago, many of the old tanks were considerably renovated and strengthened in the 20th century to irrigate new lands that had been given to settlor farmers under various colonisation schemes.
In my case I receive water from the Minneriya Wewa to irrigate my paddy fields. We are never certain when the first water will be given making it very difficult for us to plan our planting schedule. This is a bureaucratic snafu that affects farmers, but the irrigation engineers not being farmers don't realize that we need at least a month to plan our planting schedule and we need to know for certain when we will get water. For example this year we were told the water would be given on 20th April and in reality it was after April 29th that I got even a dribble into my land.
So much like a tree the main canals transport the water to smaller branches and then to the twigs. So I am at the end of a twig (a podi ela) called LB3. I am the final recipient of this water. When it rains, all the farmers, shut their poles (the pipes that divide water to each farmer along the way) and I get a flood into my land which I have to hastily divert away from my fields, causing some excess flooding and top soil erosion. We are all assigned a section of the ela to clear of weeds and debris before the water is sent so that there is a smooth flow of water.
Their are irrigation engineers who are assigned elas which they should periodically check for correct altitude gravity flow to ensure all those eligible get their fare share of water. This water is primarily sent to land that is for paddy cultivation, though if some farmers wish to cultivate vegetables on paddy land they too can use this water. However with division of some land into smaller plots along the roads that go alongside the elas, people in the village also divert some water into their land to help with their vegetable crops etc and make unauthorised drains leading water into their properties.
When water is scarce as is the case at the moment, farmers up the canal divert more water to their fields by either raising the level of earth just past their pole, diverting more water than they should to their fields and sometimes placing obstructions in the canal. This means that I sometimes do not even get a drop of water into my land.
When one is planting paddy and there is no water, it is the most serious problem we can face. When we appeal to the Ela Niyogithaya, the appointed person for our section, he just shrugs and passes the problem up the line of hierarchy and ends with the irrigation engineer to come and rule on the issue. As always knowing the pace of government servants, we invariably get his visit on a day the water is not sent to us. (our Ela gets water three days of a week) He cannot therefore determine the gravity of the problem and short of shutting off unauthorised drains, by blocking them, cannot do anything more.
I have to therfore wake up at about 11pm, when my neighboring farmers are asleep, some by now in an alcoholic stupor from the moonshine they have been imbibing in, and go and shut their poles, so I can get water to my fields. This exercise can take up to two hours. I then have to go again at 5 am before they awake and remove the obstructions, lest I incurr their wrath and possible violence. I am left with no other alternative if I am to survive. I must confess I did not know about this type of problem until I came to work the land. I am told by farmers that it is a common problem faced by them and even in open fields where water goes from one person's field to anothers, diversions and late night shenanigans are commonplace. I to this day have never even read about this problem in the press. (obviously those who journalists who write articles are neither paddy farmers nor are they sons of paddy farmers.)
This year we were advised to only till 75% of our land as there was not enought water to work all the land, however while I adhered to this, my neighbors did not, so they are again taking more water than they are entitled to at my expense and there is nothing I can do about it. You cannot force a farmer to only till 75% of the land as he feels he needs to work all the land if he has to make ends meet. So when we are sent less water, those further down the canals suffer doubly.
This an ongoing issue that has yet to be satisfactorily resolved, and noted in the earlier article, I had to approach my planting using a new technique to reduce my exposure to the water problem by ensuring that I am able to harvest my paddy a full month ahead of the rest, so I am not stuck in the last month when the water issue will become unbearable for me as everyone will want it before harvest when the tanks are about to exhaust their water prior to harvest, replenished by the North East monsoon rains.
Sri Lanka has had an elaborate system of irrigation transporting gravity fed water from Irrigation Tanks to paddy fields. While this was a documented system in the ancient kingdoms of a thousand years ago, many of the old tanks were considerably renovated and strengthened in the 20th century to irrigate new lands that had been given to settlor farmers under various colonisation schemes.
