dining/NEWS

RICE: Economic Boom or Bust? Part XVIII

Bojoon.com and CIC has teamed up to review one of the most controversial debates of Sri Lanka - is rice as an industry worth the effort.

The discussion so far...

Rice as an industry comes under heavy fire as unprofitable notes Senior Consultant Researcher of CIC Agri Businesses Dr. Sumith Abeysiriwardena. Yet, instead of being abandoned, rice production in the last six decades has increased by 12 times! He points out the tremendous demand for rice, easy to handle grain and the only crop for marshy lands. With our technology and unique hydraulic systems our productivity is high and points that history proves rice is both our staple and our stronghold against our many enemies.

While other countries have made a viable export and domestic industry, we have decreased our rice consumption for wheat, making us economically vulnerable.

Our neighbours certainly reciprocate his belief that buffer stock provides a good solution to stabilise our staple, especially with unpredictability unique to agriculture. MD/CEO of Agri Businesses Keerthi Kotagama calculates that even with the best estimates, rice shortage is imminent at least at the tail end of year 2008, and a buffer stock is the only solution to address this immediate problem.

Kotagama continues that with increased production of ethanol due to increasing fuel prices and globalisation, the world is about to face a severe rice shortage.

The intervention programmes of our immediate neighbours, though taken with the country’s interests at heart, are causing unintended and long-term repercussions threatening to create a hungrier world.

Conversely, this has provided Sri Lanka a strategic moment that if used right would propel its rice industry to new levels. By developing the export market, Kotagama calculates that the farmer stands to earn a good profit while the local consumer getting his rice at the fair price.

However, he continues the socio-fabric has changed drastically since colonization. While there are advantages with these changes, these also make intricate agricultural projects and concepts like farmer associations impossible. Though farmer associations are a hard sell, they bring forth an array of benefits notes Dean of the Agriculture Department of Peradeniya University, Professor Buddhi Marambe, such as accruing proper data for research, adapting proper technology and educating the farmer on finance management. However, he continues that if the Government looks into the unconventional resource of university undergrads then the Government would be able to match the capacity of the private sector in conducting extension programmes.

The discussion continues: Professor Marambe continues that by linking the university undergraduates with the farmer, the farmer is exposed to a world of academic knowledge where he gets to understand the theories, logics and compositions behind technology, products and practices. This gives him the luxury of choice and better perception of various extension programmes that may not necessarily cater to his best interests.

However, more than any of these benefits, this kind of knowledge would help the farmer grasp the pace with the industry is moving.

For instance, Genetically Modified (GM) food has been a gripping subject. Yet, in anything there are always the pluses and the minuses. The subject of GM food is made even more controversial because of the unknown factors. As a young field, it is difficult to predict the consequences to come.

That is however not a reason not to explore the subject.

GM has been labelled as “Frankenstein Food” almost since its inception, which has created an almost lasting negative impression in the general audience.

Even over a decade later since the environmentalists’ successful campaign against GM food, people are reluctant to reconsider GM food. Despite the concerns however, GM is an important tool which can improve the efficiency of farming.

Farmers want to either increase their yield or produce the same amount on lesser land with lesser fertilisers, insecticides and other related costs. The farmer would also want to reduce the lead times, which is the biggest financial cruncher for them. As with any producer the farmer would like to get an edge on his product through better presentation.

GM could possibly be the answer to most of these needs. Thus, without understanding the full potential of GM, it is not fair to discard it altogether, especially with the looming world food crisis.

The irony is that some foods like Soya and maize are GM food and most of us do consume these on a regular basis without even realising that these are GM food.

The most important point here is also that despite the fears and concerns of GM food, neither the environment nor health has been effected, even though both Soya and maize are foods that are been regularly consumed. Though Europe is yet to change their policies on GM food, countries like US and India are aggressively pursuing the field and most foods in the US have undergone GM in some form.

In fact GM is now grown in massive amounts that is estimated that an area twice that of Britain is covered with GM crops.

That does not mean however that the concerns of GM are baseless. There are still many unknown factors and thus GM needs to be approached with caution, notes Professor.

If GM is to succeed, then all the players in the industry need to part of it and the best way to educate the farmer is through the eyes of the university undergraduate.

New BOI venture to launch Mobile Commerce services

A new venture to provide mobile commerce solutions for the local market was approved by the Board of Investment (BOI) on Wednesday.

The Utiba Mobile Commerce platform is the leading platform in the global mobile payment systems. Currently over 225 million subscribers use an Utiba solution on their phone.

The agreement signed with U. Generations Mobile Solutions (UGEN) is an investment of US $ 900,000 and will generate employment for 20. UGEN is a joint venture between Genesiis Software (Pvt) Limited, a fully owned subsidiary of the Finco Group of Companies and a Singapore based company, Utiba (Pte) Limited.

Utiba (Pte) Limited specialises in providing Advanced Mobile Commerce solutions and platforms.

Weerasooriya said he was confident that the market is now ready to accept innovative banking solutions on the mobile phones. The convergence between telecommunication networks and banks will provide cost effective, convenient banking services to all Sri Lankans, he said.