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Heed food shortage warnings, says Amaraweera

31 Dec 2021

 
  • Minister of Environment says agronomists’ warnings should be taken seriously instead of blaming them 
  • Highlights how previous governments handled warnings
  BY Buddhika Samaraweera Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera has said that if the agronomists say that there could be a food shortage in the country, a programme should be formulated to address it instead of blaming them, as what agronomists had warned of in this manner had happened in the past. “In 1972, there was an international prediction that there would be a food shortage. It was then that Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike launched a special cultivation programme. As a result, there was no food shortage in the country and Sri Lanka had become self-sufficient in food by 1977,” he said, speaking to the media on Wednesday (29). Speaking further, Amaraweera said that there were predictions that there would be a food shortage during the tenure of former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. He said that Kumaratunga and then Agriculture Minister D.M. Jayaratne had launched a special programme throughout the country. As a result, Amaraweera claimed that Sri Lanka did not have to face food shortages at that time while the other countries faced such shortages. “Even during incumbent Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s presidency, there were warnings of a food shortage. Accordingly, he discussed with the Cabinet of Ministers and launched the ‘Api Wawamu, Rata Nagamu’ programme. Therefore, we did not have to face a food shortage at that time either,” he said, and insisted that such a programme should be implemented again as there have been warnings of food shortages both internationally and locally. Last Tuesday (21), then Ministry of Agriculture Secretary Prof. Udith K. Jayasinghe-Mudalige told the media that there is a possibility of a food shortage due to the crisis situation in the country. He said that if there would be any such shortage of food, it would be necessary to resort to a food exchange system. “If we have a surplus of maize, we can ask another country for some other food,” he said. He further said that if there is a shortage of food, it would be necessary to reduce food for groups like youngsters, thereby giving priority in the food supply to pregnant and lactating mothers, children, and the sick. The next day, last Wednesday (22), President Gotabaya Rajapaksa removed Prof. Jayasinghe-Mudalige from his post and appointed D.M.L.D. Bandaranayake as Ministry of Agriculture Secretary. Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) Leader and Minister of Education Dinesh Gunawardena said earlier this week that that the opinion of the party is that a guarantee should be provided to the low-income groups in the country regarding the provision of essential food items and that a letter in this regard has been submitted to the Government authorities. Meanwhile, incumbent United National Party Leader and Parliamentarian Ranil Wickremesinghe has also warned of a food shortage in the country by April 2022. Speaking to the media on Tuesday (28), he called on the Government to finalise the purchase of food and fuel on credit from India, which is currently under discussion as there will inevitably be a food shortage in the country. He added that this year’s harvest from crops in many areas was only 60% of last year’s harvest.


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