In my case I receive water from the Minneriya Wewa to irrigate my paddy fields. We are never certain when the first water will be given making it very difficult for us to plan our planting schedule. This is a bureaucratic snafu that affects farmers, but the irrigation engineers not being farmers don't realize that we need at least a month to plan our planting schedule and we need to know for certain when we will get water. For example this year we were told the water would be given on 20th April and in reality it was after April 29th that I got even a dribble into my land.
So much like a tree the main canals transport the water to smaller branches and then to the twigs. So I am at the end of a twig (a podi ela) called LB3. I am the final recipient of this water. When it rains, all the farmers, shut their poles (the pipes that divide water to each farmer along the way) and I get a flood into my land which I have to hastily divert away from my fields, causing some excess flooding and top soil erosion. We are all assigned a section of the ela to clear of weeds and debris before the water is sent so that there is a smooth flow of water.
Their are irrigation engineers who are assigned elas which they should periodically check for correct altitude gravity flow to ensure all those eligible get their fare share of water. This water is primarily sent to land that is for paddy cultivation, though if some farmers wish to cultivate vegetables on paddy land they too can use this water. However with division of some land into smaller plots along the roads that go alongside the elas, people in the village also divert some water into their land to help with their vegetable crops etc and make unauthorised drains leading water into their properties.
When water is scarce as is the case at the moment, farmers up the canal divert more water to their fields by either raising the level of earth just past their pole, diverting more water than they should to their fields and sometimes placing obstructions in the canal. This means that I sometimes do not even get a drop of water into my land.
When one is planting paddy and there is no water, it is the most serious problem we can face. When we appeal to the Ela Niyogithaya, the appointed person for our section, he just shrugs and passes the problem up the line of hierarchy and ends with the irrigation engineer to come and rule on the issue. As always knowing the pace of government servants, we invariably get his visit on a day the water is not sent to us. (our Ela gets water three days of a week) He cannot therefore determine the gravity of the problem and short of shutting off unauthorised drains, by blocking them, cannot do anything more.
I have to therfore wake up at about 11pm, when my neighboring farmers are asleep, some by now in an alcoholic stupor from the moonshine they have been imbibing in, and go and shut their poles, so I can get water to my fields. This exercise can take up to two hours. I then have to go again at 5 am before they awake and remove the obstructions, lest I incurr their wrath and possible violence. I am left with no other alternative if I am to survive. I must confess I did not know about this type of problem until I came to work the land. I am told by farmers that it is a common problem faced by them and even in open fields where water goes from one person's field to anothers, diversions and late night shenanigans are commonplace. I to this day have never even read about this problem in the press. (obviously those who journalists who write articles are neither paddy farmers nor are they sons of paddy farmers.)
This year we were advised to only till 75% of our land as there was not enought water to work all the land, however while I adhered to this, my neighbors did not, so they are again taking more water than they are entitled to at my expense and there is nothing I can do about it. You cannot force a farmer to only till 75% of the land as he feels he needs to work all the land if he has to make ends meet. So when we are sent less water, those further down the canals suffer doubly.
This an ongoing issue that has yet to be satisfactorily resolved, and noted in the earlier article, I had to approach my planting using a new technique to reduce my exposure to the water problem by ensuring that I am able to harvest my paddy a full month ahead of the rest, so I am not stuck in the last month when the water issue will become unbearable for me as everyone will want it before harvest when the tanks are about to exhaust their water prior to harvest, replenished by the North East monsoon rains.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Rice Paddy cultivation April/May 2007
I am a novice in paddy cultivation. I am planting paddy in an area that has been opened by DS Senanayake in the 1930s as minister of agriculture prior to Independance. This was the first colonisation scheme, namely the Minneriya Colony. My land is an intact 5 acre parcel that was given to a farmer from Waga in the Padukka area in the 1930's. The son of this farmer is a friend of mine and is a local ayurvedic physician who specializes in sprains and bone fractures. This parcel of land has been fallow for many years as the owner from whom I bought the property had not cultivated it. So the three acres of paddy fields that I cultivated, had not been planted on for a while and took me a lot of time and effort to clear the weeds and restore the fields to a plantable condition.
