Features
The story of rice and some controversial predictions from the developed world
by ACB Pethiyagoda
Of the cultivated varieties of rice the commonest are Oryza Sativa and O-gaberrima the former being by far the more popular. Its organized cultivation is considered one of most significant developments in the history of mankind, so much so, that rice is synonymous with agriculture itself. It has been the staple food of the greater portion of the human race for a longer period of time than any other food crop.
Its origin, in some part of Central Asia, has not been disputed but in which country has been the subject of debate. In ancient Hindu and later in Buddhist writings rice is mentioned as a staple diet indicating its antiquity while no such references have been made in Jewish scriptures of the Old Testament indicating that the grain was not known in those parts of the world then. The most acceptable evidence of early domesticated rice was put forward in 1966 by archaeologist Wilhelm G. Solheim ll. He discovered imprints of the grain and husk of O. Sativa in pieces of pottery in the Korat region of Northern Thailand dating back to 4000 BC.
It is from there that it spread first to today’s main rice growing countries which benefit from monsoonal rainfall extending from India through Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam to Southern China. From these countries the cultivation spread to other parts of every continent save Antarctica. It is believed that rice growing in India dates back to 2500 BC and in Sri Lanka to 1000 BC.
Areas around the Mediterranean were introduced to rice growing from India around 340 BC by the returning armies of Alexander the Great. Rice was introduced to the United States of America by men of a ship which docked in Charlton, South Carolina and in 1726 USA commenced exporting rice.
It is to China’s credit that cultivation was intensified by puddling the soil and transplanting four to six week old seedlings resulting in increased yields mainly by suppressing weed growth and ensuring, uniform planting distances for optimum use of water and plant nutrients.
Today India, China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, and Bangladesh account for 92 percent of the world’s total production of rice which is in the region of some 555 million tons a year.
In all Asian countries the cultivation, harvest, storage and finally the preparation of rice as a meal are all intimately connected with the culture of the people, is tied up in ritual and carried out in great reverence. The Chinese held that the most precious things in life are ‘not pearls and jade but the five grains’ of which rice is the first. The Kachins of Northern Myanmar believe that they came from the centre of the earth and were sent to a perfect country where harvests of rice were bountiful. The Balinese believed that God Vishnu gifted them rice and God Indra taught them how to grow it. In ancient India rice was considered the ‘sustenance of the human race’.
In Sri Lanka, particularly among the Buddhists and Hindus, rice is treated with the reverence shown to gods and parents. Right from ploughing the field, sowing, transplanting, harvesting, clearing the kamatha (threshing floor), threshing itself and carrying the harvest to the house are carried out at auspicious times according to age old customs and rituals. Even one’s conduct in the field or kamatha is in keeping as in a place of worship.
For instance one’s speech is guarded, food consumed during sowing, transplanting, harvesting and in a kamatha is confined to the ’embula’ (meal) of rice and certain vegetables only, meat and fish being taboo, in reverence of the Iru Deviyo, Sanda Deviyo and Kamatha Devatha. (Sun, Moon and threshing floor Gods).
When guarding the crop in the threshing floor kamatha ‘kavi’ (verses) are sung throughout the long nights to keep awake and avoid idle gossip. Paddy land extents are expressed in units known as `palas’ and ‘amuna’ which vary in extent from region to region in the country.
There are many age old customs connected with sharing the crop between the landowner and tenant cultivator and in settlement of dues for seed paddy, hire of buffaloes etc. So are the practices with regard to donations of paddy to the village headman, vidane (minor headman) school teacher, vedarala (native physician), ones parents etc.
Of Sri Lanka’s 6.61 million hectares 915,000 are in paddy cultivation. While a comparatively smaller extent, particularly in the central hills, are rain fed the major portion depends on irrigation from 372 major irrigation tanks, 294 medium tanks and about 24,000 minor tanks and anicuts. Large numbers of these cannot, unfortunately, support the entire extent of paddy land depending on them for water due to silting and damaged bunds, sluices and channels.
In 2000, according to the Dept. of Census and Statistics, the country produced 1,944,730 metric tons of rice and imported 14,530 metric tons together with 660,320 metric tons of wheat flour to meet the country’s basic food requirement.
