DEBATE:

'Once a flourishing export...'

Lahiru Hemal Somaratne

Tea, rubber and coconut. These words are familiar to us. These were exports of the past which helped to bring a great revenue into our country.

Indeed, some still bring in revenue to our country. However, we must be regretful about the sorry state at which we are mismanaging and destroying our natural resources.

The name 'coconut' is no stranger to our lives. We use coconuts for various things, be it cooking, or making various delicacies or even for some of us for our religious rites.

Coconut has become a very common household object. Not only coconut of the coconut tree, we also use the leaves for thatching houses and the husk for making carpets and brooms.

Almost every part of this tree is of a a great use to us. Yet we don't seem to realise this.

It has become a new fashion and a trend for many coconut estate owners to now find 'quick cash' by breaking up their estates and selling them to various people or organisations, who in turn break up the land into pieces and cut the coconut trees in the land and sell the land. The lands are sold with different prices and with different names.

But there is a process which escapes the buyer's eye.

The process how once a piece of land which was flourishing and full of coconut trees turn into a piece of land governed by four poles at the four corners.

It has become a new style and a new way to 'cash' land; as it is of a greater convenience to break up land and sell than grow coconuts.

Current open economy of the country has made it a must for people to earn money at any rate regardless of the consequences of their actions. So is the case of the 'coconut estates'. But it should be of a common knowledge of the harmful consequences that should befall on us if this goes on.

Coconut is not only a necessary and a common food item but also a potential foreign currency bringer to our country. It is now becoming clear of the fact why coconut prices are rising. This is due to the lack of adequate supply of coconuts to the growing demand that we face today.

It would undoubtedly be a sad day the day which we would have to import coconuts, which once was a flourishing export that was a trademark of Sri Lanka. Sadder would be the knowledge that the day of this disaster is near at hand, at this rate.

We should alter our attitude of 'earning money anyhow' and try to engage in activities that would benefit both ourselves and our country.

We should not always look at only ourselves but also at the larger picture of what will befall on our country due to the results of our reckless actions. We should oblige ourselves to think twice about the consequences of our actions before final decisions are reached.

We mustn't always go for the 'quick cure' or the quick solution to problems, for this might in turn create larger problems in the future. We should also consider about our country, not only our individual well-being.

The government's decision to ban the breaking up and selling of coconut estates should be highly praised and appreciated as a very timely action.

It's useless to point fingers and blame each other at this point of this issue. We should hereafter take care to try to change our attitudes and work for the greater benefit of all.

Property development does not harm coconut plantations

Bertram Cooray

As we drive along main roads in this country, colorful banners across the road, and neatly demarcated blocks of land ready for sale, are a common sight. The effect of these activities on the coconut industry in particular, is a very common subject of discussion, especially in view of the present crisis in the industry and the prevailing high coconut prices.

When we enter the Puttalam district at Kochchikade and drive along the Colombo Puttalam road passing Nainamadama, Wennapuwa, Marawila, Madampe and reach Chilaw, we see plenty of most impressive coconut trees in spite of the maximum amount of property development and fragmentation that has occurred over the decades.

This situation makes one realise the need to make careful study of the subject without arriving at a conclusion that property development necessarily harms agriculture.

It is human nature to invest one's hard earned money on something that is most profitable, and what is mostly needed by that individual. Presently it is an accepted fact at present, that investment in land and property development is most profitable.

Agriculture is not a profitable investment, in this country but people maintain agricultural land not for its agricultural value but as an investment in the land. If the state and the public want to save agricultural land, and further want the owners to invest on agriculture then agriculture has to be made profitable. This is exactly what has not been done in this country.

There is a need for industrial development. There is a need for housing in the provinces, and this has to be encouraged to prevent overcrowding of cities and resulting traffic congestion. Schools and hospitals have to be improved in the provinces to prevent everybody from rushing to Colombo.

Ribbon development along the trunk roads has to be expected and fragmentation of agricultural land for this purpose cannot be avoided. Funds spent on construction of roads cannot be justified if they do not contribute to development.

Let us consider the factors that have actually contributed to the decline in the coconut industry. Soil nutrients are not an unlimited resource.

