| Prof.Swaminathan suggests creation
of 'rice refineries' for Sri Lanka |
| |
| Presents copy of his report on
Sri Lankan agriculture to President Mahinda Rajapakse
|
| |
- Points to mismatch between production and post-harvest
technology
- Paddy alone won't give enough income
- Rajapakse keen to have modern ICT, other methods
to empower rural people
|
| |
|
| OFFERING EXPERTISE: Sri Lankan President
Mahinda Rajapakse and Dr. M.S. Swaminathan at Temple
Trees in Colombo. |
| |
| COLOMBO : Agricultural scientist
M.S. Swaminathan has mooted the creation of 'rice refineries'
in Sri Lanka as part of his recommendations for sustainable
agricultural system there. |
| |
| Prof. Swaminathan, who was in Sri
Lanka earlier this week, told The Hindu on Tuesday that
one of the issues confronting the agriculture sector
there was the "mismatch between production and
post-harvest technology." |
| |
| Prof. Swaminathan, who is the Chairman
of the National Commission on Farmers, was invited by
the Sri Lankan Government in 2002. |
| |
| President's concern |
| |
| He presented a copy of his report
titled "Shaping Sri Lanka's Agricultural Future"
to President Mahinda Rajapakse on Monday. |
| |
| "The President is very concerned
about two or three issues. One is, there is growing
unemployment in the rural areas. At the same time, educated
young people don't want to stay in farming, so how do
we make agriculture remunerative and interesting to
attack and retain youth in farming? It is common question
in India as well," he said. |
| |
| In Sri Lanka, agriculture is the
single largest employment providing sector with 32.6
per cent engaged in such operations, he said. Sri Lanka
has an unemployment percentage of 9.2 per cent (2003
figures). |
| |
| Issues relating to equity were another
area of concern, Prof. Swaminathan said. |
| |
| The President "is very keen
to have modern information communication technology
and other methods through which the rural people can
be empowered with timely information, whether it is
disaster management, market conditions of weather conditions,"Prof.
Swaminathan said. |
| |
| On the big changes required for
the island-nation's agriculture, he said it "must
become more farming systems oriented" as "paddy
alone won't give enough income." Sustainable agriculture,
he said, was also linked to multiple livelihoods, as
was evident from the Rajasthan experience. |
| |
| "I have recommended that they
should establish rice bio farms" through which
there would be "value addition to every part of
the plant." |
| |
| Source : The Hindu, 15 December, 2005 |