The first time I ever planted paddy was on December 15th 2006. I gave the task of sowing to a man who the locals said is the best in the area. A man who has done this for 50 years as he proudly says. However it was a disaster. He just sowed too much seed paddy leaving little room for the plants to grow big. As they were not heavy and full they grew a little taller than usual and the winds blew much of it down just before the harvest.
So the yield was lower than I expected and due to the fallen paddy more straw had to be cut. With more straw the loads that had to be carried was greater, and the time on the Threshing machine locally known as the Tsunami was greater. These machines cost Rs50/- a minute so it is not cheap. In the last harvest I spent 10,000/- to cut the paddy and a further 10,000/- for the threshing. The 5,000 kg of Red Samba paddy that this produced is worth less than 80,000/- if I sold it to the government and my direct costs including all inputs was about 80,000/- so I made no money. In fact I lost money as the costs were incurred before the expected revenue. One benefit was that I had cleared the land and the clearing cost was defacto lost in the cost of land preparation.
So I decided to keep the paddy and store it in my room and mill it and sell rice througout the next 6 months. The 5,000 kg will give me 3,500 kg of rice. If I sell at 40/- per kg wholesale ( I sell retail in my kade at 45/-kg) I will get 140,000/-after an additional milling cost of 10,000/- ( Rs 2/- per kg). The gross profit then becomes 50,000/- If the transport cost over the period to take it to the shops amounts to 15,000/ I then make a little money, hardly enough do this exercise again. Remember, if I rent the land to a farmer instead ,I will get about 1000 kg as the rental for my land. There are no costs on my part and this is definitely a more profitable alternatve. The paddy I get for this is white samba, as that is what is grown here normally and has a retail price 25% less than the red samba. I am one of the few people who has grown this rice in the district. Red samba is usually grown in the South but is also grown in the Eastern province and Wayamba province.
For my next harvest, I decided on a different method of planting. One that is rarely used in the Polonnaruwa district. Despite the fact that this method has the ability to increase yield by at least 20% and if properly done can be 30% higher, no farmer does it. That is by transplanting. Please note that the small scale rice farmers in Japan always transplant and they use small hand operated transplanting machines.
I planted the seed paddy in one field on April 27th 2007. On Vesak Poya, that is May 1st I had this field surrounded and lit with 300 coconut oil lamps. It was like a little lake as the water filled the field and the seeds had taken root. I used 25% of the seed paddy I used in the earlier planting. I straight-away saved 1500/- by using less inputs. I did not use any weedicide, pesticide or pre-emergent herbicide. I get water from the Minneriya Wewa. I only used about 10 kg of Urea on the field to get the plants to grow healthily, as I had not been able to put any other fertilizer prior to planting.
I transplanted all this paddy on May 25th at a manual transplanting cost of 5000/-. Basically the labor rate for women to transplant now is 400/- a day and it was 12 women days of transplanting. I cannot understand why men don't want to transplant. I would have done it, but the women said I was too slow. They have a method and they may have thought that I may muck up if I interfered.
Of course I had to spend a further 10,000/- on tractor hire to plough the fields and ready it for transplanting. I do not have my own hand-tractor. I also spent a further 3,500/- on getting the fields cleared of weeds on the perimeter and strengthening them for the gravity fed watering of the fields from the irrigation canal water that I receive.
The government bureaucracy was only able to release the subsidized fertilizer by June 10th almost 8 weeks into planting.( the subsidy is good bearing in mind the market price for the fertilizer, however I am not sure it can productively maximize yields of paddy. I believe better planting methods can maximize yields more than the subsidy. I only used half the subsidy on the paddy as I felt I did not need to use more, for fear of putting too much artificial fertilizer and encouraging weeds, and I could use the fertilizer saved for my other cultivations. I feel I need it much to make a greater impact on vegetable and fruit yields.
