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by Dr. C. S. Weeraratna
Chairman, Sugarcane Research Institute

During the past two decades, most of the South and South East Asian countries have developed considerably by effective use of science and technology.

However, in Sri Lanka Science and Technology has been used to a relatively very little extent to the benefit of the people, although a considerable amount of scarce financial resources are used in scientific research.

A number of organizations such as the Council for Agricultural Research Policy, National Science Foundation, Industrial Technology Institute, Tea, Rubber, Coconut and Sugar Research Institutes, Institute of Fundamental Studies, Central Environment Authority, Universities (there are 13 universities in Sri Lanka), numerous Scientific Departments etc, are considered to be involved in scientific research/studies and development of technology. However, all these institutes appear to have not made any significant contribution towards economic/technological development of the country.

The critical sectors such as Agriculture, Education, Health, Housing, Transport have not shown any improvement during the last few decades. Perhaps this may be reason why the new General President of SLAAS, in his inaugural address said "I chose this theme based on what has bothered me over the years at the insignificant, almost negligible impact on economic, industrial and agricultural development that we have had from research that has been conducted over the past fifty years...."

The challenges which we face are many and have increased considerably during the past 2-3 decades. It is essential that we need to use science and technology more effectively to meet these challenges. Some of the more important critical issues are indicated below.

Fuel Crisis:

One of the challenges the country is facing is the fuel crisis, which is likely to have extremely undesirably repercussions. A large sum of money is spent on importing petroleum to Sri Lanka.

It has increased from Rs. 30.6 billion (US$ 401 million) in 1999 to Rs. 80.2 billion (US$ 791) in 2003, nearly 160% increase over the past five years.

The world market price of oil has increased from 30 US $ to 50 US$ per barrel during the last year. It is likely that our annual fuel bill will be around Rs. 120 billion in the current year.

The total annual export earnings from tea, rubber and coconut is only around Rs. 90 billion. Thus, our annual fuel bill is even more than what we earn annually by exporting these crop products. High oil prices will widen our trade deficit which was around Rs. 160 billion in 2004.

However, we appear to be unconcerned and no effective actions have been taken to explore alternative forms of energy, except for limited work on use of dendro-power. Studies conducted in many countries have found a number of alternatives to petroleum.

Ethanol is the most widely used alternative fuel. It is used extensively in countries such as Brazil, India, Canada etc. Automobiles powered by gasohol (gasoline and alcohol) are widely used in these countries.

Ethanol can be made from high starch containing crops such as manioc and maize, or high sugar containing crops such as sugarcane. These crops are cultivated in Sri Lanka.

Around 8 million litres of alcohol are produced annually at Pelwatta and Sevanagala sugar factories. These can be used to blend petrol and used at least in three wheelers so that those who use them need not pay higher fares.

A few years ago preliminary studies carried out at the Dept. of Chemistry of Ruhuna University indicated that rubber latex can be used as a fuel.

Urban wastes can be used to produce bio-gas which can replace LP gas used for cooking. Dendro-power obtained by using fast growing nitrogen fixing trees such as glyricidia and Leuceana, and solar-power are also potential alternatives.

Vegetable oils (bio fuels) such as Soya oil, are such alternatives for diesel. Thus, there are many alternatives to petroleum. Unfortunately, in Sri Lanka, the relevant authorities appear to have not taken any concerted effort to develop alternate sources of energy and use them.

Rainwater Harvesting:

The total amount of water the country receives in the form of rain is around 100 billion cubic meters. On an average only about 60% of this water is harvested and about 40% runs-off.

That is around 40 billion cubic meters. A portion of the run-off water gets collected in reservoirs and lakes and it is estimated that around 20 billion cubic meters (20,000 billion litres) of water escapes to the sea.

Although actual data is not available, it can be assumed that 60% (this can be more) of the rainfall that falls in the urban areas escapes to the sea. This is likely because most of the soil surface in urban areas is not exposed for rainwater to enter the soil. It is covered by buildings, tarred roads etc.

In Colombo municipality, which has an area of 37 sq km, i.e. 37 million sq. m and an average rainfall of 2000 mm, the total run off per year would be around 44 million cubic meters. The value of this run off water is around Rs. 1980 million.

The total treated water supplied by Sri Lanka's urban water supply schemes averages about 280 million cubic meters per year. A substantial portion of this treated water is used for washing vehicles, gardening, flushing toilets etc.

The power used to pump all this water is considerable and about 65% of it is thermal, obtained from diesel imported at a cost. Roof rainwater harvesting to obtain water for such purposes would reduce power used by National Water Supplies and Drainage Board (NWS&DB) in pumping water.

