A draft made for the Election manifesto of the Independent Group No 9 who contested 2015 General elections in Colombo district

1. Guidelines for formulating an
agricultural policy for Sri
Lanka
Agricultural policymakingshouldbe done bythe relevantexperts.Butpolitical leadershipmust
provide itsownguidelinesbasedonitsbasicpolitical theories
The agricultural policysetsouta setof rulesregardinglocal agriculture andthe importationof
foreignagricultural products.
.A governmentgenerallyimplementsagricultural policieswiththe aimof obtainingadefinite result
throughthe local agricultural produce markets.
In orderto achieve definiteresultsfromagricultural policies,appropriate avenuesare usedto
achieve the objectivessetbythe governmentinaccordance withthe pre-determinedobjectives.
Large agricultural policiesforthe benefit of the economyof the individual,societyandnations
Tertiaryprocessesof primary,secondaryandagricultural production
Achievedexpectationsmayincludeguaranteedsupplylevel,price stability,productquality,product
selection,landuse orjobcreation.
Climate change ishavingahuge impact onagriculture.A special contourisneededinthisregard
The followingisawide range of agricultural policyformulationsbasedonmarketingchallengesand
consumerpreferences.
1 International Trade Environment(Global MarketConditions,Trade Barriers,Quarantine and
Technical Barriers,Global CompetitivenessandBiosafetyIssuesAffectingMarketImage
Maintenance andImportsand Disease ConditionsinExports)
2 Biological protection(pests)
3 Infrastructure (suchastransport,port,telecommunications,energyandirrigation)
4 ManagementSkillsandLaborSupply(Increasingrequirementsforbusinessplanning,increasing
marketawareness,use of moderntechnologysuchascomputersandglobal positioningsystems,
and modernagronomicmanagementwill require modernfarmmanagerstobecome more skilled
Strongseasonal data,state-of-the-artcommunicationtools,explore marketopportunities,explore
customerneeds,developbusinessplanningincludingfinancial management,researchonthe latest
farmingmethods,developlaborresourcesthatprovide continuousworkinindustrieswithrisk
managementskills)
Coordinating(amore consistentnationalstrategicagendaforagricultural researchand
development;developing programstoworkwithresearchprogram providers,industry,
5 Coordinate more researchthroughresearchorganizationsandissuesandensure investmentin
humancapital.infuture
A talentedpool of researchstaff.)

2. Technology(research,productivityenhancement,GMcrops)
6 Water(ownership,watertrade,environmental counterparts.Watersupply,responsetoreuse of
waterfor consumptionforenvironmental use,accountingforwateravailabilityandwaterrecycling)
7 Resource RelatedIssues(Local VegetationManagement,BiodiversityConservationand
Improvement,Sustainabilityof Agricultural Resources,LandownerResponsibilities)
Poverty alleviation
Agriculture isthe largestcontributortothe livelihoodsof 75% of the world'spoorin rural areas.
Therefore,encouragingagriculturalgrowthisanimportantpart of agricultural policyindeveloping
countries.
Biosafety methods
Some of the biosecurityrequirementsfacedbyindustrial agriculture are asfollows.
H5N1 threatto poultryandhumans;Possible causesof the use of animal vaccines
Threat to cattle andhumansfrom bovine spongiformencephalopathy(BSE);Thismaybe due to
unnatural feedingof cowsto reduce costs
Threatsto Industrial ProfitsfromDiseasessuchasFootand Mouth DiseasesandCitrus Cancerto
Control IncreasingGlobalization
Food security
The UnitedNations(FAO) definesfoodsecurityas"foodsecuritywheneveryone hasthe physical
and economicaccessto adequate,safe andnutritiousfoodthatmeetstheirfoodneeds,food
preferencesforanactive andhealthylife atall times.
The four requirementsforafoodsecuritysysteminclude physical usability,economicandphysical
access,appropriate utility,andthe stabilityof the previousthree elementsovertime
Of the world's6.7 billionpeople,about2 billionare foodinsecure.Foodsystemswill be undereven
greaterpressure asthe global populationgrowsto9 billionby2050 and as foodchangesto
emphasize higherenergyproductionandoverall consumption.
Climate change posesadditional threatstofoodsecurity,cropyields,andthe spreadof pestsand
diseases.
Food Sovereignty
'FoodSovereignty'asdefinedin1996 isthe rightof people todecide theirowndiet.Advocatesof
foodsovereigntybelieve thatthe people whoproduce,distributeandconsume foodhave come to
dominate the global foodsystem.Farmersare consideredtobe the centerof decisionmakingon
foodsystemsandpoliciesratherthanmarketdemands
Policy tools
Agricultural subsidy
Governmentsubsidiespaidto farmersandagribusinessesare importantformanagingthe
agricultural industryasone of the variousmethodsusedbythe governmentinamixedeconomy.