Ask any farmer who grows vegetables and paddy. He would without hesitation say that per rupee of fertilizer, vegetable cultivation will give him a return five times that of paddy and in that sense we are wasting colossal amounts of fertilizer on paddy, which would be more productive on vegetable farming. By the way if you don't already know, there is no subsidy for vegetable farming, only for paddy farming. There are no floor prices for vegetables and high yields can lead to severe drops in prices that can devastate farmers.
Due to a shortage of water, we as farmers were asked only to till 75% of our land. While I did that on mine, and accordingly applied only for 75% of the fertilizer subsidy from the previous period, all the farmers around me ignored that request and tilled all their land. This will put pressure on the availability of water and I will also lose out as the irrigation canal ends on my property. By the time it gets to me all the farmers up stream have taken more than they are entitled to, leaving me to fight tooth and nail for the little I get. I will leave the discussion on water wars I have to fight for another section in the future.
The jury is still out on the yield as I have a few months to sort that out. I expect to harvest my rice a full month before the rest of the farmers. Most farmers in the area only sowed their fields after 20th of May. Arguably I may be the first farmer in the Polonnaruwa district to harvest. I expect to harvest on or about 31st July. Most farmers here will only harvest at the end of August or sometime in September. There will be a lot of pressure on water in those hot dry months and the irrigation tanks will be running dry before the October/ November rains.
The first time I ever planted paddy was on December 15th 2006. I gave the task of sowing to a man who the locals said is the best in the area. A man who has done this for 50 years as he proudly says. However it was a disaster. He just sowed too much seed paddy leaving little room for the plants to grow big. As they were not heavy and full they grew a little taller than usual and the winds blew much of it down just before the harvest.
So the yield was lower than I expected and due to the fallen paddy more straw had to be cut. With more straw the loads that had to be carried was greater, and the time on the Threshing machine locally known as the Tsunami was greater. These machines cost Rs50/- a minute so it is not cheap. In the last harvest I spent 10,000/- to cut the paddy and a further 10,000/- for the threshing. The 5,000 kg of Red Samba paddy that this produced is worth less than 80,000/- if I sold it to the government and my direct costs including all inputs was about 80,000/- so I made no money. In fact I lost money as the costs were incurred before the expected revenue. One benefit was that I had cleared the land and the clearing cost was defacto lost in the cost of land preparation.
So I decided to keep the paddy and store it in my room and mill it and sell rice througout the next 6 months. The 5,000 kg will give me 3,500 kg of rice. If I sell at 40/- per kg wholesale ( I sell retail in my kade at 45/-kg) I will get 140,000/-after an additional milling cost of 10,000/- ( Rs 2/- per kg). The gross profit then becomes 50,000/- If the transport cost over the period to take it to the shops amounts to 15,000/ I then make a little money, hardly enough do this exercise again. Remember, if I rent the land to a farmer instead ,I will get about 1000 kg as the rental for my land. There are no costs on my part and this is definitely a more profitable alternatve. The paddy I get for this is white samba, as that is what is grown here normally and has a retail price 25% less than the red samba. I am one of the few people who has grown this rice in the district. Red samba is usually grown in the South but is also grown in the Eastern province and Wayamba province.
For my next harvest, I decided on a different method of planting. One that is rarely used in the Polonnaruwa district. Despite the fact that this method has the ability to increase yield by at least 20% and if properly done can be 30% higher, no farmer does it. That is by transplanting. Please note that the small scale rice farmers in Japan always transplant and they use small hand operated transplanting machines.
I planted the seed paddy in one field on April 27th 2007. On Vesak Poya, that is May 1st I had this field surrounded and lit with 300 coconut oil lamps. It was like a little lake as the water filled the field and the seeds had taken root. I used 25% of the seed paddy I used in the earlier planting. I straight-away saved 1500/- by using less inputs. I did not use any weedicide, pesticide or pre-emergent herbicide. I get water from the Minneriya Wewa. I only used about 10 kg of Urea on the field to get the plants to grow healthily, as I had not been able to put any other fertilizer prior to planting.