Brown unmilled rice contains high levels of proteins, vitamins B Complex, E and K. White rice or milled rice lack these and is considered an inferior food by nutritionists. Hence, in some countries artificial vitamins are added to milled or polished rice. Both white and brown rice contain about 25 percent carbohydrates, small quantities of iodine, iron, magnesium and phosphorus and are free of fat, sodium and cholesterol and have no protein value. Rice is a complex carbohydrate with about 200 calories to a tea cupful. In Japan, China and some other Eastern countries rice forms the base for potent alcoholic drinks.
It is not often, but there are instances, where the growing of certain crops have been condemned by environmentalists and others. For instance in Sri Lanka chena (slash and burn) cultivation from ancient times and the opening up of land at high elevations for tea plantations in the 1870s have been established, without doubt, as the cause of dwindling water supplies and heavy soil erosion through loss of forest cover.
Recently the expansion of oil palm cultivation in the Southern province has been opposed by some for socio-economic reasons, the validity of which has still to be verified. Similarly, cultivation of rice was suspected to be a health hazard in the Mediterranean area in the 16th century when malaria was a serious disease in those parts. It was thought that wetland rice cultivation caused ‘mal air’ which spread disease resulting in the expansion of the area under cultivation being severely curtailed in Southern Europe.
In 1988, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the National Science Foundation reported that the ‘green house effect’ is caused by increased human activity resulting in the production of certain gasses, methane being one, which ‘dirty’ the atmosphere. This is said to prevent the release of the earth’s heat to outer space. Both organizations agree that without global intervention this problem will increase the rate of one percent a year. They claim that the highest production of methane is in the rice field world over and rice plants themselves act as gas vents releasing greater concentrations into the atmosphere.
The problem according to these agencies is if magnified by rice areas being expanded with increasing irrigation facilities and especially by the increase of double cropped rice areas. “Rice fields are suspected of putting 115 million tons of methane into the atmosphere each year. This is at least equal to the total production from all of the world’s natural swamps and wet lands” according to RE and HE Hukein in their book Rice; Then and Now.
Can this situation lead to more than half the worlds population being coerced to give up producing and eating rice and take to eating, perhaps, wheat? Most rice eating people are in the developing world and large numbers of them can hardly afford to eat, even as it is, one square meal of rice a day due to abject poverty. Can these people then afford to eat even that little of an imported food?
The developed world must give the lead or assist by solving this grave problem by finding easy means to eliminate, reduce or better still convert methane in paddy lands to a product beneficial to man. This is not an impossibility if there is a will; did the developed world not put a man on the moon over three decades ago? Did the developed world not produce nuclear weapons about five decades ago which destroyed whole cities from the safety of a distance of several thousands of miles? Depending entirely on the developed world to come to the aid of the rice eating people, to say the least, will be unwise. The problem needs a universal approach if at some future date the whole world is to be saved from starvation.
The magnitude of this situation is hardly comparable but we have not forgotten the theory about 30 years ago that coconut oil, produced in the tropics, and used world over was a health hazard and the then less popular soya and sunflower oils produced in a wider range of climates promoted good health. Now that those vegetable oils are well established coconut oil is said to be less harmful or even harmless than thought of earlier.
Likewise, if rice production is curtailed due to the methane scare and other grains such as wheat dominate the worlds markets will the danger of methane produced in rice fields be considered less harmful? In any event the wheat producing countries cannot increase production to meet the entire world’s requirement as a basic food item.
The people whose staple food is rice, particularly in the developing world, must band together or face higher levels of hunger than now. Should they fail to do so oblivious for the USEPA’s warning in the late 1980s of the methane threat they will be deprived of even half filled bowls of rice they contend with now.
In addition, people in the South Asian region have been warned recently by the US of a three kilometre thick cloud of toxic particles over their lands which could cause serious damage the environment which obviously will adversely affect their food supply. The looming crisis could be the worst the entire world has ever faced with regard to its supply of food.
(This article by a career planter and agriculturist who worked on special projects for the Ceylon Tobacco Co. Ltd. post-retirement was first published in Oct. 2002)
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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