Thursday, November 22, 2012
දේශීය
ජනතාව පිඩාවට පත් කරමින් තිස් වසරක් පුරාවට පැවත ආ යුද්ධය නිමාවත් සමගම
යාපන වැසියන් නව පිබිදීමක් කරා ගමන් කරේය.ඔවුන් ආර්ථික වශයෙන් දිනෙන් දින
ශක්තිමත් විය.යාපනයේ වැසියන් තම එදිනෙදා ජිවනොපායන් වලට පැල වග
කිරීම් කළේය .දුම් කොළ ,ලුඋනු ,මිරිස් වෙනි බෝග වග කර අදායම් ඉපයු යාපනයේ
වැසියන් මිදී වගවෙන්ද අදායම් ලැබුවේය.සම්ප්‍රදායට ඉඩ දෙමින් මිදී වගා
කරන්නට ඔව්න් වග බලා ගත් අතර මුදල් ණයට ගෙන හෝ එම වගාව නඩත්තු කළේය.යාපනයේ
මිදී ගොවියන් සේම මිදී වර්ගයක්ම තම වගා භුමියේ වග කරන්නේ නැත .ඔව්න්
සම්ප්‍රදායට චාරිත්‍ර වලට ගරු කරන පිරිසකි.එම සම්ප්‍රදායන් වලට ගරු කිරීම
ඔව්න් පරම්පරා ගතව කරගෙන එන ක්‍රමවේදයකි.එඉන් බැහැරව කටුතු
කිරීමට ඔව්න් පෙලබෙන්නේ නැත.යාපනයේ මිදී ගොවියන් තම සම්ප්‍රදාය ඔව්න්ගේ
ඊලග පරම්පරාව වෙතද දායාද කිරීමට පැකිලෙන්නේනැත.මා යාපනයේ මිදී වගාව
නැරබීමට ගිය මොහොතේ දුටුවේ ඔව්න් එම වගාව පුජනිය වස්තුවක් ලෙස සලකන
බවයි.මිදී වගාව ඉතා පිරිසිදු ලෙස සකසා ඇති ඔව්න් පාවහන් හිස් වැසුම් පැලද
වගා බිම වෙත ඇතුළු වීමට දෙන්නේ නැත. වගා බිමද ඉතාමත් පිරිසිදු ලෙස ඔව්න්
පවත්වාගෙන යයි .මිදී ගොවියන් සමග මා කල සංවාදයෙන් වැටහුනේ ඔව්න් ඉතා අදික
මුදලක් මෙම පැයක් වර්දනය කිරීමට යොදවන බවයි .පැල 100කට ලක්ෂ 8 ක් වැනි
විශාල මුදලක් ඔව්න්ට වියදම් කිරීමට සිදු වේ .එයට අමතරව ඒවා නඩත්තු කිරීමට
තවත් මුදල් වැ ය වේ.
මෙම ගොවීන්ට ඇති මුලිකම ප්‍රශ්නය වන්නේ වගා කිරීමට අවශ්‍ය ප්‍රතිපාදන
නොමැති කමයි. රජයෙන් එම ප්‍රතිපාදන ඔව්න්ට ලබා දුන හොත් මිදී වගාව මීට වඩා
සාර්ථක ලෙස දිවුණු කිරීමට ඔව්න්ට හැකියාව ලැබේ.එයට අමතරව මිදී වගාව තුල
වැදගත්ම සහ පරිස්සම් සහගතව කලයුතු ක්‍රියාවලිය වන්නේ කප්පාදු කිරීමයි.එයද
අත්දැකීම් බහුල පුද්ගලයන් විසින් කල යුතුය . නැතිනම් මුළු වගවටම ඉන්
බලපැමක් සිදු වේ .රජය විසින් මේ සදහා පළපුරුදු පිරිසක් පුහුණු කල හොත් මිදී
වගාවේ දියුණුවට එය වඩාත් ප්‍රයෝජනවත් වේ .මිදී ගොවියන්ගේ ගැටළු වලට කඩිනම්
විසදුම් රජයේ පාර්ශවයෙන් සැලසේ නම් සාර්ථක මිදී අස්වනු නෙලීමට මිදී
ගොවියන්ට හැකි වේ .
අමාලි ...
The dying art of Jaffna
“The next
generation is not keen on getting their hands dirty and they dislike hard work.
They do not want to take up the field of farming. They prefer being in air
conditioned offices or being doctors and lawyers. They have dreams of their own
and being a grape farmer is hardly one of them”
For thirty long years Sri Lanka was torn apart by a
malevolent war between the country’s majority and minority; a war that not only
claimed the lives of many, soldiers and civilians alike, but also destroyed
much property and dammed the country’s growth in uncountable ways. The whole of
Sri Lanka grieved as one at all that was lost but it would not be incorrect to
say that it was the north that suffered the most; it affected the education,
economy, health, security, agriculture and overall the lives of the people of
that part of the island.