I transplanted all this paddy on May 25th at a manual transplanting cost of 5000/-. Basically the labor rate for women to transplant now is 400/- a day and it was 12 women days of transplanting. I cannot understand why men don't want to transplant. I would have done it, but the women said I was too slow. They have a method and they may have thought that I may muck up if I interfered.
Of course I had to spend a further 10,000/- on tractor hire to plough the fields and ready it for transplanting. I do not have my own hand-tractor. I also spent a further 3,500/- on getting the fields cleared of weeds on the perimeter and strengthening them for the gravity fed watering of the fields from the irrigation canal water that I receive.
The government bureaucracy was only able to release the subsidized fertilizer by June 10th almost 8 weeks into planting.( the subsidy is good bearing in mind the market price for the fertilizer, however I am not sure it can productively maximize yields of paddy. I believe better planting methods can maximize yields more than the subsidy. I only used half the subsidy on the paddy as I felt I did not need to use more, for fear of putting too much artificial fertilizer and encouraging weeds, and I could use the fertilizer saved for my other cultivations. I feel I need it much to make a greater impact on vegetable and fruit yields.
Ask any farmer who grows vegetables and paddy. He would without hesitation say that per rupee of fertilizer, vegetable cultivation will give him a return five times that of paddy and in that sense we are wasting colossal amounts of fertilizer on paddy, which would be more productive on vegetable farming. By the way if you don't already know, there is no subsidy for vegetable farming, only for paddy farming. There are no floor prices for vegetables and high yields can lead to severe drops in prices that can devastate farmers.
Due to a shortage of water, we as farmers were asked only to till 75% of our land. While I did that on mine, and accordingly applied only for 75% of the fertilizer subsidy from the previous period, all the farmers around me ignored that request and tilled all their land. This will put pressure on the availability of water and I will also lose out as the irrigation canal ends on my property. By the time it gets to me all the farmers up stream have taken more than they are entitled to, leaving me to fight tooth and nail for the little I get. I will leave the discussion on water wars I have to fight for another section in the future.
The jury is still out on the yield as I have a few months to sort that out. I expect to harvest my rice a full month before the rest of the farmers. Most farmers in the area only sowed their fields after 20th of May. Arguably I may be the first farmer in the Polonnaruwa district to harvest. I expect to harvest on or about 31st July. Most farmers here will only harvest at the end of August or sometime in September. There will be a lot of pressure on water in those hot dry months and the irrigation tanks will be running dry before the October/ November rains.
Craving for position
In the quest to improve our institutions, to better serve the people whom these bodies have been set up for, we must try and do something about the title.
Our culture expects us to refer to people by title not by name as is done in western countries. This creates a hierarchy where we all want to be at the top of the league of respect. These are all titles though sometimes we fail to recognize them. Aiya, Akka, Mama, Mahaththaya, Sabhapathithuma, Lekamthuma, Vidanaarachchi, Mudalali, Amathithuma, Swaminwahanse, Govimahaththaya. Note that in the village all provincial council ministers are also amathithumas so we have a country with 1000 amathithumas not just a 100 as we are mistaken to believe in the 'Urban Press.'
It is interesting to note that I also have a title, that of 'govimahaththaya'. So when we gather at meetings of the local agricultural societies, our elected secretary, the lekam-thuma of the govisangvidanaya refers to all of us farmers and 'govimahaththuru'. Here there is a hierarchy. It is also interesting to note that at the AGM of these meetings the protocol is to invite all and sundry in order of importance, going as far up as the Minister of Agriculture, who at this time is not only one of the most powerful ministers in government but also an MP for the Polonnaruwa District. Needless to say no-one in authority came and neither did we receive apologies for absence from anyone of them. So it is sometimes amusing that the commitee seriously think that all these 50 people will attend the meeting of a 100 farmers.
It must also be noted that the last meeting was attended by 50% of the farmers that belonged to the particular area society and it was determined that we fine the half that did not attend in order that we may have a higher turnout next time round!
