{"id":106481,"date":"2020-09-10T21:32:57","date_gmt":"2020-09-11T03:32:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=106481"},"modified":"2020-09-10T14:30:40","modified_gmt":"2020-09-10T21:30:40","slug":"how-our-excellent-agricultural-extension-system-of-the-sixties-was-sacrificed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/09\/10\/how-our-excellent-agricultural-extension-system-of-the-sixties-was-sacrificed\/","title":{"rendered":"How our excellent agricultural extension system of the Sixties was sacrificed."},"content":{"rendered":"

By Garvin Karunaratne\u00a0 former G.A. Matara<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

In view of the attempts by our President to\nboost our agriculture, it may be worthwhile to ascertain what did happen to the\nexcellent agricultural extension service we had in the Sixties- the effort of\nthe combined Agriculture Department and Agrarian Services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I enclose a chapter from my forthcoming\npublication: NuwaraKalaviya which details what happened.. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was stunned  to read  a\nnews item stating that  youths from schools in. Anuradhapura are very\nlikely to be the cannon fodder for renal disease. Students in grades\n10 to 12 in the North Central Province are prone to contact renal diseases\u2026earlier\nit was people in the 30s and 40s.\u201d(Daily Mirror (12\/4)<\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My\nmind lingered to the 25,000 farmers of the North Central Province who have\nsuccumbed to the CDKu- the Kidney Disease.  Some of them may have\nbeen the young farmers with whom I worked in the 296 cultivation committees I\nset up in 1962. Then there was a hive of activity- discussions and\narguments  going on for hours at times till late at night-the thrust\nof it was to use high yielding varieties and supplement with fertilizer. This\nwas accomplished.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sad to\nsay,  some two decades later certain  administrative\nchanges that were made did decimate the very\neffective   agricultural extension system that we\nhad.  . In addition with the abolition of the Paddy Lands Act in the\nEighties, the agrarian services with its overseers and the cultivation\ncommittee, the peoples\u2019 organization at the village level ceased to exist. In\naround 1993, the trained agricultural overseers- the Krushikarma Vyapti Sewakas\nat the village level who formed the king pin that guided fertilizer and weedicde\nuse at the village level were promoted as Grama Niladharis and till today no\nextension overseer with any training has taken their place. The farmers have no\none to guide them. The closest trained officer is the Agricultural Instructor\nat the divisional level who has any number from 5000 to 14000 farmers to\nprovide guidance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To my\nmind this lacuna in the agricultural extension system is the main cause for the\nmisuse of fertilizer and weedicides that has caused the kidney disease. We have\ntaken many steps, like providing clean water in barrels, establishing water\ntreatment plants, having kidney dialysis machines at hospitals but these do not\ntouch the core cause.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guiding\nfamers to use the essential fertilizer, weedicides and pesticides is the key,\nIn paddy cultivation we have high yielding varieties that require a fertilizer\ninput.  This matter cannot be settled until we have a trained\noverseer at the village level and also build up a vibrant agricultural\nextension system. Left to themselves without any technical input the farmers\nmisuse fertilizer, using the wrong fertilizer and unnecessarily large doses of\nit.  The massive subsidy given for fertilizer also helped the misuse\nof fertilizer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is my opinion is that in\naddition to all other factors that have been identified the excessive use of\nfertilizer is a major cause. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The problem with the use\nof fertilizer is that there are three varieties, phosphate, potash and\nsulphate. Each fertilizer has to be used at different stages of the paddy plant\nand can have negative results if misused.  Further the effect of some\nvarieties like ammonium sulphate and urea is easily visible which make farmers\nuse this variety only and ignore the rest. Thus for best results a vibrant\nextension service is essential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Let me draw on my\nexperience as an administrative officer. I handled fertilizer distribution to\nthe entire island in 1962 in the Agrarian Services Department and was\ninstrumental in sending out the first island wide circular which detailed the\namount of fertilizer to be used, which fertilizer and at what stage. At that\ntime farmers used very little fertilizer and the green revolution was pursued\napace with the introduction of new varieties of paddy that had a high response\nto inorganic fertilizer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Later in 1962 to 1964, I\nwas implementing the Paddy Lands Act in the Anuradhapura District, establishing\ncultivation committees and planning the use of fertilizer and high yielding\nvarieties. The farmers were very enthusiastic and there was great progress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The use of fertilizer\nproceeded apace and Sri Lanka almost reached self sufficiency whilst\nimplementing the rice ration scheme, issuing rice at reduced rates by\n1970. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 During these years of\nexpansion- I was working in Sri Lanka till 1973 and even for another decade\nlater there was no major problem about the negative use of fertilizer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 At that time there were\ntwo major Departments that attended to agricultural extension. The long\nstanding department was the Department of Agriculture, which was well staffed\nwith qualified officers. At the District level there were District Agricultural\nExtension Officers(DAEO) who were authorities in the use of fertilizer. Under\nthem in each District there were Agricultural Instructors at the Divisional\nlevel. They had studied agriculture for two years. I have met them again and\nagain on my visits and I was always impressed with their knowledge. Each\nAgricultural Instructor had a number of Krushikarma Vyapti Sevakas(KVSs)- Field\nAssistants who were posted at the village level. These officers had an years’\ntraining in paddy cultivation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 With the establishment\nof the Agrarian Services Department in 1958, to implement the Paddy Lands Act a\nboost was given to paddy cultivation by the establishment of cultivation\ncommittees. Each District was headed by an Assistant Commissioner and under him\nthere were Divisional  Officers  who had around half a dozen\nField Assistants.  