No race can prosper till it learns there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem - Booker T Washington
Agriculture began independently in different parts of the globe. It is the science and the art of cultivating plants and livestock. It was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to live in cities. As E.Emmons said “Agriculture is civilization”.
As a nation, Sri Lanka has a rich agricultural history dating back more than 2,500 years. For centuries paddy cultivation was not just an economic activity but also considered as a way of life. Agriculture has shaped our nation socially, religiously and economically. It demonstrates our ability to survive and thrive harmoniously with mother nature. It has been a monumental force in the nation’s political arena too. The fourth Prime Minister of Ceylon and founder of the Left Wing and Sinhala nationalist Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), S W R D Bandaranaika was a firm believer of the power of farmers. Between 1952 and 1956 the late prime minster’s vision, ‘Pancha Maha Balawegaya’ was equally powered by the farmers of the country.
Following this visionary leader’s footsteps today a son from a farming family has become the President of Sri Lanka. For President Maithripala Sirisena, agriculture is not just another topic but its part of his vision for a sustainable Sri Lanka. From the early days of his political career he has been a firm believer in the fact that ‘Agriculture is indeed the future of the nation’.
In 1994 he was appointed Deputy Minister of Irrigation and in promoted to the Cabinet as Minister of Mahaweli Development. In this office he initiated many concessionary grants to improve the standard of the farming community. He was also responsible for influencing the then government’s decision to give farmers a bag of fertilizer for Rs.350 in order to combat the food crisis. In 2005, when he was Agriculture Minister, he managed to save the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) from privatisation converting it into a government institution.
The PMB continues to regulate the price of paddy to date. He also began important irrigation projects of the Morgahakanda, Kalu and Walawe Rivers. Because of his visionary decision making, in 2005 he was appointed as Minister of Agriculture, Environment, Irrigation and Mahaweli Development. Following a cabinet reshuffle in 2007, he was appointed as the Minister of Agriculture Development and Agrarian Services Development. In order to combat the 2007- 08 world food crisis, Minister Sirisena initiated a plan under the scheme ‘Api Wavamu – Rata Nagamu’, to improve local food production on a national scale. Festivals of tilling were conducted in each divisional secretariat each year leading to the cultivation of more than one million abandoned paddy fields under the program. The project was considered a great success being acknowledged as his legacy, his green revolution. After becoming the seventh and current President of Sri Lanka in 2015 he continues his legacy by spreading awareness throughout the nation regarding the importance of agriculture and encouraging all to take part in his vision for a prosperous and self-sufficient nation.
President Sirisena believes that if a nation can produce its own food it would become healthier and the economy would become stabler, to eradicate poverty, giving the nation a chance to dedicate its time to take new challenges such as technological and literature development. During functions with regards to agriculture or health, the President has always expressed his fears for the nation due to our dietary habits. He believes and expresses that an unhealthy nation will not achieve extraordinary victories. President Sirisena believes that the responsibility of leaders who love the nation is to provide what is most appropriate for the people. These may not be the most loved or the most famous but to be a sustained nation, sometimes you have to become the change and it has to come from within.