By Afra Naufel
A mobile library service is to be launched in Jaffna on 7 October, said an EU press release. This new service to the children in Jaffna district is considered an opportunity to enhance the knowledge, of the children who are healing from the war.
This program will be announced by EU representatives on 1st October, marking the international Children’s Day. This mobile library is expected to benefit thousands of children who have little access to books. As Jaffna holds there are five education zones with over 100 schools.
“This mobile lending library will be the first of its kind to be organized in the Jaffna district and will benefit thousands of children from over 100 schools in the five educational zones,” said the press release.
The EU will fully fund this project. The Jaffna public library, Municipal Council of Jaffna, Zonal Education Department and the Gods Own Children Foundation will support this program, said the press release.
The mobile library is expected to visit the educational zones in Jaffna on a regular basis. This would help the children to have better access to new books and educational publications, as many students have very less or no access to books in the war torn areas.
“The mobile library service aims to visit the educational zones on a regular basis in order to provide better access to publications and educational material to those who have no or less access to library services.”
This program is also initiated with the aim of creating awareness on the importance of education to the academics.
“It is also a means of creating awareness not only among the children, but also the principals, teachers and parents on the importance and value of education,” said the press release.
The program will be launched by Her Lordship the Mayor of Jaffna and the EU Attaché at the public library, Jaffna, Wim Prud’homme. The event will also be graced by students, Principals, general public and government officials said the press release.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Agriculture fighting climate change
By Afra Naufel
Early signs of climate change evident in Sri Lanka is ruining the agriculture sector, admits Head of Agro-Climatology, of the Natural Resources Management Centre of the Department of Agriculture, Dr. B.V.R. Punyawardena.
This will have a severe impact on the country because, as the Department of Census and Statistics reveals, nearly 70% of the Sri Lankan population is from the rural area, where many depend on agriculture as their livelihood.
“It is true that Sri Lankan agriculture is being affected by our climatic conditions. Though we don’t see sudden and massive impacts on our agriculture, there are clear and gradual damages on our agriculture from the climate change,” said Dr. Punyawardena.
The Sri Lankan Centre for Climate Change Studies from the Department of Meteorology, said that Sri Lanka faces lower, but clear effects of global climatic changes.
“We are clearly experiencing a climate change. We experience different patterns in our usual climatic conditions,” said Head of the Centre for Climatic Change Studies, Anusha Warnasooriya.
She said that Sri Lanka faces sudden temperature rises. Also our rainfall has a very high level of variability as well. We either experience too much rain or very little rain, than expected levels.
Dr. Punyawardane said that agriculture is being damaged due to abnormal climatic conditions. There is also unpredicted density of rainfall and untimely rainfall.
Problems faced by farmers
Farmers from the colder parts of the country seem to be more affected by the abnormal rains.
“Most of our crops are damaged because we experience a new trend in rainfall patterns,” said Research Officer (Plant Pathologist), of the Agriculture Research Centre of Seetha-Eliya, George Chandra Babu. He said that Nuwera Eliya experiences abnormal rainfall which makes it very hard for farmers to prepare their lands for the crops.
Sudden rises in temperature also creates problems. New pests breed in large numbers which is hard for the farmers to control, “In terms of the crops, if the temperature rises abnormally then we have a problem. In Nuwera Eliya we have a minimum pest problem, but when there is a temperature increase, new pests migrate and we have a pest problem,” said George Babu.
A farmer from the Nuwera Eliya District, Ali Sabry said, “I have problems when the temperature rises because there are more pests. These pests migrate from different places. They do lots of damage to my crops so I end up spending more on fertilizers."
Farmers from the Northern Province, where the climate is hot, face a different problem.
“I depend a lot on the rains, because Mannar usually has a hot climate. Yet when there is no rainfall when I expect it, most of my crops get damaged. I have a huge loss at such times,” said a farmer from Mannar, Mohommed Silgy, whose farming is his livelihood.
He also said that due to damaged crops, he faces several other problems during harvesting. “I usually get a loan from my brother-in-law, to get my seeds, but when I do not get the expected return, I end up being a debtor too,” said Silgy.
The Solutions
The Sunday Leader spoke to the Director General of the Department of Agriculture, who also affirmed that there is an impact on agriculture in Sri Lanka due to climatic conditions.
“Since our climate is becoming more unpredictable, we are facing problems in our agriculture sector,” he said.
As a precautionary measure, the Department of Agriculture has taken two steps.
One is to make the crops escape harsh conditions, by reducing its vulnerability. Drought tolerant varieties and storage varieties of crops have been introduced to farmers.
The farmers are also advised on farming methods, like balancing the soil moisture, and better land preparations.
The next is the mitigation method. According to Dr. Punyawardane, this is to reduce green house gas emissions. “This method takes a long time to bring balance, therefore the adaptation method is the more suitable and the best solution,” he said.
Sri Lanka – a victim
According to Environmentalist Jagath Gunewardane, it is a misfortune that Sri Lanka has become a victim to the thoughtlessness of many developed countries.
He said that Sri Lanka is not a major contributor to this environmental damage, which is mainly caused by deforestation and rapid industrialization, both of which are not eminent in Sri Lanka.
“Data shows that our wet zones are getting wetter and dry zone drier. We even get more floods and droughts. We are a small country which did not contribute to this hazard. Yet we are becoming a great victim,” said Gunewardane.
Domestic income takes a blow
Damage to agriculture does not only hinder the lives of farmers, but poses a threat to the economy as well, said economist Hameed Mohommed.