One trade that was
deeply affected in the field of agriculture is grape farming, an industry that
was and is carried out at a commercial basis only in the district of Jaffna. It
was stated by Mr. Sivakumar, Provincial Director of Agriculture Northern
Province, that before the war the district of Jaffna had over 250 acres of
grape cultivation. The war brought upon difficulties in marketing the crops
which resulted in gradually increasing numbers of farmers leaving the trade as
it was no longer profitable. However since the ending of the war and the opening
of the A9 road, new marketing prospects have been found and the trade has yet
again been taken up and currently is spread over 110 acres in Jaffna. While
cultivators who lost their farms during the war have been given the opportunity
to revive their lost businesses, new cultivators too are being encouraged to
take up the trade by the government said Mr. Sivakumar.
The Ministry of
Agriculture Northern Province is currently focusing on introducing new varieties
of grape fruit to Jaffna farmers in order to harvest better crops. These new
varieties Sonaka and Sharad have been imported from India and are said to
produce grape fruit that is larger in size and sweeter than the local grapes.
This idea of importing new varieties has been supported by the Central
Department of Agriculture which is the agency that gives permission for
importing any sort of planting material, and also by the Ministry of
Agriculture. The financial support has been given by Cargills food city as it
is them who invested in the project. The total project investment has been Rs
222 million and 92.2 million of this investment has been shared by the USAID.
The imported seedlings have already been introduced, distributed and promoted
among Jaffna farmers and is currently being cultivated and within another two
years the peninsula will have a greater variety of quality grape fruit, noted
Mr. U.L.M Haldeen, Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Northern Province.
Grape crops are
harvested twice a year; during the season of March- April and August-
September. These are considered peak periods as it is the dry season during
these months and for grape fruit the dry season is considered very important as
this is the time that produces the best crops. However certain farmers prune in
such a way that they can produce crops even off season.
Grape cultivation,
compared to other farming industries needs a fair amount of investment and
effort to inaugurate and to maintain. To grow a quarter acre farm it costs
approximately 150 thousand Rs just to install the pandal system. For the
maintaining of such a farm it costs about another 150 thousand Rs stated Mr.
Sivakumar. Even though it is a costly trade it brings in enough money to be
called a profitable trade. Farmers have reported that a quarter acre farm
brings in nearly 200 thousand Rs per season. This good income is one of the
main encouraging forces for other cultivators to begin grape farms of their own
which in return will increase the overall crops produced by Jaffna which would
prove to be healthy for the economy of the district.
On
a positive note, locally grown grapes are cheaper than the imported ones as a
kg of Jaffna grape fruit costs 200 to 300 Rs while the Australian imported
grapes cost 600 to 700 Rs. However on the contrary the imported grapes are much
larger in size and taste sweeter than the locally grown Israel Blue. Therefore,
even now, customers who look for quality are willing to pay more to purchase
the imported fruits, which pose a threat to the growth of the local grape fruit
farming trade. This is the reason as to why the ministry is trying all possible
options to grow grape crops that can compete with the imported ones. As there
is already a fairly good market for Jaffna grapes in the southern part of the
country it is their hope to widen this market by dominating the imported grape
fruit market.
As earlier mentioned
maintaining a grape farm is both an expensive and difficult venture. Especially
to the farmers of the north it is something much more than just a trade, it is
a significant part of their lives. They have many beliefs and traditions entwined
with the grapevines. It is said by these farmers that growing grapes is in many
ways much like raising a child; it requires constant nurturing, caring and
attention. There is a manner in which every move should be made: choosing the
soil, installing the pandal system, preparing the drainage, watering the farm,
fertilizing, and last but not least pruning should all be done in a proper
manner to ensure the well being of the grapevines says Mr. Inuvil, a successful
grape farmer. 
The preciseness of
this trade makes it appear that grape farming in actuality is more or less an
art than just an agricultural trade. Even though the number of farmers stepping
into this field is on an increase, according to farmers the future of the
industry remains uncertain. It is because of the lack of young farmers who are
willing to follow in the footsteps of their precursors. According to Mr. Inuvil
“The next generation is not keen on getting their hands dirty and they dislike
hard work. They do not want to take up the field of farming. They prefer being
in air conditioned offices or being doctors and lawyers. They have dreams of
their own and being a grape farmer is hardly one of them”, and so it seems that
the “like father like son” days are long gone.
It is evident that
times have changed and that even in a country like Sri Lanka where traditions
and culture are a main part of its people’s day to day lives, the younger
generation is hardly found being limited by said traditions or cultures.
