Ceylon Chamber digs deep into helping ‘fruits and vegetables’ farmers
In an apparent bonanza for the fruit and vegetable farmers of this country, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) has taken an initiative to come to an agreement with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the National Agri-Business Council (NAC) to creat standards of compliance to export fruits and vegetables from this country.
This was revealed by Ms. Dawn S. Austin, Managing Director, Nidro Supply (Pvt) Ltd and Past Chairperson, Lanka Fruit and Vegetable Producers, Processors and Exporters Association, while speaking at this week’s launch of the Agri-Business and National Farmer Awards Ceremony – 2015 to be held on August 9 at the BMICH.
She said the CCC which has been involved in traditional commercial crops like tea, rubber and coconut in a new perspective has taken up the cause of fruit and vegetable farmers.
She said that the world today is demanding more food and noted: “Europe could be a supermarket for our fruits and vegetables but of course the food that is supplied has to be of quality in compliance with the international standards.” She said that it is a fact that whatever the government, the focus is on exports and more exports. She said produce is acceptable both from health and economic perspectives.
The economic thrust must come from the production base, she stressed and said that is where the NAC comes in because there is no other way an independent organisation can reach 4,000 farmers who would be competing in the NAC Agri-Business Farmer Awards. She said that they have created a database involving all these farmers.
M. Rizvi Zaheed, Chairman, NAC said that for the 10th time they are organizing the farmer awards ceremony which is the most important event in the agriculture calendar of Sri Lanka where the farmers and all those who are involved in agriculture are recognised and rewarded.
He said that awards are presented for the following categories: Best Input Provider; Best Agricultural Machinery and Equipment provider; Best Agricultural Exporter; Best Livestock Enterprise; Best Agricultural Producer; Best innovation in Agriculture and Best Emerging Agri Enterprise.
He said that these awards and recognition was introduced in 2006 by NAC to encourage and educate the farmers as a national responsibility to uplift local agriculture and improve food productivity at a time when the world is faced with a global food crisis. Aruna Weerakoon, Chairman, Awards Organising Committee said that this year they have received a massive amount of applications to the tune of 4,100 with the most encouraging part being the high enthusiasm from the North and the East.
He said that from the Jaffna district they have received 328 applications and from the Mullaitivu district there were 912 applications.
He said that as they all know politicians and many of them were only paying lip service when it comes to the local farmers while sufficient appreciation is not found for the contribution these poor farmers make for the development and the food security of the country. Therefore the awards and the recognition of the farmers by the NAC is a much needed task.
On the sidelines of the Launch, the Business Times posed two queries to the NAC; Whatever said and done the vegetable and fruit farmers face a continual debacle of large amounts of their produce being thrown away for want of a market as seen in the Dambulla fruit and vegetable wholesale market. The other is that the export market of fruits and vegetables is the domain of big timers and is not that of the struggling small scale farmer.
Mr. Zaheed stressed the need of a post-harvest storage facility to store the excess produce like collecting centres that could be rented out to farmers. To create such centres the state and the private sector should equally be involved, he said.
Ms. Austin pointed out that the cold storage would not alone work but the growing new technology should be infused and it is a matter of connecting these supplies to the supply chain. She said that in some way her company is also involved where they directly deal with the farmers and their extension officers visit these farmers and give them advice on the right product, best seed material and best technology and also ensure that they follow proper harvesting methods.
All these officials agreed that there should be a consistent, comprehensive and strong national agricultural policy where all these shortcomings are examined and solutions provided.
Mr. Zaheed said for farmers to get a profit, the supply should be from different varieties on a coordinated plan. The private sector could not have agro-zones to grow and so, he said that it is a bigger issue of the story and indicated; “basically they should have a cold storage facility. A country like Bangladesh is quite advanced. They have got storage for their potatoes”.
In the matter of small farmers joining the export market and to get a bigger profit margin for their produce, they pointed out that everybody cannot export as it is a highly specialised task with appropriate resources such as cold storage and packaging.