The Field Assistants were trained in agriculture. This\nstaff guided the work of the cultivation committees and we got down to planning\nthe use of fertilizer at the village level. The KVSs of the Agricultural\nDepartments  also worked with the cultivation committees. Peoples\nparticipation was foremost in the working\nof the cultivation committees and this combined strength of the Department of\nAgriculture and Agrarian Services did create wonders in increasing paddy\nproduction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 However this efficient extension service went through four\nmajor changes from the Seventies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Firstly the Agrarian\nServices Department which was following the socialist concept of people\u2019s\nparticipation was given less and less prominence and ultimately the cultivation\ncommittees were disbanded with the abolition of the Paddy Lands Act. Though the\nAgrarian Services yet has petty offices at the divisional level, these offices\nhave hardly any tasks and their work today is a fraction of the work we did in\nthe Sixties. The Cultivation Officers and Yaya Representatives under the\nAgrarian Services Act were ineffective. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The Department of\nAgriculture which was the technical department with specialist officers had a\nmajor shake up when President Premadasa decided to absorb all KVSs- some 2300\nas Grama Niladharis.. Out went the qualified officers who were working at the\nvillage level guiding the farmers. For a few years there was no agriculture\nstaff at the village level under the Agricultural Instructors, till President\nKumaranatunge created the Samurdhi Niyamakas-O Level qualified youths were\nappointed and they knew no agriculture. Till today these Niyamakas continue.\nSome of them have of their own accord mastered something in agriculture due to\ntheir enthusiasm but unfortunately to date they have never been trained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Another change was\ndevolving Agriculture and Agrarian Services to the Provincial Councils by the\n13 th Amendment to our Constitution. Thenceforth the efficiency depended on the\nwhims and fancies of the Provincial Minister of Agriculture. Gone are the days\nwhen I was in charge of fertilizer extension and distribution for the entire\nisland, when I did send out the first circular detailing the manner in which\nfertilizer had to be used. That was before e mails and computers came in. The\ncircular was roneoed on a Gestetner machine and posted. Every Field Assistant\nin every corner of the island received it the next day. That was a time when we\nhad an efficient postal service. The Field Assistants had to summon the\ncultivation committees discuss, draft plans and get down to implementation\nimmediately. The Field Assistants knew that I or some Assistant Commissioner\nwould pounce on them impromptu, check the progress and they knew what would\nhappen to their service if they were found asleep. That efficient\nadministration was totally lost with the Provincial Councils being devolved\nwith agriculture.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 A\nfourth force was the IMF and the World Bank which came up with their Training\n& Visit System of Agricultural Extension (TVS) which forbid  the\nuse of people\u2019s institutions- cooperatives and in Sri Lanka, cultivation\ncommittees and instead dictated a direct role for the Departments of\nAgriculture. The KVSs were asked to document the number of farmers they met\nindividually. With as much as a few thousands of farmers in their areas the KVS\ncould meet only a few. The only method of meeting a large clientele is by using\ncooperatives,  cultivation committees and such people\u2019s\norganizations. This did away with popular participation. The participation of the farmers is essential to enable them to use high yielding\nvarieties and fertilizers in the appropriate manner so that they can get\nthe maximum harvest.  The farmers have to be consulted; their\nparticipation evoked and working with them is an art in itself. Many village\nlevel workers handle their work in a directive manner and they prefer to\ninstruct farmers rather than work with their participation. This is what\nhappened with the imposition of the TVS. The TVS system was imposed, with the\noffer of grants and loans of foreign exchange, with added grace periods, when\nno payment had to be made and it was immediately adored by our leaders because of the offer of\nforeign exchange. It sounded the death knell for our excellent and vibrant\nextension system, done with full peoples\u2019 participation. There is room to think that\nthis move of the World Bank was aimed at crippling the development in\nagriculture that was taking place apace in the Developing Countries. One will\nbe convinced of this sabotage only when one learns about the ill effects of the\nStructural Adjustment Programme which  the IMF introduced to our countries\nin the next few years, which I have detailed in my book: How the IMF Ruined\nSri Lanka\u009d: (Godages)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In 1995 I came back to\nSri Lanka and working on my small family farm, I had the occasion to go again\nand again to the extension offices at Udupila and Kadawata. I have narrated my\nexperience in my book: How the IMF Ruined Sri Lanka\u201d.\u009d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nofficers there did not know the exact amount  of fertilizer I should use and\nrelate it to the high yielding varieties of paddy. At my insistence they raked\ntheir files and provided me with details. The circular advised the use of\nammonium sulphate and urea at the basal stage and no mention was made of its\nuse as the top dressing.. I brought this to the notice of the Secretary to the\nMinistry and .months later I got a reply to the effect that the advice given to\nme was out of date by half a dozen years. About a year later I dropped into one\nof these Centers  and to my amazement I found that even then the top\ndressing had not been incorporated into the advice.