Food cost hardship

A recent news report that a student had brought “coconut kernel” to school for lunch some days ago acquired so much currency in both mainstream and social media that no less than the President’s Media Division (PMD) was constrained to deny it as false news and issue a press release to that effect. This followed inquiries from the area educational authorities, the PMD said. Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told parliament he had made a phone call to the school the child was attending and switched on his speaker phone in the parliamentary chamber so that fellow MPs could hear the lady he had spoken to saying no such incident took place in her school. This provoked the Speaker to remind the minister that only MPs could speak in parliament and the matter ended there. Presumably Hansard would not have reported the voice clip.

Those who read the original report may have wondered whether the reference was to kurumba, the tender kernel most people scoop out to eat after refreshing themselves on the coconut water. Others may have thought the reference was to kalati pol, the not fully matured kernel, or even pela pol, the very edible germinated coconut commonly seen in desiccated coconut or copra mills. Give the price of a single coconut, or maalu pol, used for everyday cooking in most Lankan homes, which can today rise as high as high as 100 rupees, many could feel that this was quite a cost for a child’s school lunch. But out in the countryside it would be possible to pick up a fallen nut or pluck a kurumba from a not-so-tall palm.

Whether the ‘coconut kernel’ lunch report was true or not, given today’s sky-high food prices very many poor children go hungry to school without even a cup of plain tea and a plantain for breakfast. They can’t afford to take their lunch to school and there were some heartwarming television reports recently that some teachers in rural schools bring an extra lunch parcel along with their own to feed a hungry child. But how long can this go on? Although there has been talk of providing school meals, as has been done in the past with assistance from parents, the ability of the cash strapped government to provide such a service countrywide is at best doubtful. Older readers might remember the bun and milk provided to school children many decades ago thanks to CARE – Cooperative American Remittance Everywhere. This was later replaced by a biscuit which contained both the wheat flour and milk powder content. But all that is now ancient history. There will be very few people yet alive who remember Dr. W. Dahanayaka, a former prime minister and education minister being called “Bunis maama” by school children.

Our regular columnist Nan has in her contribution today used information from reputed international agencies on the extent of hunger and malnutrition in the country. Anecdotal evidence in addition to reliable statistics have been cited in this regard. She’s also quoted at least one naysayer adding that she prefers to believe the UN agencies rather than Lankans in denial mode. The PMD release condemning the ‘coconut kernel lunch’ story as false lends credence to the fact that there is official knowledge going right up to the Head of State and Government on the seriousness of the food problem confronting this country today. While denying the first ‘coconut kernel’ report, the PMD announced that on the president’s direction a Food Security Program Unit has been established in the president’s office and provided a hot-line telephone number to use in case of urgent necessity. It further expanded that Samurdhi recipient families with over five members, families with disabled members and others identified as poverty stricken will be provided assistance under the World Food Program.

All this is to the good. But there is no escaping the reality that the problem is of a magnitude that it will be difficult for a cash-strapped Treasury to address and there is only so much that can be raised abroad on international goodwill. It is already well known that there are families down to two and one meal a day and are compelled to cut down on essential proteins. Volunteer-supported community kitchens and distribution of essential food packs to the needy, courtesy some big companies, are also ongoing but it is doubtful that the total need can be fully met. We must also be ever conscious that our delivery mechanisms are week. Samurdhi which had long been politicized is a vivid example of unqualified families benefiting while those in dire need have been shut out.

There will no doubt be information in the forthcoming 2023 budget that President Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as finance minister, will be presenting to parliament in November. The necessity to protect those sectors most in need have been presented to the IMF and other bilateral donors/lenders and have been accepted. But all Lankans are acutely aware that a long difficult haul lies ahead and this, in all likelihood, will become worse before it becomes better.