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.