I am not trying to diss the titles. I believe they are good as long as with the title it also earns respect, if that person is worthy of the title. If he has earned it and is making use of the title for which has been bestowed then all well and good. All too often the recipient of the title and the those that bestow the title believe its main use is to benefit from it for personal gain. They forget that one is just a servant of those who have given him that title. There are privileges and obligations that go with titles. All too often we look for the privileges and forget the obligations.
I believe it is part of the malaise that is affecting Sri Lanka and the sooner we are aware of it the quicker we can make corrective action to maximize the benefit of the titles rather than just be resigned to it and being beyond improvement.
Our culture expects us to refer to people by title not by name as is done in western countries. This creates a hierarchy where we all want to be at the top of the league of respect. These are all titles though sometimes we fail to recognize them. Aiya, Akka, Mama, Mahaththaya, Sabhapathithuma, Lekamthuma, Vidanaarachchi, Mudalali, Amathithuma, Swaminwahanse, Govimahaththaya. Note that in the village all provincial council ministers are also amathithumas so we have a country with 1000 amathithumas not just a 100 as we are mistaken to believe in the 'Urban Press.'
It is interesting to note that I also have a title, that of 'govimahaththaya'. So when we gather at meetings of the local agricultural societies, our elected secretary, the lekam-thuma of the govisangvidanaya refers to all of us farmers and 'govimahaththuru'. Here there is a hierarchy. It is also interesting to note that at the AGM of these meetings the protocol is to invite all and sundry in order of importance, going as far up as the Minister of Agriculture, who at this time is not only one of the most powerful ministers in government but also an MP for the Polonnaruwa District. Needless to say no-one in authority came and neither did we receive apologies for absence from anyone of them. So it is sometimes amusing that the commitee seriously think that all these 50 people will attend the meeting of a 100 farmers.
It must also be noted that the last meeting was attended by 50% of the farmers that belonged to the particular area society and it was determined that we fine the half that did not attend in order that we may have a higher turnout next time round!
I am not trying to diss the titles. I believe they are good as long as with the title it also earns respect, if that person is worthy of the title. If he has earned it and is making use of the title for which has been bestowed then all well and good. All too often the recipient of the title and the those that bestow the title believe its main use is to benefit from it for personal gain. They forget that one is just a servant of those who have given him that title. There are privileges and obligations that go with titles. All too often we look for the privileges and forget the obligations.
I believe it is part of the malaise that is affecting Sri Lanka and the sooner we are aware of it the quicker we can make corrective action to maximize the benefit of the titles rather than just be resigned to it and being beyond improvement.
The way forward
There is little one can add to the subjects of the day unless we can actually make a change. Many ideas though sensible are not practical unless there is a grassroots uprising that can push for change.
We have not been able to elect people who can put petty differences aside and work for the common good. There is a saying that we deserve the government we have elected as it is us to blame for who we have put in power. So making statements like forming new parties can change the body politic is foolish unless this groundswell of public opinion can be harvested at the polls.
Sri Lanka like the UK and US has a two party democracy and the spoiler parties that come and go just make it easier for minority rule. What I mean by minority rule is that less than half the electors have elected the government of the day in all these countries.
If change can be affected it has to be done from within. I believe those currently in power cannot do so and it is for the grass roots to rise up into these two parties to add fresh blood by overthrowing those who are comfortable in their shoes knowing full well that no one will be able to upset the status quo. One must either demand performance, and results if not all sinecures, as that is what a position in government has now beocme, will be removed and given to one who can perform.
Sri Lanka only needs a strong judiciary and impartial police force that can enforce the law. Thats all. The laws in the country are in place and watertight. Therefore given the laws, and its fair enforcement so that all citizens, rich or poor, of all ethnicities are treated equal, then we do not need government, foreign aid, INGOS or UN organizations. We have the most intelligent people, the hardest working, industrious, charitable and selfless whose hitherto buried talents need to be aroused. It can only be done when they realize it is a level playing field that they can operate in. That can only be done by proper enforcement of existing laws fairly.
