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increased as well, but only nlarginally. As a result of this significant increase, Sri
Lanka was able to reduce imports of rice and wheat flour from about 500,000 tlyr to
below 300,000 tlyr. Imports of wheat flour were kept constant, while average per
capita calorie consumption was maintained at the recommended level of 2,200
calories per person. Credit for this achievement must go to our farmers and
researchers.
During the last decade, advances have also been made in other field crops.
Average yields of maize have risen from less than 1 to 1.4 tlha, and total annual
production has increased from 30,000 to 40,000 t. Yields of cowpea and green gram
have improved from 0.6 tlha to more than 0.8 tlha, average yields of sweet potato
from 2.5 to 7 tlha, and yields of cassava from 3 to 10 tlha. These increases have
provided the population with Inore food at a relatively low price. Research in both
rice and other crops has enabled farmers to obtain these higher yields. An
associated phenomenon has been the increased use of fertilizer and other inputs,
which has provided the basis for increased intensities of cultivation. This
phenomenon is seen around tlie world.
This workshop looks at tlie jmpact of technology development from the point
of view of its effects on the farrner. Despite all the production success, something
still appears to be lacking. The farming population today is by and large poor, debt
ridden, and malnourished. The incidence of poverty is very high to the point of
being politically unsatisfactory. Farmers have always complained about their lack of
access to inputs and, as a result, their inability to realize the potential of the new
technologies. This is a serious problem. Some of the difficulties faced by the farmers
are water availability, input supply, and adequate market facilities at reasonable
prices. Some of these issues may be beyond the purview of this workshop, but they
affect farmers in most Asian countries. Farmers are also aware that some of the
services that are provided are poor, [hat the timeliness and availability of inputs are
unreliable, and that service is not continuous. It is not infrequent for farmers to be
associated with development programs that generate new technology that is
abandoned after some time either because of termination of funding or transfer of
personnel. Such situations must be looked at carefully.
Sri Lanka has given the highest priority to programs that invest in human
resources. The people are provided with direct access to resources with the aim of
transforming the passive, the inert, and the excluded population into productive
creators and owners of assets. 'The aim of this basic policy is growth with equity.
Over the past decade, the agricult~~ral policy of Sri Lanka was directed toward
achieving self-reliance in the basic requirements of food and increasing farmer
income. This two-pronged strategy focused on developing large-scale irrigated
settlements and commodity-oriented development programs that emphasized rice
and a few other crops. The realization that farm incomes are needed to be enhanced
has led to new policies [o diversify rural activities arid to provide farmers with Inore
opportunities to optimize the use of their resources arid thereby maximize incomes.
Our national policies have been focused primarily on increasing the supply of
food and improving the standard of living, particularly of the rural population,
through agricultural and rural develop~nent. Developing and transferring technology
on regionally appropriate crops and cropping and farming systems and the provision