3. The conditionsforpaymentandthe farm productsselectedforeachspecificsubsidyvarywith
factors suchas the size of the farm,the nature of the ownershipandthe country.
Price floorsor price ceilings
Settinga minimumormaximumprice foraproduct.Price controlsencourage more productionbya
higherlayer.A governmentcanbuildtrade barrierssuchaslimitingthe amountof goodsimported
(inquotas) or imposingtariffstoincrease the local pricesof importedproducts.Home
manufacturerspreferthese barriers.
National Security
Some argue that inthe eventof a global supplydisruption,nations are interestedinensuringthat
theyhave sufficientdomesticproductioncapacitytomeetdomesticneeds.Significantdependence
on foreignfoodproducersputsacountrystrategicallyatriskin the eventof war,blockade or
sanctions.Maintainingadequatedomesticcapacityallowsfoodtobecome self-sufficient,reducing
the riskof supplyshocksdue togeopolitical events
Policiescanalsobe usedto assistlocal manufacturersastheygainmarketshare inthe local and
international markets.Thiscanbe a short-termmethodof incentiveuntil anindustryislarge enough
to grow withoutassistance.Oritcouldbe a continuoussubsidydesignedtoallow aproductto
compete withorreduce foreigncompetition.
Regardlessof the costof intervention,thiscangive a governmentanetprofitandallow a countryto
buildanexportindustryorreduce imports.Italsohelpsshape the nation'ssupplyanddemand
markets.
Environmental protectionandlandmanagement
The majorityof landhas notyetbeenproperlyutilized.Landuse can be furtherencouragedby
policiesdesignedtoprotectthe environment.Forexample,specializedfarmingmethods,
forestation,landclearance,orpollutionmitigationmaybe subsidized.
Rural PovertyandPovertyAlleviation
By subsidizingfarming,peoplecanbe motivatedtoearnsome income bystayingonthe land.This
appliesnotonlytoa thirdworldcountry where there are manyfarmers,butalsoto more developed
countriessuchas Poland.Foodcultivationisdone fortheiruse whenthere isaveryhigh
unemploymentrate,alarge rural populationinplaceswhere there are manyfarms.
Price controlscan alsobe usedtohelppoorcitizens.Manycountrieshave usedthiswelfare
assistance system.Itprovidescheapfoodtothe poorinurban areas.The provisionof financial
assistance topeople takesplace withoutanassessment.Thisoftenhappensatthe expense of the
rural poor.
Theironlyrealisticorpotential source of income istoearnlessfromagriculture.Cheapfoodpolicies
throughprice controlsoftenincrease overallpovertybecause inalmosteverycountrythe rural poor
are poorerthanthe urbanpoor.
It isoftencountedas foodaidfor povertyrelief.

4. Accordingto theoriesof welfare economics,sometimessocial activitiescanimpose social costson
others. Industrial agricultureiswidelyregardedasimposingsocial costsonpesticidepollutionand
nitrate pollution.Furthermore,agriculture usesalarge amountof water,whichisa scarce resource
Some economistsargue thattaxes shouldbe leviedonagriculture,orthatorganic farming,which
useslesspesticides,shouldbe subsidizedtothose whocanreduce nitrate emissionsrelativetoit.
Disposal of agricultural surpluses
In internationaltrade,whenacompanyincountryA sellsacommoditytocountryB forlessthan the
cost of production,thisiscalled"dumping".Manycountriesthathave signedmultilateral trade
agreementshave provisionsprohibitingthispractice.Whilerichcountriessubsidize domestic
production,surplus outputisoftengiventodevelopingcountriesasforeignaid.Thisprocess
eliminatesthe domesticmarketforagricultural productsindevelopingcountries. Thisisbecause
those productsare available freeof charge fromWesternaidagencies.Asthese effectsworsened,
small farmersindevelopingcountriescouldnolongeraffordbasicinputsandhadtosell theirland.
Accordingto the Institute of Agriculture andTrade Policy,maize,soybeans,cotton,wheatandrice
are soldat lowerpricesthanproductioncosts.The dumpingrate isroughlyfortypercentforwheat,
twenty-five tothirtypercentformaize,roughlythirtypercentforsoybeans,fifty-sevenpercentfor
cotton andabout twentypercentforrice.
Accordingto Oxfam,“If subsidiesindevelopedcountriesare abolished,the value of agricultural
exportstounderdevelopedcountrieswill increase by24% and tariffsbyanother5.5%. ...
Agricultural independence
Many developingcountriesdonotgrowenoughfoodto feedtheirpopulations.These nationshave
to buyfoodfrom othercountries.
Despite decliningfoodsalesbylocal farmers,millionsof low-costandfree mealsare beingspentto
save the livesof hungrypeople.
A developingcountrycangrowmore foodusingimprovedfarmingmethods.New greenhouse
methods,hydroponics,fertilizers,hybridcrops,fast-growinghybridtreesforquickshade,indoor
temperature control,greenhouse ortentinsulation,automatedbuildinggardensshouldalsobe
addressed.
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This draftwasprepared forthe IndependentGroup No (9) Election Policy Manifesto atthe 2015
General Elections -Jayadeva deSilva