Agriculture: Not talked about enough

October 23, 2011, 6:30 pm


Welcome

Welcome to the sixty second edition of this regular column. Here, we discuss a wide range of topics around Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), many aspects of Business, Education, Entrepreneurship, Creativity, Innovation and the Society at large.

Last week, one of my friends pointed out to me that although so many columns have been written under ‘The Catalyst’, I haven’t touched on Agriculture so far. That made me think. True, here and elsewhere, there is a lack of discussion about the Sri Lankan agriculture sector as well as agri-based businesses we could do. I felt like it would be worthy to discuss the importance of it for our country.

Agriculture in Sri Lanka

While there hasn’t been much discussion over the topic, the sector hasn’t been performing that bad over a period of time. According to Central bank reports, paddy produce has increased year on year. There had been 2,859,000 metric tons in 2002 while it has been 3,246,000 metric tons of paddy in 2005. The result in 2009 has been 3,652,000 metric tons while 2011 is over 4,000,000 metric tons. Even the tea and rubber exports have increased. Coconut has slightly come down though.

If we consider the total GDP, the agriculture sector falls behind industry and services.

About 32% of the direct employment of the entire country comes from this sector. A bit surprisingly, this percentage hasn’t come down significantly in the last 10 years.

Generally speaking, today we are self sufficient in terms of the rice production and there were reports that a smaller stock was even donated to Africa recently. Which is good. If we can achieve the same for all food items, that will be great. It is an open world and importing and exporting of different consumables, products and services are a must between countries. However, food, what we eat, ideally should be produced within the country. Even countries like USA, UK and Australia, which are supposedly developed in terms of industry, in fact take agriculture very seriously. They all have a sound and strong agricultural and agri-based products sector.

Still, in Sri Lanka, traditional agriculture doesn’t seem to be flourishing as we would like it to be, at the ground level for the people involved. I take part in a radio program for FM Derana titled ‘Ape Gama’, so I get a chance to hear what ground level people do, say, go through and feel. As there is a focus on the rural sector, we interact with farmers and that’s a great firsthand experience.

New Generation

One area that needs attention is the point that farming is not perceived as an exciting career option by the younger generation. While statistics show that the percentage involved in agriculture hasn’t significantly changed, when you talk to farmers you will feel it’s not the first choice among youngsters. Why?

We are a nation based on agriculture. Even our culture has its roots in agriculture. Some 70% of people live in non-urban areas and they all have something to do with agriculture even though they might not be directly employed in it. It is in the blood. But why have we failed to make it an exciting option for the new generations?

Firstly, the economics is one area. Secondly it’s the perception that newer jobs in offices and industry are better. Then again is it really? A job is a job. As long as it gives self satisfaction to the individual, helps the society and provides enough economic benefit for the individual, then it has to be a good career option. If the relevant authorities can do their bit to ensure that those involved receive a sufficient income through farming, then a part of it is taken care of.

As a nation we need to work on improving the perception so that people feel that farming is a good career option. Mass scale projects like Divi Neguma which tries to encourage everyone to have their own vegetable garden is a good initiative so that social understanding on the importance is increased.

In the olden days Sri Lankans used to say ‘mada soda gath kala goviya raja kamatath sudusui’, which means the farmer is even suitable to be the king after washing off the mud. We need to make that statement meaningful today!

Media and Technology

Media projects like ‘Shoora Goviya’ which was on Derana TV would also help challenge the perception. If you can become a star by dancing or singing, why can’t you be so by farming where you actually feed this nation?

‘Manussakama’ project of CIC is also a commendable project to take farming to the mainstream mediums. Wasantha Dukkgannarala’s role in taking farming from rural areas to mainstream media over various programs over the years is admirable.

The media presence is strong in the country, and utilising them for things that this nation really need is the sensible thing to do. Unfortunately, a lot of air time is used for things that don’t add much value to this country or the people.

‘Navagoviya’ Project which aims to educate farmers in the use of information technology for agriculture was inaugurated together with Information & Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) (http://www.navagoviya.org/) and is another good initiative.

But we need more of those!

Middlemen and low income needs to be tackled. Technology could be used for this. ICT would be a very useful tool. A few weeks ago we spoke of a concept by Tilak Dissanayake (tilak@antsglobal.lk) that uses the strengths of existing technologies such as ICT (Information and Communications Technology), electronics, compressed air motors, and wind energy and has combined in innovative ways to resolve the long standing issue of getting fresh produce to the market at a fair price to both producers and consumers.

On the other hand one reason that farming is considered a good career option in countries like Australia is the use of technology. Youngsters don’t necessarily feel they live in the past as agriculture actually moves with time. We need that involvement too. If we don’t, we wouldn’t be able to compete on the production or the cost scale of the other countries anyway.

Education

One other area that needs attention is the education system. In a country like ours, the agriculture should be better covered in it. But I should say that its covered minimally. If we are to create an interest then it’s easier if children are exposed to it in the early stages. In addition we need to check whether we are properly utilising agriculture graduates from our universities. I have a few friends who studied agriculture from Peradeniya and Ruhuna universities, but they actually didn’t pick agriculture related careers after completing their studies. They work in banks and the like. Why is that? We haven’t brought it out as a career. If something is considered a proper career, then there should be positions for different levels of education and different areas of interest.

Agri Businesses

Emphasis should be placed on the importance of making people aware about the business side of agriculture.

As long as people perceive farming to be the same old traditional vocation, the new generation wouldn’t see a career or future in it. And also, in countries where agriculture has become a big business, it’s actually done as a business. So, we need to discuss and promote the ways that agriculture and agri-related areas can be made into business ventures. It could well be SMEs, but start from there and help people to take it forward.

If you take the full span of agriculture, we can identify main phases such as Crop cultivation, Water management, Fertilizer Application, Fertigation, Pest management, Harvesting, Post harvest handling, Transporting of food/food products, Packaging, Food preservation, Food processing/value addition, Food quality management, Food safety, Food storage and Food marketing. And that’s a lot and there would be a million business ideas within them. Promoting the concepts of entrepreneurship, especially around identifying opportunities and evaluating them is key. But it has to be promoted in a way that the message hits the ground.

FM Derana - Ape Gama aims to empower the rural sector, the agriculture as well as the SMEs to see the exciting side of it and move forward with determination.

Get in Touch

If you have an event or a group that you would like me to talk to, I can see if I can make some time for such activities. I am happy to speak to groups about the ICT/BPO sector, youth leadership, business, careers, communication skills, soft skills and entrepreneurship. I always take pleasure from such activities.

If you have any feedback, please drop a note to yva@lankabpoacademy.lk

By the way, last weeks’ topic was Customer Service. If you missed it can be found online at http://pdfs.island.lk/2011/10/17/b4.pdf . After reading it, a couple of people told me about their interesting customer service experiences, some good, some bad and some ugly! If you like, you can share them with us through the above email address and those could give some points for us to discuss in the future to improve these services in Sri Lanka.

See you next week!



The Columnist

Yasas Vishuddhi Abeywickrama is a professional with significant experiences. In 2011 he was recognised as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) in Sri Lanka. Yasas has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from University of Colombo and a Masters degree in Entrepreneurship & Innovation from Swinburne University in Australia. He has worked in the USA, UK, Sri Lanka & Australia and being trained in the USA & Malaysia. He is currently involved in the training organisation, Lanka BPO Academy (www.lankabpoacademy.lk). Apart from this column, he is a regular resource person for ‘Ape Gama’ program of FM Derana (Sunday 3-5pm). Yasas is happy to answer your relevant questions – email him at yva@lankabpoacademy.lk .