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Human safety must come before commercial gain

05 Jul 2021

We live in a highly commercialised world where making maximum profit is the measure of success, and not the outcomes and their real benefit to humanity with minimal harm to life and the environment. In addition, in Sri Lanka, there is a high degree of exploitation of both the farmer and the consumer due to excessive profiteering by middlemen, such as mill owners and traders. The result is that farmers are suffering and are facing hunger. The vast mass of consumers is also faced with hunger. Society led by the scientific community has to be on constant vigilance to ensure the safety of all living things. It was with great satisfaction that a majority of people in Sri Lanka welcomed the President’s demand for the immediate cessation of the use of agrochemicals (an accepted cause of various serious diseases such as cancer and kidney disease) and the switch over to the use of organic fertiliser. An open and valuable discussion has resulted, especially with regard to the outcomes and implementation. The powerful chemicals lobby stated that yields will drop due to the fact that the hybrid seeds used and the chemical fertilisers complement each other, and the pesticide and herbicide/weedicide lobby joined in, as they too will lose much income. I am happy that the local scientific community is, by and large, for the switch over to organic farming. The best proposals appear to be that of Dr. C.M. Wijeyaratne, Dr. Lionel Weerakoon, Buddhi Jayasuriya, and some others. It envisages “a planned shift to ecological farming” within the farm itself, without just “adding organic fertiliser” from outside. Setting this up in the country requires a wide network of farmer organisations to co-ordinate this shift, and to ensure that the farmer and the consumer get a good deal. The Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) has all along promoted the setting up and linking of farmer and consumer co-operatives to eliminate exploitation by the middleman. These three have proposed a gradual step-wise process based on the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) recommendations while stressing the use of the appropriate technology and the importance of good water management. An excellent strategy is included for the plantation sector, “employee buyout of plantations for improving productivity, production, and conservation”. The LSSP has always promoted the idea of worker participation in management, but this takes it a step further, giving the workers a share in the ownership of the enterprise, which has also been a part of the LSSP programme. The importance of further developing animal husbandry is also stressed. As part of the implementation mechanism, they propose establishing a Sustainable Agriculture Development Authority (SADA), which I appreciate. This would ensure maximum benefits to the farmer and the consumer, while the replacement of harmful chemicals by organic inputs will be ensured. I am hoping to go along with them to present this valuable set of proposals to the President to obtain his support for its implementation. As a further step in controlling the major problem of hunger among our people, I would also appeal to the President and the Prime Minister to reduce the expenditure on infrastructure development temporarily in order to provide food for all those who are faced with hunger. Besides the acute problem of hunger, the major problem facing our people is that of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is now once again becoming a major problem with a marked increase in the number of cases and deaths. The introduction of the B.1.617.2 Delta Indian variant of the virus has increased the threat to humanity. This causes more severe illness with a higher proportion of deaths, and also spreads much quicker. I urged the Health Minister and her officials to accept the fact that there is community spread of the Covid-19 infection and that it is not confined to identified clusters. This needs a community-based strategy for its control. I suggested that there should be a committee of party leaders set up in Parliament to interact with the Minister to get maximum support countrywide, to get the message across that this is a national problem. This would enable Covid-19 committees to be established down to the village and slum levels and procure the co-operation of everybody. This should emphasise the understanding and implementation of the health guidelines (like the regular wearing of masks, social distancing, and the constant washing of hands with soap and water). These committees should ensure that everybody fully implements these health practices. This will be vital if there is an upsurge of the Delta variant of the virus. These committees can also identify possible cases as soon as they appear and get them hospitalised after PCR testing and help in the tracing and quarantining of contacts. The committee would also conduct intensive health education so that everyone is fully aware of the need for the above mentioned action. The Government would then be able to carry out an intensive and effective control programme across the country. If the situation gets worse, the Government will have to act sternly to ensure that the people do not form crowds anywhere and that even at home, visitors are kept out. All workplaces should use minimal staff, observing the Health rules and confine the group meetings to five persons. So that the education of the children is maintained, the use of digital communication is desirable. The cost of this is heavy and the Government may not be able to fund that programme widely. It may be mainly richer children who will benefit from such a scheme. For other children, the best option would be the use of television channels. If indicated, especially for senior students, there could be small classes held according to the health rules on important subjects with the presence of the teacher. The vaccination programme is being done fairly widely, but in a haphazard manner. The vaccines to be used in the country should be carefully chosen and it would be preferable if ribonucleic acid (RNA)-based vaccines are avoided in view of the possibility of future genetic consequences. Considering their limited level and time of protection, I would use vaccines mainly to protect the vulnerable groups (the elderly and those with chronic illnesses). The scare about a post-Covid-19 syndrome affecting children does not need the immunisation of children. This is a relatively rare occurrence in a few children and it fits into the pattern of the Kawasaki disease which is seen as an occasional event with many virus infections. Large-scale vaccination is costly and not necessary. Further, the vaccine against the Alpha variant is not very effective against the Delta variant. In the present situation facing the country, the major emphasis must be placed on providing food to the hungry and also to reduce the spread of the Covid-19 virus (especially the Delta variant), and the proper treatment in hospitals of those who are seriously affected. But if there is proper health education and the strict enforcement of the health rules, then the problem itself can be prevented.   (The writer is a virologist, government parliamentarian, Chairman of the Committee on Public Accounts, Leader of the LSSP)

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