Today’s youth is much more commercialized and they crave ways of earning riches
in much easier ways than laboring away in farms and fields under a scorching
sun. Another reason for the possible declining of future farmers is the
perception that agriculture is an unprofitable or poor industry to be in as
this is often the image that is projected by the media and otherwise, however
many successful farmers like Mr. Inuwil would strongly disagree. According to
him, it is a matter of willing to be hard working, committed, sacrificial and patient;
all traits that he says most of the younger generation lack.
Here arouses the question; even though grape farming in the
north is at present in a very good state, after the existing generation of
farmers is long gone will the industry still survive or will it simply turn
into yet another dying art?
-Sandarangi
Perera
තල් ගස හා බැඳී තිබෙන උතුරේ ජන ජීවිතයට තල් පර්යේෂණ ආයතනය මහඟු දායාදයක් වනු ඇත
අප්සරා මදුවන්ති මුදලිගේ
- අමාත්‍ය බැසිල් රාජපක්‍ෂ
තල් ගස හා බැඳී තිබෙන උතුරේ ජන ජීවිතයට අද ආරම්භ කරන තල් පර්යේෂණ ආයතනය මහඟු දායාදයක් වන බවත්, එයින් සම්පූර්ණ ප‍්‍රයෝජන ගෙන තම ජීවිත වඩා සංවර්ධනය කර ගන්නා ලෙසත් ආර්ථික සංවර්ධන අමාත්‍ය බැසිල් රාජපක්‍ෂ මහතා යාපනයේ කයිතඩිහි නැවත පිහිටුවන ලද තල් පර්යේෂණ ආයතනය විවෘත කරමින් ප‍්‍රකාශ කර සිටියේය.
යාපනය කයිතඩි ප‍්‍රදේශයේ තල් පර්යේෂණ ආයතනය 1966 වසරේ විවෘත කර ඇත. 1995 වසර දක්වා ක‍්‍රියාත්මකව පැවතියත් යුද්ධය හේතුකොටගෙන ආයතනය වසා දැමීමට සිදු වී ඇති අතර ගොඩනැගිලි ද විනාශ වී තිබුණි. නවීකරණය කරන ලද තල් පර්යේෂණ ආයතනය ජනාධිපති ජ්‍යේෂ්ඨ උපදේශක සහ ආර්ථික සංවර්ධන අමාත්‍ය බැසිල් රාජපක්‍ෂ මහතා විසින් ඊයේ (20) ජනතා අයිතියට පත් කරනු ලැබීය.
යුද්ධය අවසන් වී සාමය උදාවීමත් සමග ම උතුරු හා නැගෙනහිර ප‍්‍රදේශ කේන්ද්‍රගත ව පවතින තල් කර්මාන්තය සංවර්ධනය කිරීමට රජයේ අවධානය යොමු වූ අතර එහි ප‍්‍රතිඵලයක් වශයෙන් මෙම තල් පර්යේෂණ ආයතනය සංවර්ධනයට රජය මගින් පියවර ගනු ලැබීය. තල් පර්යේෂණ ආයතනය නවීකරණය කිරීමේ දී ඒ සඳහා අවශ්‍ය උපකරණ හා රසායන ද්‍රව්‍ය ලබාගැනීමට ඉන්දියානු රජය මගින් රුපියල් මිලියන 75ක ප‍්‍රදානයක් ලබා දුන් අතර ශ‍්‍රී ලංකා රජය මගින් තල් පර්යේෂණ ආයතනය පැවති ගොඩනැගිල්ල නවීකරණය කිරීමට සහ අනෙකුත් පහසුකම් ලබාදීමට රුපියල් මිලියන 24ක මුදලක් වැය කරනු ලැබීය.
උත්සවය අමතා තවදුරටත් කතා කළ අමාත්‍ය බැසිල් රාජපක්‍ෂ මහතා; “2009 යුද්ධය අවසාන වී සාමය උදාවූ මොහොතේ ම යාපනයේ පැවති දිස්ත‍්‍රික් සම්බන්ධීකරණ කමිටු රැස්වීමේදී අපි තල් ගස් සිටුවීමේ ව්‍යාපාරයක් ආරම්භ කිරීමට තීරණය කළා. මට මතකයි අපි එම රැස්වීම තිබ්බේ යාපනය පුස්තකාල ශාලාවේ දී. ඒ අනුව අපි එම වර්ෂයේ ම තල් ගස් සිටුවීම ආරම්භ කළා. ඒ මොහොතේ දී අපි සාකච්ඡා කළා ලෝකයේ තිබෙන අනෙකුත් ආහාර නිෂ්පාදන සමග තල් නිෂ්පාදන ද තරග කළ හැකි තත්ත්වයෙන් තිබිය යුතුයි කියා. මේ ගැන උනන්දුවක් දැක් වූ ඩග්ලස් දේවානන්දා අමාත්‍යවරයාට මේ රටේ සම්ප‍්‍රදායික කර්මාන්ත හා කුඩා කර්මාන්ත භාර දෙන අවස්ථාවේ දී තල් සංවර්ධන මණ්ඩලයත් අතිගරු ජනාධිපතිතුමා විසින් පැවරුවා. ඒ අනුව එතුමා වහා ම ක‍්‍රියාත්මක වන පරිදි කොළඹ තිබුණු තල් සංවර්ධන මණ්ඩල කාර්යාලය යාපනයට ගෙනවිත් තල් නිෂ්පාදන ජාලය ඒකාබද්ධ කරමින් කටයුතු කරගෙන යනවා. හැබැයි එතුමා තල් සංවර්ධනය යාපනයට සීමා කළේ නෑ. තල් වැවෙන හම්බන්තොට දිස්ත‍්‍රික්කයේ සහ සෑම දිස්ත‍්‍රික්කයක ම එම නිෂ්පාදන සංවර්ධනය කිරීමට කටයුතු කරගෙන යනවා.
