Pandemic and related progress

Crises lead to lessons. Lessons to change and changes to progress. So, we need to learn, and to see fresh directions as we emerge from the horrors of Covid-19.

To me, it is a vindication of the traditional (fashionably condemned as archaic, outdated, primitive, regressive) heritage of our forefathers, urging a re-evaluation of the modern paradigm – produce, export and use the profits, to import the food we need. Self-sufficiency, we are told, is an outdated economic model – irrelevant to our modern times. Agriculture is merely then a tool for earning foreign exchange for acquiring cars and caviar, butter and brandy, medicines and machinery – all produced more efficiently elsewhere!

This smooth pattern was rocked by perturbations, unthinkable just two years ago. The collapse of the transport and production chain was unforeseen and affected all equally. This changed expectations and re-focused attention on the fragility of the food Import/export system, and the wisdom of the ancients in charting a way of life, less dependent upon complicated sophistication. Commercial interchange became nearly unavailable, with new norms to contain the spread of the virus. It could even portend the extinction of mankind and of life itself. What just three years ago looked like demented ravings of a lunatic, transformed into a chilling reality.

“Self-sufficiency”, at least for basic foods, were no longer bad words. Integrated agriculture and animal husbandry, rotation of crops, biological nitrogen fixation, the virtues of mulch, biological pest control, pastures and woodlands, conservation of forests, coral reefs, protection of sand, soil and minerals as “commons,” defended against the depredations of greedy, rapacious poachers. Hitherto neglected crops, perhaps the best example being jak, whose versatility and bounty is unmatched. Taken together, we may win recognition as pioneers in advancing a system of “Compassionate Farming”, blending the strengths of the “traditional” with those of the “modern”. The traditional practice of paddy farmers of setting aside a portion of the field unharvested (“kurulu paluwa”), to provide a food source for the birds, serves as a pointer.

One other great realisation was that the astonishing scale of mechanisation was unattainable by farmers in the poorer countries. Increased attention should be directed towards meeting the requirements of local consumers as priority targets. “We eat what we can and do what we can’t” has been the reported slogan of the Canadian fishery industry. This is not an alien practice for our farmers, who are used to the tradition of setting aside a corner of their paddy fields, reserved as a “Kurulu paluwa,”. A good example of “compassionate farming”.

At the other end of the scale, there is Israel – high in the automation/mechanization league, who to the observer, boasts of fruits and vegetables aplenty, star class for quality and an abundant presence in affluent European markets, still operates at a loss, continuing in farming solely because of the deep pockets and generosity of Uncle Sam.

Not an agribusiness model for poor us.

Dr. UPATISSA PETHIYAGODA