Gannoruwa Agro Techno Park and Research Centre
Hi kids! We are Sanju and Manju, and we are about to take you on a tour! Did you know that agriculture is the most important sector of the Sri Lankan economy? That means that most of the jobs in our country are connected to agriculture. And today we are going to visit the Gannoruwa Agriculture Technology Park in Kandy for you to get to know everything on the subject, especially about local crops and practices.
WHAT IS AGRICULTURE?
It is known as the science, art or practice of raising animals and growing of various types of crops and plants for food and clothing.
WHAT IS THE AGRICULTURE TECHNO PARK AND WHAT DOES IT DO?
The park, begun in 2004 is run by the Department of Agriculture and is a place where you can see and learn about varieties of vegetables, fruits, trees and crops that grow in our country.
As the agriculture field is faced with new problems everyday - from pests to complications with the soil, it is very important that people have a place where they can find out solutions for their issues. So the park also acts as a place where different kinds of studies and improvements done in the agriculture field are shared with farmers, school children and the general public as well. This gives the people a chance to learn about any new methods of growing crops and various technologies connected to it.
The park also wants to encourage the conservation of Sri Lankan varieties of vegetables, rice and other local crops, and also hopes to promote our local foods.
A very interesting thing we found at the park was the concept of ‘Edible Landscaping’. Instead of the usual rectangular beds that you would find, various leafy vegetables, fruits and other vegetables have been grown in interestingly shaped beds and in unique ways. This is to encourage people to see how growing eatable leaves and vegetables can make a garden as beautiful and as interesting as growing flowers; this helps especially when growing things on a small space of land.
WHAT WOULD YOU FIND IN THE PARK?
There are 30 units spread out across the park, where you will be able to see demonstrations of a home garden, vegetable
and fruit garden, a herb garden, spice garden, citrus garden, types of local yams, Sri Lankan sacred trees, different types of paddy, a mock chena and a bee keeping area as well as a weather unit among them. You will also be able to practically learn from the instructors in each unit, about various pests and diseases that crops and plants are faced with, about our import agriculture, high tech agriculture like greenhouses and soil conservation, and would be able to get an idea about tools and methods used in agriculture at the park's museum; there is even a place where you can see and learn how to grow mushrooms.
THE INTERESTING THINGS WE SAW
The first thing we found as we entered is the vegetable garden where we saw various vegetables like snake gourd, melons, beans, carrots and pumpkins. Many local varieties like alanga and avara beans along with ‘halmasso’ winged beans are found here too. Forty different types of local yams are also there to have a look at.
The home garden has close to 280 varieties of plants and vegetables in it and there we saw the ‘edible landscaping’ method being used.
At the ‘crop wild relatives unit’, we found many dry zone crops, most of which are local, like kurakkan, meneri and thana wel.
The traditional chena had a display of bridges and plots that are unique to its method of farming, as well as traps that are used in capturing animal pests that come to attack the chena crops.
At the rice technology garden, we found a paddy field with an irrigation system on display. There was also a demonstration of how the old irrigation systems used in our historical “weva’s” fed the fields in the past and how natural methods helped keep the crops free of toxins and insects.
We also discovered that there are 2000 varieties of local rice, which are much healthier than some we are used to eating on an everyday basis. Some of the names are: suwandel, kalu heenati, pachchaperumal, kuruluthuda and maa-wee. Some of these you can find at certain supermarkets so give it a try!
I hope you join Sanju and I on our next adventure too! And don’t forget, you can always write to us about any different or unusual places you visited to: jrmirror. adventure@gmail.com and we can publish it!