This is because 12.8% of the total GDP of Sri Lanka depends on the agricultural sector, he said. Tea, for instance, is one of the main export products and stands as one of the highest foreign income generators.
According to the Central Bank Annual Reports, there has been a drop in the overall agricultural output, from 7.5% in 2008, to 3.2% in 2009.
“In the 1990s Sri Lanka was alerted by the World Bank to prepare for a global food crisis. So since then we have been cautious and we were not affected. Yet, if this climate change shows a great impact on the crops, then it is possible that there would be a few changes in our economy too, as our imports would increase,” said Mohommed.
The social and economical catastrophe that Sri Lanka is about to face needs more public awareness and attention. According to Environmentalist Jagath Gunewardane, many Sri Lankans do not see this problem coming.
Early signs of climate change evident in Sri Lanka is ruining the agriculture sector, admits Head of Agro-Climatology, of the Natural Resources Management Centre of the Department of Agriculture, Dr. B.V.R. Punyawardena.
This will have a severe impact on the country because, as the Department of Census and Statistics reveals, nearly 70% of the Sri Lankan population is from the rural area, where many depend on agriculture as their livelihood.
“It is true that Sri Lankan agriculture is being affected by our climatic conditions. Though we don’t see sudden and massive impacts on our agriculture, there are clear and gradual damages on our agriculture from the climate change,” said Dr. Punyawardena.
The Sri Lankan Centre for Climate Change Studies from the Department of Meteorology, said that Sri Lanka faces lower, but clear effects of global climatic changes.
“We are clearly experiencing a climate change. We experience different patterns in our usual climatic conditions,” said Head of the Centre for Climatic Change Studies, Anusha Warnasooriya.
She said that Sri Lanka faces sudden temperature rises. Also our rainfall has a very high level of variability as well. We either experience too much rain or very little rain, than expected levels.
Dr. Punyawardane said that agriculture is being damaged due to abnormal climatic conditions. There is also unpredicted density of rainfall and untimely rainfall.
Problems faced by farmers
Farmers from the colder parts of the country seem to be more affected by the abnormal rains.
“Most of our crops are damaged because we experience a new trend in rainfall patterns,” said Research Officer (Plant Pathologist), of the Agriculture Research Centre of Seetha-Eliya, George Chandra Babu. He said that Nuwera Eliya experiences abnormal rainfall which makes it very hard for farmers to prepare their lands for the crops.
Sudden rises in temperature also creates problems. New pests breed in large numbers which is hard for the farmers to control, “In terms of the crops, if the temperature rises abnormally then we have a problem. In Nuwera Eliya we have a minimum pest problem, but when there is a temperature increase, new pests migrate and we have a pest problem,” said George Babu.
A farmer from the Nuwera Eliya District, Ali Sabry said, “I have problems when the temperature rises because there are more pests. These pests migrate from different places. They do lots of damage to my crops so I end up spending more on fertilizers."
Farmers from the Northern Province, where the climate is hot, face a different problem.
“I depend a lot on the rains, because Mannar usually has a hot climate. Yet when there is no rainfall when I expect it, most of my crops get damaged. I have a huge loss at such times,” said a farmer from Mannar, Mohommed Silgy, whose farming is his livelihood.
He also said that due to damaged crops, he faces several other problems during harvesting. “I usually get a loan from my brother-in-law, to get my seeds, but when I do not get the expected return, I end up being a debtor too,” said Silgy.
The Solutions
The Sunday Leader spoke to the Director General of the Department of Agriculture, who also affirmed that there is an impact on agriculture in Sri Lanka due to climatic conditions.
“Since our climate is becoming more unpredictable, we are facing problems in our agriculture sector,” he said.
As a precautionary measure, the Department of Agriculture has taken two steps.
One is to make the crops escape harsh conditions, by reducing its vulnerability. Drought tolerant varieties and storage varieties of crops have been introduced to farmers.
The farmers are also advised on farming methods, like balancing the soil moisture, and better land preparations.
The next is the mitigation method. According to Dr. Punyawardane, this is to reduce green house gas emissions. “This method takes a long time to bring balance, therefore the adaptation method is the more suitable and the best solution,” he said.
Sri Lanka – a victim
According to Environmentalist Jagath Gunewardane, it is a misfortune that Sri Lanka has become a victim to the thoughtlessness of many developed countries.
He said that Sri Lanka is not a major contributor to this environmental damage, which is mainly caused by deforestation and rapid industrialization, both of which are not eminent in Sri Lanka.
“Data shows that our wet zones are getting wetter and dry zone drier. We even get more floods and droughts. We are a small country which did not contribute to this hazard. Yet we are becoming a great victim,” said Gunewardane.
Domestic income takes a blow
Damage to agriculture does not only hinder the lives of farmers, but poses a threat to the economy as well, said economist Hameed Mohommed.
This is because 12.8% of the total GDP of Sri Lanka depends on the agricultural sector, he said. Tea, for instance, is one of the main export products and stands as one of the highest foreign income generators.
According to the Central Bank Annual Reports, there has been a drop in the overall agricultural output, from 7.5% in 2008, to 3.2% in 2009.
“In the 1990s Sri Lanka was alerted by the World Bank to prepare for a global food crisis. So since then we have been cautious and we were not affected. Yet, if this climate change shows a great impact on the crops, then it is possible that there would be a few changes in our economy too, as our imports would increase,” said Mohommed.
The social and economical catastrophe that Sri Lanka is about to face needs more public awareness and attention. According to Environmentalist Jagath Gunewardane, many Sri Lankans do not see this problem coming.