In the case of coconut plantations continuous cropping with coconut over nearly 100 years has caused soil mining and almost total depletion of nutrients that were once available. In simple words we say that the soil has lost its fertility. Coconut was considered a lazy man's crop but not anymore.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that coconut grows in sandy soils, (unlike tea and rubber) where nutrients get easily leached during rain. The loss of soil fertility could have been prevented by following required agronomic practices but it was not done.

The coconut growing industry received step-motherly treatment from the Government. The coconut growing was not allowed to become profitable. The growers did not get a fair price for their produce, as the industry was for several decades, controlled by the millers who were politically influential.

The prices were not allowed to fluctuate on supply and demand basis. Whenever the coconut prices appreciated due to shortfall in production, the Government under the influence of millers brought down the prices by importing palm oil. This was done mostly to please the millers and not so much the consumer.

The producer was forced to sell a smaller crop at reduced prices. Can we then expect the grower to invest on improving the plantations? A few years ago the Government brought down the import duty of palm oil from 35% to 5%, and the farm gate price of a coconut came down to Rs 3.50. The coconut oil mills wound up and the growers even stopped visiting their estates.

Coconut land is neglected due to following reasons.

1. Low farm gate price.

2. Theft of produce by thieves as well as estate employees.

3. Very high cost of fertilizer ( price of a ton of Urea has increased over the last 5 to 6 years from Rs.7000/- up to Rs 60,000/-)

4. Lack of interest of the younger generation in agriculture, mainly due to management problems arising from thefts.

Intensive cultivation of agricultural land should be introduced without lamenting over a few acres that have come under the hammer. An acre of coconut should have an optimum of 65 trees. At present only around 50% of the trees are productive and part of the land is vacant. If the balance is under planted it would have the same effect as increasing the acreage by 100%.

If the trees are fertilized the crop would double and again amounts to increase of acreage by another 100%.

Once the trees are fertilized the weight of the kernel could increase by 25% which again would be equivalent to an increase of the acreage by another 25%. The above steps are equivalent to an increase of several millions of trees.

The price of coconut must be kept at a reasonably high price for two to three years to encourage the grower, and even the consumer should be educated on this need.

The grower will then get down to a job of work and improve their plantations. The coconut price will, then come down as a result of increase of production but the grower will not be too unhappy as he will have a lot of nuts to sell.

The companies engaged in fragmentation of land, block out large extents of land in an orderly manner, providing internal roads, electricity, etc as an example to even the city planners who have failed to do so.

This is followed by construction of facilities such as shops, suppliers of building materials etc. This is against the usual pattern of village expansion that has been taking place with odd shaped building blocks and winding roads we see in the villages. So what is the harm in sacrificing some agricultural land to make way for planned development.

If the reduction of the number of coconut trees is the major concern then the provincial councils could impose a requirement that a certain number of coconut trees should be preserved or replanted in order to issue the certificate of conformity for the buildings, to get the services such as electricity, water supply, etc.

The few trees left over and coming up in an human environment may give a better yield than the previous trees all put together. While discouraging fragmentation of agricultural land the government should also encourage consolidation of land.

It was the government that first carried out fragmentation by limiting the land ownership to 50 acres. Now these families have several children and naturally these lands have to be divided among them. Some children have left the country and want to sell their shares.

Some growers want to sell a portion of the land to raise funds to develop the balance section of land, or to attend to an urgent family need. Government intervention to prevent these occurrences will only violate the fundamental rights of the land owners.

In case of coconut plantations it is the successive governments that have done all the damage by controlling the coconut prices, at the expense of the plantations. Any ill effects of fragmentation could be overcome by encouraging consolidation of land, by individuals purchasing adjoining fragments of land to form more manageable units.

At present a deterrent against the development of coconut lands is thieving of agricultural produce by employees themselves or the villagers.

How can a grower spend funds on fertilizing and developing his land when the produce is enjoyed by some body else. Strict legislation should be enforced to punish those engaged in theft of agricultural produce. The vehicles used to transport stolen produce should be confiscated. The grower cannot enjoy the benefits of expenditure incurred on the development of their lands due to the thieving of the crop.