මෙම පර්යේෂණ ආයතනය විනාශ වී තිබුණු ආයතනක් එතුමාට මෙය ආරම්භ කිරීමට අවශ්‍ය වුවත් මුදල් හා තාක්‍ෂණය සොයා ගැනීම අසීරු වුණා. ජනාධිපතිතුමා සමඟ සාකච්ඡා කොට ගොඩනැගිලි සඳහා අයවැයෙන් මුදල් වෙන්කර ගත් අතර, තාක්‍ෂණය සඳහා ඉන්දියාවෙන් ආධාර ලබාගත්තා. කුමන අසීරුකම් ආවත් වැඩක් කිරීමට ආරම්භ කළ හොත් ඩග්ලස් දේවානන්දා ඇමතිතුමා එය කෙසේ හෝ ඉටු කරනවා. ඒ අනුව මේ සඳහා අවශ්‍ය විද්වතුන් ද සම්පූර්ණ කරගෙන මෙහි වැඩ ආරම්භ කළා. එසේම, ඉන්දියානු රජයට අපි මේ අවස්ථාවේ ස්තූති කළ යුතුයි ශ‍්‍රී ලංකාවේ සංවර්ධනය සඳහා විශාල වශයෙන් ආධාර කිරීම ගැන. උතුරේ සංවර්ධනය වෙනුවෙන් ට‍්‍රැක්ටර් 500, නිවාස 50,000 ක් ඇතුළු විවිධ ආධාර ඉන්දියානු රජයෙන් සපයා තිබෙනවා. ඉන්දියානු ආධාර සමග ගොඩනැගෙන උතුරු දුම්රිය මාර්ගයේ ළඟදීම යාල්දේවී දුම්රිය උතුරට ඒවි කියා අපි විශ්වාස කරනවා” යැයි ප‍්‍රකාශ කළේය.
මෙහිදී කතා කළ සම්ප‍්‍රදායික කර්මාන්ත හා කුඩා ව්‍යවසාය සංවර්ධන අමාත්‍ය ඩග්ලස් දේවානන්දා මහතා; මෙම මධ්‍යස්ථානය ගොඩනැගීම සඳහා ආධාර ලබාදුන් ඉන්දීය රජයට සිය ස්තූතිය පුදකරන බවද විශේෂයෙන් මේ අවස්ථාවේ උත්සවයට සහභාගී වන ඉන්දියානු මහකොමසාරිස් අශෝක් කේ. කාන්තා මහතා ශ‍්‍රී ලංකාවට විශේෂ ආධාර සපයමින් ඉතාමත් ම දැඩි සුහදත්වයකින් යුතු ව කටයුතු කිරීමගැන එතුමාට විශේෂ ස්තූතිය පුද කරන බවද පැවසීය.
මෙහිදී කථාකල ඉන්දියානු මහකොමසාරිස් අශෝක් කේ. කාන්තා මහතා ශ‍්‍රී ලංකාව සමඟ එකතු වී ඉන්දියාව විවිධ සංවර්ධන වැඩසටහන් ඉදිරියේදීත් ක‍්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට සූදානමින් සිටින බව ද ප‍්‍රකාශ කළේය.
සම්ප‍්‍රදායික කර්මාන්ත හා කුඩා ව්‍යවසාය සංවර්ධන අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් වී. සිවඥානසෝති මහතා කතා කරමින්; ආර්ථික සංවර්ධන අමාත්‍ය බැසිල් රාජපක්‍ෂ මහතාගේ සහයෝගයෙන් ද මෙම තල් පර්යේෂණ ආයතනය ආරම්භ කළ බවත්, මහින්ද චින්තනයට අනුව තල් නිෂ්පාදනය ශක්තිමත් කිරීමට පසුගිය අයවැයෙන් මිලියන 14කට අධික මුදලක් වෙන්කර ඇති බව ද පෙන්වා දුන්නේය.
