Tuesday, January 21, 2014

International Year of Family Farming-2014

There are many events taking place in the International Year of Family Farming-2014. The small scale food producers will be in the main agenda this year as IYFF as well as the Small Scale Fisheries Guidelines which will be adopted in July 2014 at COFI at FAO, Rome. These are important as the small scale food producer organizations take these up as important mobilizations of their members. I would like to quote from the IYFF web site to give precise information to you. Please see them as below; Family Farming According to the FAO, is a "way of organising forestry and agricultural production, as well as fishing, grazing and aquaculture, which is managed and conducted by a family and which largely depends on the family labour force, both men and women. The family and exploitation are linked, they co-evolve and combine economic, environmental, reproductive, social and cultural functions". When speaking of Family Farming we also refer to artisanal fishing people, shepherds, harvesters, landless day-labourers and indigenous communities. The IYFF-2014 is the first International Year preceded by a Civil Society campaign, promoted by the WRF and backed by more than 360 civil and farmers’ organisation in five continents. After its declaration by the General Assembly of the United Nations, the Civil Society promoted its celebration as a tool to obtain public policies in favour of the sustainable development of agricultural systems based on the family unit: all of this with a commitment and spirit of cooperation with the official programme of the United Nations, organised by the FAO.

Friday, January 3, 2014

Cooling the planet and Healing the mother earth in International Year of Family Farming!

In the early stages of present government, they fulfilled their one of a promises with providing Chemical Fertilizer, 50 Kg by 350 LKR which is subsidized more than 500%. Last week, I had to spend several hours and several Kms to travel to find 150 Kgs of Urea for my brother in law who is a farmer in Kalpitiya area. Unfortunately, I was not able to find it. The subsidized Urea was given 350 LKR per 50 Kg at the beginning and now, there is no Urea fertilizer to buy even with the price of 1200 per 50 Kgs. So, the paddy farmers are the biggest victims of this process. NAFSO is promoting organic fertilizer through it's sustainable agriculture program. This was a successful even the GOSL is promoting the Chemical fertilizers all around the country. But, now GOSL can not afford the subsidized chemical fertilizer any more due to financial crisis it face and not promote organic fertilizer saying those chemicals are hazardous and harmful to the health of people. Once environmental organizations and farmer organizations claimed that the kidney diseases are borne by the chemical fertilizers in Rajarata area, the experts in the authorities rejected those reports. But, now some of the health experts come to media and propagate to use organic fertilizers claiming kidney diseases. So, it is media and authorities decide how to manipulate people's mind set in a long run. However, it is our role to propagate the ideology of cooling the planet and healing the mother earth through sustainable agriculture practices in the International Year of Family Farming. Herman