The technology of rainwater harvesting is available in the country. The Minister of Urban Development and Water Supply is taking a keen interest to promote water harvesting in the country, but the NWS&DB is not making much effort to use this technology.

Food Crisis:

Sri Lanka had been a net importer of essential food during the past decade. The average energy supplied by food is estimated at 2,300 Kilo Calories per day per head, and around 73% of it is obtained from carbohydrates, 8% from proteins and 19% from fats.

Rice, wheat flour and sugar are the main source of carbohydrates which provides energy. Rice is the staple food accounting for 68% of the total cereals consumed, and its present annual per capita consumption is around 100 kg. Of the total rice requirement around 15% is imported.

Wheat flour is also an important source of carbohydrates in the diet of Sri Lankans accounting to 30% of the cereals consumed in the country. The present percapita consumption of wheat is around 44 kg. The total wheat requirement is imported.

Sugar is another important carbohydrate in the diet of the people. The average annual consumption of sugar per head is around 30 kg, and contributes approximately 10% of the calorie intake. The total amount of sugar consumed in 1998 was in the region of 600,000t of which almost 90% was imported.

Thus, around 60% of the carbohydrates requirement of the country, necessary to supply energy is imported indicating the extremely unsatisfactory state of food security.

There are hundreds of scientists qualified in different aspects of food production and utilization, but the authorities, like in the power sector have miserably failed to increase our food security situation, and we continue to import our essential food at a cost of nearly Rs. 40 billion per year.

If we run short of money and/or a food supplying country is affected by drought or floods, Sri Lanka without any food reserves will be drastically affected and the people will have to starve. Unfortunately, the planners appear to have not realized the gravity of such a situation.

Cost of Food Production:

Closely related to food insecurity is the high cost of food production attributed to increasing costs of fertilizers. Around Rs 8 billion worth of fertilizers are imported annually for use in crop production. Use of Nitrogen fixation could reduce expenditure on nitrogenous fertilizers imported to the country.

There are scientists who are specialists in the use of technology of using N fixation in crop production but no attempt has been made to use their knowledge. Eppawela Apatite, an insoluble phosphorus-containing mineral, was discovered nearly 30 years ago in Anuradhapura District.

Even at present this mineral is only ground and applied to crops as a phosphatic fertilizer, without utilizing it to make more soluble triple superphosphate (TSP) while importing it at a tremendous cost to the country. The Technology of manufacturing sapahosphosphte is available in the country but not used commercially.

Land Degradation:

One of the main factors attributable to the declining production in the agricultural sector is low productivity primarily due to soil degradation. Cultivation of arable land for decades, particularly those in the wet zone, without practising adequate soil conservation measures, has eroded most of these lands with associated ill-effects, one of which is decrease productivity.

For example, in some tea lands there is hardly any soil and the annual average yield of these tea lands is only around 500 kg/ha which is considerably lower than the national average. Farmers complain that the response of crops to fertilizers has decreased, probably due to degradation of their lands.

It is a common sight to see the banks of Mahaveli and other rivers cultivated with annual crops which promote soil erosion. Results of numerous studies on soil erosion indicate that as much as 400-450 tons of soil/sq.km are lost and get deposited in water bodies decreasing the capacity of numerous reservoirs in the country.

The Soil Conservation Act of 1951 was enacted to make authorities to take appropriate action on soil conservation. However, these authorities and organizations appear to have not taken any appreciable action to control soil erosion.

In fact, according to recent press reports the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources appear to have permitted cultivation of a large extent of land in the proposed Sri Pada forest reserve in Maskeliya.

Thus, the reservoirs are getting silted up reducing their capacity to generate electricity, and when a drought sets in the Electricity Board wants people to cut down on use of electricity and use generators causing an increase in COP of all produce.

In Sri Lanka, during the last two decades, perhaps a few thousands of research studies, involving billions of rupees worth of scarce resources, have been conducted. Findings of these research projects were presented at numerous conferences, seminars etc.

The SLAAS held its 60th annual sessions in December 2004, at which around 245 scientific papers were presented. At previous annual sessions too, a similar number of papers have been presented. It is important that we utilize these research findings for the benefit of the country, but no effective action appear to have been taken to achieve this.

As indicated at the beginning of this article, while our neighbouring countries are showing rapid development, we lag behind for lack of systematic use of science and technology.

The Ministry of Science and Technology has an important role to play in initiating appropriate programmes to effectively use science and technology for development of the country.

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