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| Thursday, 31 October 2002 |
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Fallow lands now flourishing by Arjuna Ranawana Eight months of peace have brought many dividends. In the cities people
have discovered a new life outside their homes particularly in the
evenings. The crowds at musical shows, on Galle Face Green and on
Parliament grounds show that they have lost their fear of congregating in
public places. Movies are having a new lease of life as they can hold the
late show again.
But these are manifestations of the psychological change that the Ceasefire has brought about. What has been more important is the return to agriculture of vast tracts of land in the conflict-plagued zones in the North and East of the country. Sri Lanka's economic divide is shown sharply in the difference between the sophisticated wealthy city-dweller who hunts down his Koththu Roti in a BMW on Galle Road at night and the subsistence farmers of areas such as northern Polonnaruwa who track down Beehives in the jungle to supplement his meagre income from growing seasonal crops. But the one thing that has benefited both has been the absence of war. In these 250 days thousands of farmer families in the so-called border areas in the districts of Vavuniya, Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura, Ampara, Batticaloa and Trincomalee have been able to re-irrigate and grow crops on their lands. Most of these areas, which get rainfall from the Northeast monsoon, have lain idle and overgrown for a decade. In the past few years many had fled these areas due to massacres carried out by the LTTE and also because they were living on the frontline. Those who did not flee lived among the soldiers and the LTTE cadres. Every day they went out into the fields they were not sure of returning. Although at times they were not particularly targeted by any of the warring groups, many were shot accidentally as they often wandered into areas claimed by one side or another. In some areas of the Ampara and Polonnaruwa districts, the International Committee of the Red Cross had to be asked to be present and escort farmers at harvest time. The paddy fields were poorly tended as farmers visited them rarely as they feared for their lives and therefore the output per hectare was far below the national average. Ampara, which used to produce a substantial percentage of the country's rice, was badly affected. Irrigation canals have not been maintained for years and millions of rupees spent on building the networks completely wasted as many of them would have to be rebuilt if they are to serve the farmers again. But now there is a difference. Already some crops from these areas are reaching the market and according to the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute the reintegration of the agricultural economy will help to stabilise food prices in the country. From Colombo, villages near Horowpatana with names like Dutuwewa and Valahaviddawewa, may be far away in distance and perception. But the benefits that the people of both the metropolis and the village have got from peace are tangibly the same.[back] |
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