News
Tea output snarled by weed from glyphosate ban
ECONOMYNEXT –Sri Lanka’s tea growers say resuming fertilizer supplies will help boost output but a ban on weedicides also has to go for production to get back to levels that existed before Presidential interventions in agriculture.
Sri Lanka’s sudden policy changes without white papers without expert or public consultation – an economic problem known as regime uncertainty that picked up after the practice of appointing permanent secretaries to ministries ended in 1971 – and worsened under Presidential rule, according to critics.
Former President Maithripala Sirisena banned glyphostate in 2015, a weedicide generally considered with least residuals by some tea importing countries while his successor Gotabaya Rajapaksa banned fertilizer in 2020, decimating all agriculture in the country.
Sri Lanka used to produce more than 300 million kilograms of tea a year and a fertilizer ban which hit lag is expected to reduce output to around 260 million kilograms in 2022.For production to come back to normal weedicide and other agro-chemicals also have to be available.
“What we are seeking from the government is a consistent policy,” Roshan Rajadurai, media spokesman for the Planters Association of Ceylon told reporters at a media briefing on November 04, 2022.
“Up until then we produced 330-340 million kilos of tea annually.
“But with the ban on glyphosate and consequential negative impact of not having weedicides resulted in 10- 15 percent reduction in production and coupled with other factors, it impacted around 2 million people surviving from this industry.
“We haven’t got weedicides for around one and half years and we have not got fungicides and other essential agro chemicals. Hopefully in the future the government will take more holistic, scientific and evidence based decisions.”
With fertilizer supplies now coming back the industry hopes to get production back up to 300 around million kilos in 2023.Industry officials say weedicides do not disturb topsoil unlike manual weeding and it is also easier on labour.
Pluckers are also reluctant to go to fields which are covered in weeds, which also hits output, they say.President Ranil Wickremesinghe relaxed a glyphosate import ban in August 05 2022, but the product is still not reaching plantations.Though President Wickremesinghe relaxed the import of glyphosate, there are other gazette which is restricting the transport and distribution of glyphosate. Minister of Plantations industries and Industries Ramesh Pathirana is also supportive. The Planters’ Association said.
“There are 16 gazettes for glyphosate. One to bring in, another for distribution and as such. So we need to work on one by one,” Rajadurai said.
“The Minister is supporting and we should get it soon in the future.”
The fertilizer and agrochemcal bans came after Sri Lanka’s Government Medical Association claimed that according to Pliny the Elder, a Roman author ancient Sri Lankans had lived for over 140 years and it had now halved after wide agrochemical use which was contributing to non-communicable diseases.
President Sirisena banned glyphosate after a non-peer reviewed paper showed a link between glyphosate and heavy metals which have been suspected as a trigger for chronic kidney disease of unknown origin.Another Sri Lankan professor had claimed that God Naatha, revealed to him that arsenic in the soil which came from agrochemicals.
However soil scientists say some of the toxic metals found in some regions of some regions of Sri Lanka are also linked to the geological formations of some areas, quite apart from the possibility of surface contamination.Soil is formed by a continuous process of breaking down rocks.
The U.S. Embassy in Colombo welcomed the U.S. Sports Envoys to Sri Lanka, former National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players Stephen Howard and Astou Ndiaye, from June 8 through 14.
The Public Diplomacy section of the U.S. Embassy said that it would launch a weeklong basketball program intended to harness the unifying power of sports, made possible through collaboration with Foundation of Goodness and IImpact Hoop Lab.
While in Sri Lanka, Howard and Ndiaye, both retired professional basketball players, will conduct a weeklong program, Hoops for Hope: Bridging Borders through Basketball. The Sports Envoys will lead basketball clinics and exhibition matches and engage in leadership sessions in Colombo and Southern Province for youth aged 14-18 from Northern, Uva, Eastern and Western Provinces, offering skills and leadership training both on and off the court. The U.S. Envoys will also share their expertise with the Sri Lanka Basketball Federation, national coaches, and players, furthering the development of basketball in the country. Beyond the clinics, they will collaborate with Sri Lankan schoolchildren to take part in a community service project in the Colombo area.
“We are so proud to welcome Stephen and Astou as our Sports Envoys to Sri Lanka, to build on the strong people-to-people connections between the United States and Sri Lanka,” said U.S. Ambassador Julie Chung. “The lessons that will be shared by our Sports Envoys – communication, teamwork, resilience, inclusion, and conflict resolution – are essential for leadership development, community building, equality, and peace. The U.S. Sports Envoy program is a testament to our belief that sports can be a powerful tool in promoting peace and unity.”
SJB Colombo District MP Mujibur Rahuman in parliament demanded to know from the government the reasons for CEB suspending the leave of all its employees until further notice from Thursday.
MP Rahuman said that the CEB has got an acting General Manager anew and the latter yesterday morning issued a circular suspending leave of all CEB employees with immediate effect until further notice.
“We demand that Minister Kanchana Wijesekera should explain this to the House. This circular was issued while this debate on the new Electricity Amendment Bill was pending. There are many who oppose this Bill. The Minister must tell parliament the reason for the urge to cancel the leave of CEB employees,” the MP said.However, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena prevented Minister Wijesekera responding to the query and said that the matter raised by MP Rahuman was not relevant.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) successfully concluded the 8th Annual CIPM Symposium, which took place on 31st May 2024. Themed “Nurturing the Human Element—Redefining HRM in a Rapidly Changing World,” the symposium underscored the pivotal role of human resource management (HRM) in today’s dynamic global landscape. Since its inception in 1959, CIPM has been dedicated to advancing the HR profession through education, professional development, and advocacy, solidifying its position as Sri Lanka’s leading professional body for HRM.
Ken Vijayakumar, the President of the CIPM, graced the occasion as the chief guest. The symposium commenced with the welcome address by the Chairperson, Prof. Arosha Adikaram, followed by the Web Launch of the Symposium Proceedings and Abstract Book by the CIPM President. The event featured distinguished addresses, including a speech by Chief Guest Ken Vijayakumar, President of CIPM, and an address by Guest of Honor Shakthi Ranatunga, Chief Operating Officer of MAS Holdings Pvt. Ltd., Sri Lanka.
The symposium also featured an inspiring keynote address by Prof. Mario Fernando, Professor of Management and Director of the Centre for Cross Cultural Management (CCCM) at the University of Wollongong, Australia.
Vote of Thanks of the inauguration session was delivered by Dr. Dillanjani Weeratunga, Symposium Co-chair.
The symposium served as a comprehensive platform for researchers to present their findings across a wide range of critical topics in HRM. These included Cultural Diversity and Inclusion, Talent Development and Retention, Ethical Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility, Adapting to Technological Advancements, Mental Health and Well-being at Work, Global Workforce Challenges, Employee Empowerment, and Reskilling and Upskilling.
The plenary session was led by Prof. Wasantha Rajapakse. Certificates were awarded to the best paper presenters during the valedictory session, followed by a vote of thanks delivered by Kamani Perera, Manager of Research and Development.
The annual symposium of CIPM was a truly inclusive event, attracting a diverse audience that spanned undergraduates, graduates, working professionals, research scholars and lecturers. This widespread interest highlights the symposium’s significance in the field of HRM, offering a unique opportunity for everyone to network and learn from scholarly brains.The CIPM International Research Symposium was sponsored by Hambantota International Port, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), E B Creasy & Co. PLC, and Print Xcel Company.
US sports envoys to Lanka to champion youth development
Rahuman questions sudden cancellation of leave of CEB employees
