SRI LANKA
Location
Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) is an island in the Indian
Ocean situated South and slightly East of the southernmost point of
India, separated from that country by the 23 km wide Palk Strait.
Including 870 km2 of inland water, Sri Lanka has a total area of
65,610 km2. The climate in Sri Lanka is tropical and monsoonal, but
varies from warm in the coastal plains and lowlands to temperate in
the hill and mountain regions.
Agricultural Sector
Sri Lanka's economy has traditionally been dominated by
agriculture. However, it is presently undergoing diversification as
other sectors, such as manufacturing, are also making significant
progress. The agriculture sector constituted 17.8% of GDP in 2005
and provided employment to about 38% of the labour force (CIA,
2007). An estimated 1.8 million families engage in farming.
In Sri Lanka, agriculture is dominated by smallholders as over 64
per cent of the farming families cultivate holdings of less than
0.8 hectares. Around 40 per cent of the cultivated area is occupied
by plantation crops, tea, rubber and coconut (UNESCAP, 2006). Out
of the total land area of 6.5 million hectares 1.5 million (24 %)
are recognised as agricultural land; 13.96% of the land is arable,
15.24% is used for permanent crops and 70.8% for other uses
(Department of Census & Statistics, 2002).
Brief overview of organic farming
According to IFOAM & FiBL (2006), there are 15,215 hectares of
land under organic management, with a share of total agricultural
land of 0.65% and a presence of around 3,300 organic farms.
According to UNESCAP(2006), Sri Lanka is one of the major organic
producers in Asia and one of the leading sources of organic tea.
The organic market in the country has been described as a "niche
market". A number of organic products are increasingly being sold
in major supermarkets. The main certified organic products are tea,
desiccated coconut, cashew nuts, spices (cinnamon, cardamom,
nutmeg, pepper, clove, ginger), fruit (mango, papaya, passion
fruit), and herbs (citronella, lemon grass). Most of these organic
products are exported. Major importers are Europe, Japan and
Australia. No government policy or support system like conversion
grants have been adopted so far, but the government officially
began to recognise the organic agriculture movement inside the
country. In 1999, the Export Development Board initiated a meeting
with responsible people involved in growing, trading and research
about organic agriculture and discussed the possibilities of
increasing smallholders organic spice production in quality and
quantity (UNESCAP, 2006). Most recently, the ministry of
agriculture has provided 4.5 million rupees (expected to increase
in coming years) for starting a project to promote organic farming
in the country with an ultimate goal of exporting them after
certifying. The Department of Agriculture (DoA) is expecting
to lay out a producer foundation in 10 districts with the help of
provincial Departments of Agriculture (DoA).
Brief overview of key organic products
Sri Lanka exports organic products such as, tea, cane sugar,
coffee, spices, essential oils, herbs, cashew, desiccated coconut,
fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, grains, and nuts. There
are about dozen of leading companies involved in export of organic
tea, coffee and spices. They mainly export the organic products to
European Countries and United States of America. The organic tea
export from Sri Lanka commenced about 15 years ago by the private
sector. Later, organic agriculture extended to coffee and
spice crops too. The development of local quality standards is a
long felt necessity as the demand for organic produce is increasing
continuously (FAO, 2006).
The network
The organic movement in Sri Lanka started in the 1980s
through contact and inspiration of local NGOs with the Philippine
organic agriculture movement. In 1982 a group of local NGO
representatives, planters, scientists and environmental officers
had drafted a Memorandum of Association to create a movement named
Lanka Organic Agriculture Movement (LOAM). This can be seen as the
official starting point for the dissemination of organic
agriculture in Sri Lanka. The primary objectives of LOAM were to
promote organic agriculture, to establish, improve and maintain
standards for organic agriculture and to create awareness of
organic products among the people of Sri Lanka. In 2001 LOAM was
registered as an official legal body. Activities in the field of
organic agriculture continued and evolved to an advanced stage of
development, and in particularly two groups can be distinguished as
the principal actors of organic agriculture. On the one side
organic smallholders who are mainly resource poor farmers linked
with NGOs. Some have united in producer co-operatives. On the other
side large scale organic plantations managed by private owners or
as company projects, sometimes associated with surrounding
smallholders. In the field of research and development the Tea
Research Institute (TRI) of Sri Lanka has taken steps to
incorporate experimental work regarding organic tea production in
its activities.
References
- CIA FactBook, 31.05.07
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ce.html
- Department of Agriculture - Government of Sri
Lanka
http://www.agridept.gov.lk/
- Gami Seva Sevana
http://www.gamisevasevana.org/toplinks/aboutus
- Department of Census & Statistics, 2002 a. Census of
Agriculture, Small Holding Sector. Preliminary Release 2, Colombo,
Sri Lanka.
- FAO, 24.10.2006: Key Statistics of Food and Agriculture External
Trade. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
(FAO), Statistics Division. http://
www.fao.org/es/ess/toptrade/trade.asp?dir=exp&country=3&ryear=2004
and http://www.fao.org/es/ess/top/country.html?lang=en
- FAS/USDA. (2000). Philippines: Organics Market Brief, 2000.
Attache report #RP0015, February 23, 2000, FAS/US Department of
Agriculture.
- FAO, IFOAM, and Earth Net Foundation (2003): Proceedings of the
Seminar on the Production and Export of Organic Fruit And
Vegetables in Asia.
http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/AD429E/ad429e00.HTM
- IFOAM & FiBL (2006): The World of Organic Agriculture.
Statistics and Emerging Trends 2006. International Federation of
Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), Bonn & Research
Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, Frick, pp. 108-117.
- UNESCAP (2006)
http://unescap.org/stat/data/statind/pdf/index.asp
- Williges, U. (2004): Status of organic agriculture in
Sri Lanka with special emphasis on tea production systems (Camellia
Sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze). Dissertation.
- Yussefi, Minou and Willer, Helga, Eds. (2003): The World of
Organic Agriculture, Statistics and Future Prospects. Foundation
Ecology and Agriculture, Germany and International Federation of
Organic Agriculture Movements.