The state should take advantage of property development by making, the provision of coconut trees within these units, to be a part of the property development. The provincial council could make it mandatory for builders to submit plans for approval showing the proposed building as well as the location of a minimum number of coconut trees, and also for the buildings to be multistoried.

While we lament over the removal of a few trees, to make way for development, several lakhs of trees become unproductive annually due to insufficient nutrients. The developed world in their search for alternative sources of energy have gone for production of biodiesel using palm oil.

And it is said that coconut oil is only second to palm oil in this making of biodiesel. In this country we have to look sharp and develop the thousands of existing plantations before we are caught up with these new trends which will increase the demand for coconuts. The only requirement is to maintain a coconut price in keeping with the development costs.

Urban sprawl is a social phenomenon

Jayantha Senevirathna

True! Just like impatient Labrador retrievers waiting for their masters to send the signal 'go', eager real estate agents wait for you to answer your million rupee question. Where to build my new home? Already, they continue unhindered by environmentalists. And, urban sprawl becomes one of the most sensitive issues in the country.

No matter from where we intend to enter the metropolitan, we wait patiently for hours till road developers ease out for a while to let us continue. We don't call it traffic jams now. We just refer to another big expansion of road building. But, pathetically, we are totally ignorant of the damage such constructions cause to the environment.

When such massive expansion projects are mooted, many feel it as an obvious solution to ease traffic in and out of the city. But many years after completion of highways, traffic congestion has been worsening, and the numbers of vehicles on roads are also increasing.

Is building more roads an adequate solution to contain urban sprawl and traffic congestion? Many citizens dream that efficient transportation would ease traffic and discourage urban sprawl as they could travel to offices in no time.

But research on transportation hits the nail on the fact that even investments on road expansions are increased substantially, it will not help to hold back steady increases in the number of commuters or vehicles on roads.

Urban sprawl is a social phenomenon. If you exercise your democratic rights to decide where you are going to build your home, no one can obstruct your way as far as you are conducting your thinking legally. You may be thinking of educating your children, and expose them to a more competitive environment to mould them to adjust into new employment markets.

You have your priorities and the number of tress you cut or the amount of waste water you release into sewerage is not your problem. Then whose priorities are they? In fact, an individual is not responsible for such deeds. It's inept policy makers who have mastered urban planning abroad and idling in air-conditioned rooms for good.

In developed countries commuters witness a green belt surrounding major cities. Such lands are protected under strict government regulations. Green belts serve several purposes. In a way, it discourages urban pollution and reduces suburban land that disappears under concrete. And, it definitely eases out tensions of people living in multi-storey apartments.

Such creative policy making may discourage controversial housing developments in the immediate suburbs. When you keep the suburbs clean, it becomes essential to contain pollution in the centre. In such circumstances, people would find space only in the city centre, and be happy to live in a clean and beautiful city even though without private gardens.

Such measures will put pressure on house-builders to construct more apartment buildings, while keeping away from green belts where they engage in the most controversial constructions threatening the environment. Intensive farm lands and forest reserves are the most coveted landscapes that need protection from house developers. It's policy makers who should be more creative!

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Violence on TV: The Broader Picture

Television invaded Sri Lanka in the 1980s and now it has expanded to every nook and corner of the country. There is a surfeit of channels on terrestrial free-to-air television and even more if you have access to cable or satellite. More channels are being added. Television dominates our evenings, with most people glued to teledramas and foreign teleserials.

Today's children literally grow up with television. Children are instantly attracted to this visual medium. Their growing minds are susceptible to accumulate everything shown on the telly. There is a lot of blood on show on television. Local teledramas as well as foreign series show countless murders, shootings, kidnappings, explosions etc.

There are many who believe that young minds exposed to such violence on television will turn out to be citizens with unsound minds.

But can anything be done about it in this modern age when even the news telecasts feature loads of violence ? What are your views on 'Violence on Television: The broader picture'. Do write to us on the abive topic to Daily News Debate, Daily News, Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited, PO Box 1217, Colombo, or via e-mail to [email protected] before February 29, 2008.

Limit your contributions to a maximum 1,000 words.