GO FOR IT REALITY GOVIYA!

Ishara JAYAWARDANE

Ariyapala looked at his paddy fields covered in a golden glow by the setting sun. He felt a deep satisfaction at how he had toiled hard throughout the day. The sound of a barking dog reminded him that his supper was waiting for him. Tomorrow would be another day of cultivation. His wife would have fed the chickens. They would be taken to town tomorrow. The harvest was near. It has been a perfect season without floods or drought.

But Ariyapala was wise. Good fortune doesn’t last for long. Today on television he would be watching his favorite programme Shoora Goviya.

Daily News met up with Shoora Goviya Director Wasantha Duggannarala to find out the latest about the reality television series.

“These days I am heavily involved in an Agricultural television programme called Shoora Goviya which is running its Fourth Season. We don’t call it season we call it fourth harvest (Aswanna). This project will go the breadth of the country. This is not a programme that can be shot on location only in Colombo and therefore involves every part of the country.

“Hundreds of farmers from every location in the country have sent in their applications. We selected and we have come down to the final 30. The final 32 are now competing. I have also introduced a new feature to this season and introduced artistes, each one from eight regions and I have commenced shooting with them. The programme is aired every Wednesday at 9.45pm on Derana,” Duggannarala added.

Shoora Goviya is something unique as before there has never been a contest for farmers. There has been no competition as such and in doing Shoora Goviya we are thinking of the young farmers. “We feel the next generation is distancing themselves from farming. People think that farming is a not a prestigious job. Therefore we decided we must do something for young farmers and decided to do a programme that motivates and interests them. That is how Shoora Goviya came about. We formulated a criteria as to How do we select the farmers, What qualities should we look for in a young farmer and Who will judge the competition etc.

The Peradeniya University, Agricultural Department and the CIC Agri business got together and conducted a competition to select the young farmers. So the auditions, you may call it, commenced, culminating in a grand event participating in workshops, sitting for practical and theoretical exams and selected the farmers. Research has shown that this programme has been productive. Lot of young people are taking up farming after viewing this and new technology is being used as well, Duggannarala went on saying.

Shoora Goviya cannot be compared to other reality shows. This does not involve dancing and singing. This involves cultivation. You have to develop your farm. “There are so many influencing factors that the farmer has to battle against, such as rain, drought and floods. This is reality. So we bring this to television. Before, there was no format to bring this reality to television.

The format I have introduced is Shoora Goviya. This does not only involve talent in cultivation, he needs the social knowledge and attitude; is he involved in societal activities, Does he help others - so all of this is measured in discovering the Shoora Goviya.

This is a very practical reality show that Wasantha has run the entire gamut. He has been an actor, script writer, programme presenter, lyric writer, author and short story novelist and a reporter. Now he is an Agri Ambassador.

“My mission is to encourage and motivate farmers. I want to be a positive force for farmers. We have support of course from the government. They have a soft spot for us because what we are doing is something the state sector should be doing. The fund for Shoora Goviya is purely from CIC Agri business.

What I have done has not been done before. As an agricultural competition Shoora Goviya is the first in the world. We are getting an international award from Singapore. So this is a full scale effort by us on the field”, Duggannarla concluded in saying.