Renaissance Sri Lanka, Monlar and Greenfem webinar series on organic farming

Renaissance Sri Lanka, MONLAR and Greenfem are launching a live webinar series on ‘ agroecology’.

Hosted via Renaissance Sri Lanka’s “Kumbuk” online networking platform, the series will run every Saturday, from October 9 to 30 from 6.00pm to 7.30pm IST ( GMT+ 5: 30). It will highlight the importance of organic farming with the aim of contributing to a people- friendly true green revolution in Sri Lanka, the organisers said in a media release.

After World War II, a ‘ green revolution’ was launched globally to increase food production to meet the population's requirements. The traditional Asian farming methods were transformed into an advanced, scientific agricultural system by the 1960s. Hybrid seeds that produce high yields were introduced, but they highly depended on agrochemicals, resulting in a threat to the people, animals and environment.

The agricultural system introduced by the green revolution created a mass of socio- economic, health and environmental problems. Significantly, the green revolution failed to fulfil the promise of safeguarding small food producers and minimising rural poverty, the release said.

It said the April 2021 decision by the government to ban chemical fertiliser and converting the country’s agricultural system into organic farming, astonished many who had been used to the lavish use of chemical fertiliser and pesticides after the green revolution in Sri Lanka in the 1970s that introduced and promoted agro- technology.

It said the dialogue in the society on organic farming polarised heavily with the sudden government decision of banning chemical fertiliser entirely. One sector advocated for systematic transition to organic farming due to the challenge of achieving targets of mass- scale food production.

The other section opined that the space opened by this sudden decision should be used to convert the Sri Lankan agricultural system into organic farming, investing in the lack of leadership with a long- term vision.

Against this backdrop, organisations, farmers and citizens who have been already using ‘ agroecology’ farming methods welcomed the government decision with the hope of creating a sustainable agricultural system in Sri Lanka.

However, Shamila Rathnasooriya of Movement of National Land and Agricultural Reforms ( MONLAR) pointed out that the farmers, consumers, women and youth have not been adequately represented in these discussions handled by the professionals and officials in the agricultural field. The series of webinars will bring together the knowledge and experiences of the international and Sri Lankan experts and the farmers on ‘ agroecology’.