This is not difficult to do. It does not need any money just a change of heart and a determination to do what is right. We have looked for leadership to set the example from the top but as that has been lacking we have to work in reverse and show the people in the 'top' it can be done from the bottom.
Sri Lanka's most valuable resource is its people and we have done a shoddy job in maximising their potential within our shores and have readily accepted that our best people can leave the country to benefit their new hosts as we don't know how to exploit their true worth.
Just to use a small example to make a point. It is easier to prevent a newly qualified doctor from leaving the country for greener pastures by providing him or her with the tools to do the job better in the country than alienate them by preventing them from leaving the country even for a medical conference without getting them to sign a bond, when they have no resources to use as collateral. The tools I refer to are the working conditions without interference, and use of equipment currently lying idle and rotting from bureucratic and hierarchical red tape.
We have not been able to elect people who can put petty differences aside and work for the common good. There is a saying that we deserve the government we have elected as it is us to blame for who we have put in power. So making statements like forming new parties can change the body politic is foolish unless this groundswell of public opinion can be harvested at the polls.
Sri Lanka like the UK and US has a two party democracy and the spoiler parties that come and go just make it easier for minority rule. What I mean by minority rule is that less than half the electors have elected the government of the day in all these countries.
If change can be affected it has to be done from within. I believe those currently in power cannot do so and it is for the grass roots to rise up into these two parties to add fresh blood by overthrowing those who are comfortable in their shoes knowing full well that no one will be able to upset the status quo. One must either demand performance, and results if not all sinecures, as that is what a position in government has now beocme, will be removed and given to one who can perform.
Sri Lanka only needs a strong judiciary and impartial police force that can enforce the law. Thats all. The laws in the country are in place and watertight. Therefore given the laws, and its fair enforcement so that all citizens, rich or poor, of all ethnicities are treated equal, then we do not need government, foreign aid, INGOS or UN organizations. We have the most intelligent people, the hardest working, industrious, charitable and selfless whose hitherto buried talents need to be aroused. It can only be done when they realize it is a level playing field that they can operate in. That can only be done by proper enforcement of existing laws fairly.
This is not difficult to do. It does not need any money just a change of heart and a determination to do what is right. We have looked for leadership to set the example from the top but as that has been lacking we have to work in reverse and show the people in the 'top' it can be done from the bottom.
Sri Lanka's most valuable resource is its people and we have done a shoddy job in maximising their potential within our shores and have readily accepted that our best people can leave the country to benefit their new hosts as we don't know how to exploit their true worth.
Just to use a small example to make a point. It is easier to prevent a newly qualified doctor from leaving the country for greener pastures by providing him or her with the tools to do the job better in the country than alienate them by preventing them from leaving the country even for a medical conference without getting them to sign a bond, when they have no resources to use as collateral. The tools I refer to are the working conditions without interference, and use of equipment currently lying idle and rotting from bureucratic and hierarchical red tape.
New to blogging
I am new to the world of blogging and making entries with photos. These are observations of a first time blogger who is looking for guidance. Any constructive suggestions are most welcome. My comments refer to blogs by or about Sri Lanka and Sri Lankans.
It seems like there are so many photos being inserted that relate little to the subject under discussion. Some or perhaps many have been culled from other sites and are not original to the blogger.
Much of the content is a rehashed or word for word taken from other sites, with little credit given to the site from which the content is extracted.
Many of the bloggers and I mean those signing on from Sri Lanka appear to be undergrads and people with a technical background who have access to the internet from their work places. As a result there are many advertising and media industry people.
Needless to say many are fluent in the English language ( am I stating the obvious ) and are from a very urban background. I am from a rural setting and there appear to be no blogs that have a like minded point of view.
Much of the debate centres on the Ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka with strong opinions being expressed on how it can be resolved. ( note that this has been going on for as long as the conflict has been in existence aka as long as there has been email and internet )
There is a lot written about the other issues facing Sri Lanka in a macro way that affects the daily lives of the people. Like Human Rights Issues, Corruption and Bad governance, and the politicisation of the country where nothing can be done without either political interference or patronage.