මෙම උත්සවයට යාපනය දිස්ත‍්‍රික් පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත‍්‍රී සිල්වෙස්ති‍්‍ර ඇලන්ටීන් (උදයන්), සමාජ සේවා අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් ඉමෙල්ඩා සුකුමාර්, උතුරු පළාත් ආණ්ඩුකාර ලේකම් ලක්ෂ්මන් ඉලංගෝවන්, උතුරු පළාත් ප‍්‍රධාන ලේකම් විජයලක්‍ෂ්මි, තල් සංවර්ධන මණ්ඩලයේ සභාපති පසුපති සිවරත්නම්, ජාතික මෝස්තර මධ්‍යස්ථානයේ සභාපති මාර්ෂල් ජනතා, නෝර්ත් සී ආයතනයේ සභාපති පරන්තාමන්, ලංකා කාර්මික සංවර්ධන මණ්ඩලයේ සාමාන්‍යාධිකාරී ජස්මින් මාන්නපෙරුම, යාපනය දිසාපති අරුමෙයිනායගම්, කිලිනොච්චි දිසාපතිනී රූපාවතී කේතීෂ්වරන්, ජාතික ශිල්ප සභාවේ සභාපති බුද්ධි කීර්තිසේන යන මහත්ම මහත්මීහු සහභාගී වූහ.
උත්සවය අවසානයේදී, ඉන්දියානු අධාර යටතේ යාපනයේ කයිතඩි හි ඉදිකිරීමට බලාපොරොත්තු වන ශිල්ප ගම්මානයට ද මුල්ගල් තැබීම ආර්ථික සංවර්ධන අමාත්‍ය බැසිල් රාජපක්‍ෂ මහතා අතින් සිදුවිය. මේ සඳහා ඉන්දියානු රජයෙන් රුපියල් මිලියන 20ක ආධාර ලබා දී ඇත.
Onion cultivation: A dying industry in Jaffna
However,
things are changing drastically for Divakalal's family and several
other onion farmers like them in Jaffna district. The current economic
recession and soaring commodity prices have left families like
Divakalal's in a very difficult state. With the income they receive from
onion cultivation, they can barely afford the necessities such as food
and utilities - let alone spend any money on expanding their business.
Like many onion farmers in Jaffna, Divakalal might have to change his
daily routine soon.
"My
family has been cultivating onions for years, but we might soon have to
move to another business like cultivating a crop such as paddy. The
profit that we get from onion cultivation wouldn't allow us to continue
with the business anymore," the 53-year-old farmer said, through a
translator.
Sri
Lanka's 26-year long civil war has always been blamed for the dwindling
economy of the country. The island nation's economy suffered major
setbacks during the war, including the bankruptcy in 2001 and the high
inflation rate that had persisted over the years. The economy has
undoubtedly recovered over the past couple of years, but the progress
has not been enough to help farmers to continue with their work.
With
the end of the war in May 2009, onion cultivators in Jaffna and other
northern and eastern provinces returned to their farms in the hope of
rebuilding their lives and expanding their business. The increased
availability of homegrown vegetables such as red onion in the market is
just one of the many dividends of peace being reaped in post-war Sri
Lanka. However, this trend might not continue for long, as several
farmers in Jaffna are considering giving up onion cultivation.
'No subsidies'
Last
year, the Sri Lankan government spent about 50 billion rupees on
agriculture subsidies. Official figures reveal that 18 billion rupees
were distributed to fertiliser importers across the country as subsidy,
which allowed farmers to purchase fertiliser at a subsidised rate of 350
rupees per 50kg. However, many onion farmers say that they do not
receive any subsidies provided by the government for agricultural
purposes.
"The
subsidies are being provided to farmers who cultivate paddy and spices
such as cinnamon, pepper, cloves, cardamoms, nutmeg and mace. We have to
buy seeds and fertilisers at the normal, unsubsidised rate," said
Vasanthan Ruthrakumar, who has been cultivating onions for four years.
Niroshan
Ravichnadran, who has been in the business for about six years, also
shared similar concerns. He says that the soaring prices of seeds and
fertilisers are hurting their business like never before.
Independent
research organisations have also raised concerns over the
discriminations in providing subsidies to farmers in rural areas.
According to the Institute of Policy Studies, a local think tank
specialising in economic policy research and analysis, the government
should divert funds from agriculture subsidies to improving market
linkages of farmers in rural communities.
"Increasing
competitiveness and strengthening their linkages with agri-business
firms which ultimately improve the capacity for participating in modern
supply mechanisms will be useful in creating a conducive production
environment for small farmers," an IPS report on the state of the
economy read.
Dr
Saman Kelegama, an economist at the institute, said a targeted subsidy
like the one given to fertiliser importers would not have much of an
impact on improving the business of farmers because fertiliser might not
be the major cost in their business.
