The plight of the battered Northern farmers

Carrying on from last week where we referred to the annual Thai Pongal harvest festival without the harvest, the plight of the country’s farmers, especially those in the Northern Province, is worthy of further mention. Those living in the rest of the country must appreciate their plight, if for nothing else than the fact that they are the consumers of their produce. These farmers were first battered by a long and protracted insurgency, and now, by natural disasters and ministerial incompetence.

Last week, we said how an extended drought and a change in the rainy season coupled with a fertilizer shortage had hit the farmers in their solar plexus, knocking the wind out of them. In the South, floods took a toll compounding matters. But in the otherwise harsh northern terrain, farmers are further emasculated by absentee landlordism, a bad rural road network to transport perishable produce, poor rail links with big cities, high cost of production, and ‘middle-men’ exploiting connectivity, or rather the lack of it, between producer and consumer etc.

Additionally, there are a multitude of other factors like banks offering loans with short grace periods for repayments breathing down the necks of the debtor-farmer forcing him to sometimes take drastic personal decisions. Interest rates go up to 8 percent because much of the money doled out is linked to falling currency exchange rates. Leasing is no better. The inability to pay back has also driven farmers to take these extreme personal decisions.

Sri Lanka’s North is always considered a dry zone, but excessive rainfall without smart irrigation systems should be of concern to the Northern Provincial Council. Though classified a dry zone, partly due to the scorched earth, the Northern Province can be a lush, green, cultivatable land mass. It is still supported by the farmer-peasant, basically engaged in subsistence farming. A safety net is what these hardworking farmers need to grow more food for the province and the rest of this united, unitary country.