I suppose the Tsunami issue has taken a backseat as opinion has run out of steam. Don't forget that we received more than enough money to productively settle including house all the tsunami affected people and only half appear to have some sort of order back in their lives. No mention of where the colossal waste has gone.
To conclude therefore I can only assume the blogs and sites tend to be written by and for a very small minority of people in Sri Lanka representing their interests only. It would be so nice to gather in a greater population into this, older, rural, women, giving us their inputs, views, opinions so that all of us can be representative of the people about whom we spend a lot of time pontificating.
I am sorry I wish I was blessed with internet access and time to give more of my opinion on life and problems and privileges from my area. I would love to hear from people who are from areas out of urban centers about life and news.
It seems like there are so many photos being inserted that relate little to the subject under discussion. Some or perhaps many have been culled from other sites and are not original to the blogger.
Much of the content is a rehashed or word for word taken from other sites, with little credit given to the site from which the content is extracted.
Many of the bloggers and I mean those signing on from Sri Lanka appear to be undergrads and people with a technical background who have access to the internet from their work places. As a result there are many advertising and media industry people.
Needless to say many are fluent in the English language ( am I stating the obvious ) and are from a very urban background. I am from a rural setting and there appear to be no blogs that have a like minded point of view.
Much of the debate centres on the Ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka with strong opinions being expressed on how it can be resolved. ( note that this has been going on for as long as the conflict has been in existence aka as long as there has been email and internet )
There is a lot written about the other issues facing Sri Lanka in a macro way that affects the daily lives of the people. Like Human Rights Issues, Corruption and Bad governance, and the politicisation of the country where nothing can be done without either political interference or patronage.
I suppose the Tsunami issue has taken a backseat as opinion has run out of steam. Don't forget that we received more than enough money to productively settle including house all the tsunami affected people and only half appear to have some sort of order back in their lives. No mention of where the colossal waste has gone.
To conclude therefore I can only assume the blogs and sites tend to be written by and for a very small minority of people in Sri Lanka representing their interests only. It would be so nice to gather in a greater population into this, older, rural, women, giving us their inputs, views, opinions so that all of us can be representative of the people about whom we spend a lot of time pontificating.
I am sorry I wish I was blessed with internet access and time to give more of my opinion on life and problems and privileges from my area. I would love to hear from people who are from areas out of urban centers about life and news.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Grow what? where? how? why?
I am new to farming. I have little if any experience in farming. I have been there done that as they say in many areas of life but never in farming. So I enter this new field of interest with trepidation, fear, excitement and above all commitment to give it my best.
I am also new to blogging, but due to circumstances I will not be able to get on line as often as I would like as I do not have direct acess to the internet and will have to use the internet when time permits.
What I wish to gain from this blog is encouragement and experience of others who have done what I am trying to do and learn from them so that I can hold my head above water more often rather than be always falling into the pit that every amateur with no experience inevitably must do.
I will not restrict my blogs to just farming. It will sometimes document my life and experiences with the environment that I have chosen to live in. I hope the reader finds some of what I write useful as not many people have the good fortune to enter into this kind of lifestyle, though many I know would wish they could. They can then perhaps realize it is not all a bed of roses that I have decided to lie on rather a bed of roses with stems of thorn, but a fragrance that is overpoweringly fragrant.
I am also new to blogging, but due to circumstances I will not be able to get on line as often as I would like as I do not have direct acess to the internet and will have to use the internet when time permits.
What I wish to gain from this blog is encouragement and experience of others who have done what I am trying to do and learn from them so that I can hold my head above water more often rather than be always falling into the pit that every amateur with no experience inevitably must do.
I will not restrict my blogs to just farming. It will sometimes document my life and experiences with the environment that I have chosen to live in. I hope the reader finds some of what I write useful as not many people have the good fortune to enter into this kind of lifestyle, though many I know would wish they could. They can then perhaps realize it is not all a bed of roses that I have decided to lie on rather a bed of roses with stems of thorn, but a fragrance that is overpoweringly fragrant.
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