"When
the cost of production goes up, subsidies can assist in the agriculture
sector. Subsidies – whether given for fertiliser or seeds or tractor or
whatever – can make farmers produce items at a reduced price when other
input costs are escalating," he said. "But, sometimes a targeted
subsidy, if it doesn't improve the competitiveness of the product
significantly is called a 'bad' subsidy."
Many
onion farmers have also stopped sending their harvest to markets out of
Jaffna district. They claim that they are not getting a competitive
price that will allow them to cover transport and other expenses.
"I'm
selling onions only in Jaffna now because I can't afford to send my
harvest to Pettah and other markets out of our district. Since imported
onions are sold for a much cheaper price across the country, the local
produce doesn't have any value in the market. People always go for the
cheaper items," Divakalal said.
Lack of cooperation
The
government, however, believes that onion farmers in Jaffna are not
cooperating enough with the authorities to improve their business and
increase the profits. Relevant authorities say that they are trying
their best to assist farmers in their business.
"We
offer a variety of opportunities for onion farmers to improve their
business, including loans, seeds and storage facilities. We also
organise various awareness campaigns from time to time in order to make
sure that the farmers are well versed in latest technology and
pesticides. But a lot of them aren't willing to fully cooperate with
us," said Sri Palasudaram, Deputy Secretary at the Department of
Agriculture's office in Jaffna.
According
to the department, 1.5kgs of big onion seeds were distributed to two
farmers under a programme implemented by the department last year. The
farmers cultivated the seeds in 0.5 acres of land and received an
average yield of 2,000kg/acre, which earned them an income of 60,000
rupees.
The
department also carried out another programme last year under which
five onion cultivators were provided with assistance to construct
storage facilities for red onions. Officials of the department said that
the storage structures helped the farmers to increase their income by
controlling the market fluctuation for red onion during the peak season.
In
addition, the agriculture department implemented a separate programme
last year to introduce the cultivation of red onion in new areas and
off-season. Under the programme, 100kg of onion seeds, 17kg of inorganic
fertiliser, two bottles of weedicide and two bottles of pesticide were
distributed among two farmers. The cultivators were also given 2,000
rupees to prepare the 0.125 acres of land where the seeds were planted.
An average yield of 6,000kg/acre was produced under the programme.
The
closed economic policies propagated by the government in the 1970s led
to a major agricultural boom in cash crops such as red chillies, onions
and tobacco. This trend continued throughout the 80s and 90s – in 1990,
57 percent of red onions produced in the entire country came from
Jaffna. However, the escalated fighting between government forces and
separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in the late 90s led to a significant
decline in onion production in Jaffna. In 2009, Jaffna contributed only
10.4 percent to the production of red onion nationwide.
The
agriculture department expects onion farmers in Jaffna to produce
60,800 metric tons of red onion this year compared to the 39,150 metric
tons cultivated last year.
“While
the national requirement of red onions will reach 115,600 metric tons
this year, our estimates show that only 32,400 metric tons of red onion
will be cultivated by farmers in other areas of the country. So we're
providing financial assistance to farmers in Jaffna on request. Many
programmes are also being conducted by the department to help them find
storage spaces and cost-efficient ways to sell their harvest outside
Jaffna," Palasudaram said.
After
years of war and conflict, the restaurants in Jaffna are reopened for
tourists and new hotels are under construction to cope with the influx
of tourists. The current influx of both domestic and foreign tourists to
Jaffna following the end of the war has brought about a boom in the
tourism industry. However, the broken roads and buildings are still
there. The people of Jaffna are still uncertain about what happened in
their past and their own futures.
"We
have to think about our future and that of our children. But we don't
think we can achieve anything more by cultivating onions," Divakalal
said. Like many onion farmers in Jaffna, he and his family are waiting
for the current situation to change. If not, they would not have any
other choice but to abandon the occupation they had come to love
பூலோக கற்பக தரு என்கிற பெருமைக்கு உரியது பனை. இலங்கையில் யாழ்ப்பாணத்தின் வளங்களில் ஒன்று பனை மரம்.
.பனை அபிவிருத்திச் சபையின் சந்தைப்படுத்தல் பிரிவினை
விரிவுபடுத்துவதற்காகவும் பனை சார்ந்த உற்பத்திப் பொருட்களை இலங்கை வாழ்
அனைத்து மக்களையும் சென்றடைவதற்காகவும் புதிதாக "கற்பகம்" விற்பனை
நிலையங்கள் சில பிரதேசங்களில் திறக்கப்படவுள்ளன.
