Developing Northern agriculture

That normality should be restored in the liberated North without undue delay goes without saying. A speedy return to normal activity would not only allow the people of the North to resume their day to day affairs all that much quicker but would also leave no room for a vacuum to be created that would give rise to unrest.

The return to normality no doubt would mean not only the rebuilding of broken lives of the Northern population who had lived under the jackboot of terrorism for over three decades. It would mean returning them to their familiar environments and livelihoods that had been shattered.

Anyone even with a nodding acquaintance of the Northern way of life would readily identify agriculture as offering the highest potential that alas had been dormant all these years in the North for obvious reasons. It is therefore now left to the Government to give rein to this potential through the resourcefulness of the Jaffna farmer in its Northern Reawakening program.

One cannot help but nostalgically recall the days gone by when the Jaffna farmer was spoken of with a high degree of respect and regard for his resourcefulness and industrious nature. That was a time when the people of the South were able to enjoy the agricultural bounties that came unhindered from the North. The old timer would still recall the harvests of vegetables that came to the South in plenty - the giant murungas the most famous among these.

Alas, three decades of war had laid waste to all the vast agricultural tracts in the North while the Jaffna farmer was unable to go out to tend his fields due to the guns and bombs. As a result, what we have today are a vast terrain of agricultural land that have been reduced to burnt out rubble. A massive effort will therefore be needed to get these lands back into proper shape and for the harvests of the North to once again reach the four corners of the country.

It is here that the assistance offered by internationally renowned agriculture expert Prof. M. S. Swaminathan to revamp agricultural activity in the North and East has come as a god send. Known as the “ ‘Father of the Indian Green Revolution’ Prof. Swaminathan has offered to resurrect agriculture in the North with the use of new technology used in several developing countries.

No doubt the plan would take some time to reach fruition with the populace still to be resettled. Besides, the farmers have lost all their lands and these need to be revested in their true owners as with all other property.

The raging war had driven farmers from their habitats with lands appropriated by the terrorists. The Government should therefore expedite the process of giving back the farmers all their lost land. No doubt once back in their vocation the Jaffna farmer would come back to his own.

In this respect, one recalls the golden era of the Jaffna farmer under Governments which offered him the best price for his produce. No wonder Presidential candidate Hector Kobbekaduwa was given a rousing welcome by the farmers in Jaffna who placed garlands on him made of chillies and onions during his campaign in the North. Needless to say the SLFP won a majority of electorates in the North at that poll.

Ideally, one would yearn for a recreation of that atmosphere once again between the North and South making the Jaffna farmer a catalyst in this transformation.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa should therefore give top priority towards the revival of the agricultural sector in the North without delay so that the Jaffna farmer can once again display his industry and resourcefulness to help renew these past bonds and also serve the national economy as a whole.

Now with the North East free of terrorism, we should lose no time in amalgamating all sectors in those parts that kept the national economy ticking.The fishery sector in the North is another area with vast potential.

Now with the gradual lifting of fishing restrictions people in the South could once again savour the marine delicacies Jaffna was so famous for at one time.

With the unrestricted fish supply arriving in the South this would also reduce the high fish prices while providing cheap sources of protein to the ordinary masses. There is no doubt going to limitless benefits all around now with the opening of the North to the rest of the country.

It is left to Government now to reap the real fruits of the war victories by tapping the enormous potential of the North. This ,while uniting the country after decades of separation will also add to a lost link to the national economy making it thrive to it’s full potential.