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Session 5: Country reports

Chairman P.G. Tulpule
Rapporteur Ramesh V. Bhat

Interaction between agriculture, nutrition, and food science in Sri Lanka

Raja V.W.E. Ameresekere. Food and Nutrition Policy Planning Division, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Abstract
Agriculture sector
Calorie availability and food consumption
Nutrition sector
Food science sector
Future prospects for strengthening the interphases of agriculture, nutrition, and food sciences
References

Abstract

This paper attempts to explain the functional relationships and linkages between the interfaces of agriculture, nutrition, and the food-science sectors as they occur in Sri Lanka. Thereafter it attempts rationalization of the various interphases characteristic of the three systems, so that future policies, strategies, and basic needs in these sectors may be better understood and implemented.

Agriculture sector

The land area of Sri Lanka is about 16.2 million acres (25,000 square miles) of which 5.5 million acres are used for permanent agriculture, 9.3 million acres are under forest and 2 5 million acres are under chena, or shifting cultivation. Agriculture is of prime importance in the economy of the island, accounting for about a third of the gross national product. Over 80 per cent of the export earnings depend on the export of tea, rubber, and coconut products.

The growth rate of the agriculture sector showed a decline from 5.4 per cent in 1978 to 2 per cent in 1979, but recovered to 3 1 per cent in 1980. This drop is attributed to adverse weather conditions, which caused a significant setback in overall production, mainly of tea, rubber, and coconut. In 1981 the growth rate in the agriculture sector is expected to further rise due to increases in production of paddy and some other field crops.

Basically, the agriculture in Sri Lanka can be resolved into a domestic agriculture sector, and a plantation or three-crop sector consisting of tea, rubber, and coconut plantations. Broadly, the agricultural activities in Sri Lanka are governed by two major seasons, the maha and yala. The maha is characterized by the north-east monsoon and extends from October to February, while the yala extends from May to September, when the southwest monsoon is active.

The wet zone, comprising the central hills and the south-western part of the island, and the dry zone, comprising the northern and north-eastern part of the island, constitute the major agro-climatic zones of Sri Lanka. It is possible to identify 21 agro-ecological regions, or niches, within this major classification. The wet zone is intensively exploited, with almost 70 per cent of the land area under permanent agriculture. A major part of the dry zone is now being developed.

Most of the land is cultivated in the ma ha season under rain-fed conditions , with supplementary irrigation. During yala, cultivation is predominantly under irrigation. The total investment envisaged on the Mahaweli River-diversion project, the longest irrigation project in Sri Lanka, is Rs 28,000 million (1980-1985) representing almost 38 per cent of the total capital budget of the public investment programme. The total investment in the irrigation subsector, apart from the Mahaweli Development Programme, is estimated at Rs 3,566 million. It is expected to bring 50,000 acres (20,250 ha) under irrigation by 1985 and improve irrigation facilities over another 200,000 acres (81,000 ha) of existing irrigable lands. Besides, the contribution made by small ground-water irrigation projects under the District Development Rural Integrated Programme is around Rs 1,400 million for 1981-1985, benefiting about 115,000 acres (46,575 ha). In this context it is clear that the Government is according the highest priority to agriculture infrastructure development.

The principal field crops grown in Sri Lanka are rice (paddy), coarse grains (maize, sorghum, and millet), pulses (cow-pea, green gram, soya, groundnut, black gram), starch and tubers (potatoes, sweet potatoes, manioc), agro-industrial crops, mainly sugar and oilseed crops (gingelly, kapok, etc.), and minor export crops (cinnamon, cardamon, nutmeg, and cloves).

The land area cultivated under paddy is 597,624 ha with an estimated production figure of 80.8 million bushels. Average yield per acre is approximately 56 bushels/acre. The area cultivated with subsidiary food crops during maha is about 126,331 ha while in Yala due to reduced rainfall this shrinks to about 42,110 ha. Over 2,000 ha are planted to sugar-cane and about 4,750 ha to minor export crops. The cropping intensity of paddy is 175 per cent in the wet zone and 110 per cent in the dry zone.

Thus while working towards the goal of achieving self-sufficiency in rice production it becomes evident that emphasis has to be given to increase the land acreages and cropping intensities of the other field crops, specifically the cheap grain, root, pulse and tuber crops (CGRPT). The lowest deciles of the income group, though dependent heavily for their calories on rice and coconuts, will have to depend to a greater extent than before on cheaper proteins and cereal sources in view of the rising prices of basic food commodities.

While liberalization of imports, reduced tariffs and duties, and increased food aid coupled with better agri-support services have resulted in a greater availability of food items, it is extremely important to safeguard the local producers against ad hoc imports of food items that could be counter-productive to the food production effort, since in the long term it is the low cost food production sector that will provide the answer to the poorer income segments of the population.

Calorie availability and food consumption

Food consumption in terms of per capita availability is given in table 1. The pattern of food consumption has remained quite stable over the last three decades. The major sources of energy derived continues to be from plants and to a considerably lesser extent from foods of fish and animal origin.

TABLE 1. Per Capita Availability of Energy-yielding Foods

Sources: Department of Census and Statistics; De Mel.

Rice, the staple food of Sri Lanka, provides almost 42 per cent of the average energy consumed, while wheat, which is entirely imported and locally milled, contributes 15 per cent to calorie consumption. Coconuts provide the only source of fat and contribute 20 per cent to calorie consumption, besides meeting protein needs. Maize, millets, and other cereals contribute about 2 per cent of the calorie requirements. Protein supplies of animal origin (fish, meat, milk, and eggs) are estimated at 17 per cent of the total protein intake.

Food consumption on an average over the years has increased to the minimum requirement of 2,200 calories per head per day, although considerable ups and downs have been recorded during the 1960s and 1970s chiefly due to variations in rice, wheat, and sugar availability. The Import Dependency Ratiosa required to cover the calorie deficits for the periods under review are shown in table 2.

TABLE 2 Per Capita Cereal Availability and Import Dependency Ratio

The availability of yams and tubers from the data processed up to 1981 together with production statistics on the various field crops of the last five years are given in tables 3 and 4. These low-cost staples are extremely important and constitute a valuable source of energy supply during food shortages, adverse weather conditions and droughts, and also in times of calamities. Even more important is the fact that these kinds of food commody are the only source of food supply that could be reached by the very lowest deciles of the income groups who are unable to increase their purchasing power or market activities, irrespective of economic growth or increases in GNP per capita.

TABLE 3. Availability of Roots and Tubers, 1960-1979

TABLE 4. Production of Food Crops, 1975-1979 (in tonnes)

Calorie consumption by various income deciles of the population is shown in table 5 (see TABLE 5 Calories Consumed Per Capita Per Day by Two-month Income Groups of Spending Unitsa), from which it is evident that the lowest three or four deciles are substantially deficient in calorie consumption. It is among the low-income categories of the population who live in the rural, estate, and urban slums that protein-energy malnutrition has increased during recent times.