அதைத் தொடந்து கற்பிட்டி, குருநாகலை
மற்றும் கண்டி ஆகிய பிரதேசங்களிலும் புதிதாக "கற்பகம்" விற்பனைநிலையமொன்றை திறப்பதற்கும் உத்தேசிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. இதற்கான
வேலைத்திட்டங்கள் தற்போது எமது சபைதலைவரின் கீழ் சந்தைப்படுத்தல்
பிரிவினால் செயற்படுத்தப்பட்டு வருகின்றது.பனை அபிவிருத்திச் சபையின் புதிய உற்பத்திப் பொருட்களை கூடிய நாட்கள்
பழுதடையாத வண்ணம் தயாரிப்பதற்கும் அது தொடர்பாக ஆராய்ச்சிகளை
மேற்கொள்வதற்காகவும் பனை ஆராய்ச்சி நிலையம் ஒன்று யாழ்ப்பாணத்தின் கைதடி
பிரதேசத்தில் அமைச்சினால் புனருத்தாபனம் செய்யப்பட்டு
நடைமுறைப்படுத்தப்படவுள்ளது.
பனம் கழியை பிரித்தெடுக்கும் இயந்திரம் மற்றும் பனாட்டு பதனிடும்
இயந்திரம் ஆகியன பனை ஆராய்ச்சி நிலையத்திற்கு நேற்று வழங்கி
வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன.கைத்தொழில் ரீதியாக பயன்படுத்தப்பட்ட பனாட்டுப் பதனிடும் இயந்திரத்தை
பனை அபிவிருத்தி சபை தலைவர் பசுபதி சீவரத்தினத்திடம் தேசிய இயந்திரவியல்
ஆராய்ச்சி அபிவிருத்தி நிறுவன ஆராய்ச்சி நிபுணர் மாலினி ரணதுங்க நேற்று
வழங்கிவைத்தார்.பனை ஆராய்ச்சி நிறுவனமும், தேசிய இயந்திரவியல் ஆராய்ச்சி அபிவிருத்தி
நிலையமும் இணைந்து குறித்த பனம் கழியினை பிரித்தெடுக்கும் இயந்திரத்தினை
தயாரித்துள்ளன.உற்பத்தியினை அதிகரித்துக்கொள்ளவும், பனம் பானம் பிரித்தெடுக்கும்
நேரத்தினை மீதப்படுத்தும் நோக்கத்துடனும் பனாட்டு பதனிடும் இயந்திரம்
தயாரிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.இவ் இயந்திரத்தில் சுமார் 150 பனம் பழத்தினை குறித்த இயந்திரத்தில்
இட்டு 100 லீற்றர் பனம் பானத்திற்கு மேல் பெற்றுக்கொள்ள முடியும் எனத்
தெரிவித்துள்ளனர்.
.பனை அபிவிருத்திச் சபையின் சந்தைப்படுத்தல் பிரிவினை
விரிவுபடுத்துவதற்காகவும் பனை சார்ந்த உற்பத்திப் பொருட்களை இலங்கை வாழ்
அனைத்து மக்களையும் சென்றடைவதற்காகவும் புதிதாக "கற்பகம்" விற்பனை
நிலையங்கள் சில பிரதேசங்களில் திறக்கப்படவுள்ளன.
தற்போதைய முன்னெடுப்பின்படி கொழும்பில் பத்தரமுல்ல பிரதேசத்தில்
அமைந்துள்ள மக்கள் அருங்கலை பேரவையில் (Janakala Kendra) கடந்த மாதம்
திறக்கப்பட்டது. தற்போது அங்கு அன்றாட விற்பனை நடவடிக்கைகள் தொடர்ந்து
நடைபெற்று வருகின்றது
அதைத் தொடந்து கற்பிட்டி, குருநாகலை
மற்றும் கண்டி ஆகிய பிரதேசங்களிலும் புதிதாக "கற்பகம்" விற்பனைநிலையமொன்றை திறப்பதற்கும் உத்தேசிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. இதற்கான
வேலைத்திட்டங்கள் தற்போது எமது சபைதலைவரின் கீழ் சந்தைப்படுத்தல்
பிரிவினால் செயற்படுத்தப்பட்டு வருகின்றது.பனை அபிவிருத்திச் சபையின் புதிய உற்பத்திப் பொருட்களை கூடிய நாட்கள்
பழுதடையாத வண்ணம் தயாரிப்பதற்கும் அது தொடர்பாக ஆராய்ச்சிகளை
மேற்கொள்வதற்காகவும் பனை ஆராய்ச்சி நிலையம் ஒன்று யாழ்ப்பாணத்தின் கைதடி
பிரதேசத்தில் அமைச்சினால் புனருத்தாபனம் செய்யப்பட்டு
நடைமுறைப்படுத்தப்படவுள்ளது.
யாழ். மாவட்டத்தில் பனை சார் உற்பத்தி உணவுப் பொருட்கள் சித்த மருத்துவ
குணாம்சம் கொண்டவை என தென்னாபிரிக்க குழுவினர் தெரிவித்ததுள்ளதுடன், யாழ்.