\u009d<\/em> <\/em>There is\nnot a single farmer who does not know that ammonium sulphate\/urea has to be\nused as the top dressing.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 What this illustrates is\na total break down in agricultural extension. This is corroborated by\nAgricultural Officer Cecil Dharmasena in his very insightful article in The\nIsland of  22\/4\/13, he states, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nlack of an organized and coordinated extension and advisor system today as we\nhad in the past(prior to the Provincial Council Administration System), where\nthe Department of Agriculture through its comprehensive  island wide\nextension division provided an efficient service appears to be the biggest drawback\nin agriculture at present.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 He refers to both the\ndecision of President Premadasa to make all KVSs Grama Niladharis leaving a gap\nat the village level as well as the decision based on the 13 th Amendment to\nour Constitution to devolve the subject of agriculture to the Provincial\nCouncil as the cause. He even states that today all types of agencies\nof the Provincial Council and private sector offer confusing services<\/em>.\u201d\u009d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 These details about the\nlacuna in the extension services is further  corroborated by another\nAgricultural Officer, Ranjith Mulleriyawa in The Island of\n4\/6\/13, where he states that after the promotion of the KVSs- the Field\nAssistants at the village level to become Grama Niladhari, the Agricultural\nInstructors had to supervise and offer extension services to as much as 13,000\nfarmers at Yodakandiya and 3,500 farmers at Ranoruwa. Covering even 500 farmers\nis a major task for a single officer and covering thousands mean that the\nservice will be severely crippled. Even today the Agricultural Instructors\ncannot offer a proper service as their assistants are the Niyamakas who in\ntheir ignorance of agriculture are actually the laughing stock of the farmers.\nHaving met a few farmers here and there on my annual visits I can definitely\ncorroborate with both Ranjith Mulleriyawa as well as Cecil Dharmasena for the\ntotal breakdown of agricultural extension. The heading of Ranjith Mulleriyawa\u2019s\narticle  itself Truth is Stranger than Fiction: Messing up Agriculture\u201d\u009d\nspeaks volumes. Further the Niyamakas belong to the Agrarian Services\nDepartment while the trained agriculturist, the Agricultural Instructor comes\nunder the Department of Agriculture.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In fact I was convinced\nfor long about the fact that the extension system had broken down with fertilizer\nbeing misused but I wanted definite corroboration and this paper emerged after\nreading their insightful comments. I am most thankful to them. Crusader Ranjith\nMulleriyawa is no more.  He passed away recently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fact that the extension\nservice is broken up is also clearly evident because the planting of paddy is\nnow not adhering to the rainfall pattern, though the bulk of paddy cultivation\nis rainfed. In the earlier system under the Vel Vidanes of the days when the\nGovernment Agents handled minor irrigation and later when the cultivation\ncommittees handled paddy cultivation there was a definite system where the\nfarmers met at Kanna meetings at the beginning of each season and decided when\nto cultivate, what seed to use and when to harvest etc. Even fines were decided\nwhich was strictly enforced by courts of law.  After the cultivation\ncommittees were disbanded the Yaya Representatives under the Agrarian Services\nAct were ineffective. Now, Kanna meetings are not held systematically, with the\nresult that late cultivation is common and the harvest gets damaged by the\noncoming rains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 It would augur well for\nour Ministry of Agriculture to please consider establishing a people\u2019s\ninstitution like the cultivation committee to handle paddy cultivation and the\nuse of fertilizer could be attend to by this organization. This is a prime\nrequirement today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the breakdown of the\nextension service the farmers are left to their own devices. I have spoken to a\nfew farmers on my visit last year and they were using ammonium sulphate and\nurea at the basal stage, Every one research paper I have read of fertilizer use\ntells me that ammonium sulphate or urea if used at the basal stage just leaches\ninto the soil in the absence of a standing crop to absorb it. To my thinking\nthis misuse of fertilizer is one of the main causes for the CDUK disease. I\nhave no doubts about it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  Further the\nNiyamakas have to be trained and may I suggest that this be taken up\nimmediately- at least a months\u2019 crash course in paddy plantation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 I\nfear that the neglect in agricultural extension which is key to the neglect in\nthe use of fertilizer if not corrected will lead to the  kidney disease\nspreading in Sri Lanka which may kill perhaps millions. Let that predicament\nnot happen to my motherland. We do have the ability to avoid it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Garvin\nKarunaratne, Ph.D Michigan State University,  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former\nG.A,. Matara <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  08092020 garvin_karunaratne@ hotmail.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Garvin Karunaratne\u00a0 former G.A. Matara In view of the attempts by our President to boost our agriculture, it may be worthwhile to ascertain what did happen to the excellent agricultural extension service we had in the Sixties- the effort of the combined Agriculture Department and Agrarian Services.  I enclose a chapter from my forthcoming […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-by-garvin-karunaratne"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106481\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}