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Aluthgamage blames Ministry ‘advisors’ for Agriculture Secretary turnover

03 Jan 2022

  • Claims Prof. Jayasinghe-Mudalige talented, but changed by outsiders
By Buddhika Samaraweera With 2021 seeing four different officials occupy the position of Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Minister of Agriculture Mahindananda Aluthgamage has accused certain advisors to the Agriculture Ministry of having created the environment for these officials to resign. Speaking during a meeting with Agriculture Ministry officials last Friday (31 December 2021), he stated that several secretaries who had been appointed to the Agriculture Ministry in the recent past had to leave due to certain persons who were acting as advisors to the Ministry. “There are many talented, honest, and good officials in the Agriculture Ministry, but there are people who spoil their heads by not letting them work. It is because of such people who act as external advisors that the talented secretaries who came to this Ministry had to leave,” he said. Aluthgamage also commented on Prof. Udith K. Jayasinghe-Mudalige, who was recently removed from the post of Agriculture Ministry Secretary. “Prof. Jayasinghe-Mudalige is a talented person who acted willingly to implement the Government’s green agriculture policy. However, instead of allowing him to do so, he was completely changed by a group of so-called outside advisors. We have to be careful about this invisible hand,” he claimed. He said that as the Agriculture Minister, from this year onwards, he would formulate policies and obtain the Government’s approval, adding that the Ministry Secretary should take the responsibility of directing the rest of the affairs. He also stated that he hopes newly appointed Ministry Secretary D.M.L.D. Bandaranayake will take care of all matters, especially the submission of monthly progress reports. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa removed Prof. Jayasinghe-Mudalige from the post of Agriculture Ministry Secretary and appointed Bandaranayake to the said post with immediate effect on 22 December 2021, making the latter the fourth such appointee to occupy the said office during the course of this year. Following the resignation of former Agriculture Ministry Secretary Rohana Pushpakumara, then University of Wayamba Vice Chancellor Prof. Jayasinghe-Mudalige was appointed to the post in June 2021. Prof. Jayasinghe-Mudalige had been removed from the post following some controversial remarks made by him regarding the Government’s programme towards green agriculture on 21 December 2021. Speaking to the media, he had stated that the switch from chemical to organic fertiliser was not rushed, but instead wrong. He also said that there were certain parties who had advised the political authorities incorrectly with regard to the organic fertiliser programme. Since the current Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Government came into power, the Agriculture Ministry has seen a significant number of terminations and resignations. Former Agriculture Ministry Secretary Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Sumedha Perera resigned last February citing personal reasons, following which Pushpakumara was appointed to the said post on 1 March 2021. Accordingly, Prof. Jayasinghe-Mudalige was the third person to be appointed as the Ministry Secretary for the year, with Bandaranayake now being the fourth. Former Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) – an institution which comes under the Ministry of Agriculture – Chairman Dr. Jatal Mannapperuma also tendered his resignation from the said post on 15 September 2021, citing “several reasons” for his decision, but refused to specify any reasons to the media. Furthermore, Aluthgamage had instructed Prof. Jayasinghe-Mudalige to remove former Agriculture Ministry Advisor Prof. Buddhi Marambe from all posts held by him in the Ministry in October. Prof. Marambe, who was the Chairman of the Policy Planning Committee of the Ministry, was removed from the position for reportedly criticising the 100% organic fertiliser programme of the Government. Meanwhile, Aluthgamage last month removed former Registrar of Pesticides Dr. J.A. Sumith, who issued an extraordinary gazette notification on 22 November 2021, lifting the ban on five types of agrochemicals including the herbicide glyphosate. Meanwhile, Aluthgamage has stated that despite the serious damage to his political image in the implementation of the Government’s policy towards a green agriculture, he is committed to further implementing that policy with its benefit to the country and the people in mind. He said that despite multiple challenges, the Government has taken a progressive decision to formulate a green agriculture policy. Therefore, he said that he will continue to work with President Rajapaksa to implement it in the future. “Despite the challenges we have to face, the green agriculture policy is a very progressive decision taken by the Government and we are committed to implementing that policy with the Government and the President,” he said. Aluthgamage also said that although he had held ministerial posts in a number of ministries in the past, there were more mafias operating in the Agriculture Ministry than in any other, adding: “These mafias are largely active in the fields such as fertiliser and paddy.” A proposal to ban the use and importation of chemical fertilisers and agrochemicals including pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides/weedicides was submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers by the President last April and the same was granted approval, following which the relevant gazette notification was issued on 6 May 2021. However, the Government decided to revoke the Extraordinary Gazette No. 2226/48 of 6 May 2021, which banned the importation of chemical fertilisers and agrochemicals, and to thereby allow the private sector to import the same, with effect from 24 November 2021. However, throughout the past few months, farmers in several areas have been charging that there is a serious shortage of fertiliser for their cultivations and a number of protests have also been organised by farmers’ organisations and various parties demanding the Government to provide a solution to the fertiliser shortage.


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