மாவட்டத்தில் பனைசார் உணவுப் பொருட்கள் தயாரிக்கும் தகவல்களை திரட்டிச்
சென்றுள்ளனர்.அத்துடன், பனைசார் உற்பத்திகளை கொள்வனவு செய்வதுடன், சந்தை வாய்ப்பினை ஏற்படுத்த நடவடிக்கை ஏடுப்பதாகவும் உறுதியளித்துள்ளதாக பனை அபிவிருத்திசபை தலைவர் மேலும் தெரிவித்தார்.
சென்றுள்ளனர்.அத்துடன், பனைசார் உற்பத்திகளை கொள்வனவு செய்வதுடன், சந்தை வாய்ப்பினை ஏற்படுத்த நடவடிக்கை ஏடுப்பதாகவும் உறுதியளித்துள்ளதாக பனை அபிவிருத்திசபை தலைவர் மேலும் தெரிவித்தார்.
பனை சார் உற்பத்தி பொருட்களுக்கு தென்னாபிரிக்காவில் சந்தை வாய்ப்பினை
மேற்கொள்வதற்கான ஏற்பாடுகள் செய்வதாக தென்னாபிரிக்க குழுவினர்
உறுதியளித்துள்ளதாக பனை அபிவிருத்திசபை தலைவர் பசுபதி சீவரத்தினம் இன்று
திங்கட்கிழமை தெரிவித்தார்.யாழ்ப்பாணத்துக்கு விஜயம் செய்துள்ள தென்னாபிரிக்க குழுவினர் கைதடியில்
அமைந்துள்ள பனை ஆராய்ச்சி நிலையத்தினை சென்று பார்வையிட்டதுடன்,
தொழில்நுட்பம் மற்றும் அறிவு சார்ந்த உற்பத்தி பொருட்களையும்
பார்வையிட்டுள்ளனர்.
பனம் கழியை பிரித்தெடுக்கும் இயந்திரம் மற்றும் பனாட்டு பதனிடும்
இயந்திரம் ஆகியன பனை ஆராய்ச்சி நிலையத்திற்கு நேற்று வழங்கி
வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன.கைத்தொழில் ரீதியாக பயன்படுத்தப்பட்ட பனாட்டுப் பதனிடும் இயந்திரத்தை
பனை அபிவிருத்தி சபை தலைவர் பசுபதி சீவரத்தினத்திடம் தேசிய இயந்திரவியல்
ஆராய்ச்சி அபிவிருத்தி நிறுவன ஆராய்ச்சி நிபுணர் மாலினி ரணதுங்க நேற்று
வழங்கிவைத்தார்.பனை ஆராய்ச்சி நிறுவனமும், தேசிய இயந்திரவியல் ஆராய்ச்சி அபிவிருத்தி
நிலையமும் இணைந்து குறித்த பனம் கழியினை பிரித்தெடுக்கும் இயந்திரத்தினை
தயாரித்துள்ளன.உற்பத்தியினை அதிகரித்துக்கொள்ளவும், பனம் பானம் பிரித்தெடுக்கும்
நேரத்தினை மீதப்படுத்தும் நோக்கத்துடனும் பனாட்டு பதனிடும் இயந்திரம்
தயாரிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.இவ் இயந்திரத்தில் சுமார் 150 பனம் பழத்தினை குறித்த இயந்திரத்தில்
இட்டு 100 லீற்றர் பனம் பானத்திற்கு மேல் பெற்றுக்கொள்ள முடியும் எனத்
தெரிவித்துள்ளனர்.
இந்நிகழ்வில் குறித்த இயந்திரத்தினை பயன்படுத்தும் முறை குறித்து தேசிய
இயந்திரவியல் ஆராய்ச்சி அபிவிருத்தி நிறுவன ஆராய்ச்சி நிபுணர் மாலினி
ரணதுங்க, மற்றும் பனை அபிவிருத்தி சபை தலைவர் பசுபதி சீவரத்தினம் ஆகியோர்
பனை ஆராய்ச்சி நிலைய உத்தியோகத்தர்களுக்கு விளக்கமளித்தனர்.அத்துடன்
பனாட்டினை சோலர் மூலம் பதனிட்டு அதனை பாதுகாப்பாகவும், மழையில் இருந்து
பாதுகாத்துக் கொள்வதற்கான உபகரணமும் வழங்கப்பட்டது.இந்நிகழ்வில் பனை
அபிவிருத்தி சபை தலைவர் பசுபதி சீவரத்தினம், முகாமையாளர்கள் மற்றும்
உத்தியோகத்தர்கள் எனப் பலர் கலந்துகொண்டனர்.
yasi..........
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
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