Sri Lanka plantation sector stakeholders are demanding the government to rescue the main three export crop industry specialty tea devastated by the previous regimes“100% organic agriculture”,the most unscientific experiment ever attempted in local history.
As a result of this overnig stupid and arrogant decision of former president Gotabya Rajapaksa ousted by the people,Agricultural productivity in Export crops has dropped by 20%.
While export values of tea and rubber have increased, volumes have plummeted by 20% and 30% respectively. Had the country been able to maintain production at pre-fertilizer ban levels, an additional export earnings of US$240 Million could have been saved from plantation-related exports.
Moving forward, the present administration needs to appoint a Sectoral Task force – made up of credible industry experts, whom the Government must consult, particularly when formulating policy decisions that have the potential to impact the entire agriculture sector, Dr. Roshan Rajadurai ormer Chairman of the Planters’ Association of Ceylon said
Failure to do so even at this late juncture will risk even further irreversible damage being done to our industry and the millions of lives that are impacted by it, he added. .
This means that the Government in particular needs to commit to a strict regime of evidence-based policy at all times.
If drastic policy adjustments are required, the Government has to take a consultative approach, seek out balanced and credible opinions, and obtain broad approval from stakeholders, he claimed. .
With this common agreement in place, the plantation sector stakeholders can finally begin to bring together the best minds in respective export crop industries and work in partnership towards developing a viable roadmap for a sustainable path to a true Sri Lankan economic renaissance.
As Sri Lanka’s first true export industry, the stakeholders believe the Sri Lankan plantation industry should be the first to take up this challenge, he pointed out.
For over a decade, the plantation industry has painstakingly sought to articulate what the plantation sector requires to move forward. At present, the consensus is that reforms, investment, and knowledge sharing are most needed in the industry are in the areas of:
Sustainable, progressive productivity-linked wages that benefit workers and companies
Agricultural and operational best practices
Research and development towards greater local value addition
Factory, and supply chain modernization
Implementation of a consistent, science-based national agriculture policy framework
