Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières
Modern slavery has ethnic dimension in island nation, Special Rapporteur notes during visit
Sri Lanka’s Malaiyaha Tamil workers, whose labour in tea plantations fetches precious foreign exchange to the country, are living in “inhumane and degrading” conditions, a U.N. expert has said. (...)
Sri Lanka’s tea crop could potentially fall, with its quality affected due to fertiliser issues stemming from the agro-chemical ban while the industry productivity is disrupted by a labour crisis, industry figures said.
In May, Sri Lanka banned imports of fertiliser saying that annually, $ 400 (...)
Government has declared our ancestral lands as wildlife reserve areas, say farmers
In Chundikulam village, located on the eastern tip of Jaffna Peninsula, farmers are facing a peculiar challenge.
They are unable to access their lands in which they have recently sowed vegetables. “Border stones (...)
The government has allowed India to play a bigger role in Sri Lankan agriculture due to its recent actions regarding agrochemicals, moderator of Movement for National Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR,) Chinthaka Rajapakshe alleged yesterday.
Rajapaksa told The Island that the government (...)
Government’s ‘organic only’ policy since May has drawn flak from farmers and experts
For Muthu Sivamohan, a farmer leader in Sri Lanka’s northern Kilinochchi district, the uncertainty looming over his paddy yield, after the government banned chemical fertilizers, is only comparable to “two other (...)
Missteps amidst Sri Lanka’s rush to go organic
The Government’s plan to go organic and rid Sri Lanka of chemical fertilisers seemed to be a progressive idea that could put an end to a large number of health and environmental issues caused by the use of chemical fertilisers and at the same time (...)
A group of lawyers and businessmen were attempting to take over large swathes of Wattegama – Kebilitta forest reserve for large-scale corn plantation, Sajeewa Chamikara of Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform alleged yesterday.
Chamikara told The Island that people with political backing (...)
From the local fishmonger to the men who go out into the ocean to fill their nets with a catch, the X-Press Pearl ship disaster has placed the already suffering fish industry in a world of hurt.
“First the Peliyagoda fish market COVID cluster and now the ship disaster has resulted in people (...)
‘A spark’ that could lead to greater awareness of Tamil community’s struggles
When ‘Enjoy Enjaami’ fame Arivu from Chennai recently joined a virtual discussion with a group of activists and youth from Sri Lanka’s Malaiyaha or hill country Tamil community, there was one person binding them and their (...)
Organic agriculture expert calls Govt.’s import ban on chemical fertiliser impractical
Last month, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced that the importation of chemical fertilisers into the country would be banned in an effort to become the first country in the world to eliminate the use of (...)
Releasing gazette still in the process: State Minister
Nearly 90 days have elapsed since the farming community of Walsapugala had commenced a satyagraha demanding the proposed wild elephant management reserve in Hambantota to be included in the government gazette.
Walsapugala is a village in (...)
They seek a wildlife reserve for elephants to prevent them from raiding farms, homes
With rows of Sri Lankan flags fluttering in the morning breeze, it was not hard to spot the Independence Day event on Thursday in Walsapugala village, in the southern Hambantota district. But paired alongside (...)
At the third reading of the Budget 2021 the Minister of Agriculture, Mahindananda Aluthgamage informed the house his Ministry would prepare a national agricultural plan within a period of twelve months. In the context that under the present administration, the subject agriculture is fragmented (...)
The plantation sector workers have gone yet another year without seeing their daily wages increase and their standard of living further deteriorating amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in his election campaign, pledged to increase the daily wage of a plantation sector (...)
Farmers and traders are tearing their hair in frustration and despair as fresh produce fails to make its way to market stalls due to COVID-19 curfews, with crops even being abandoned on farms or ditched at markets as sales fail.
They are pleading for the government and other authorities to (...)
Despite all efforts made by the Government in the development of the Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF) sub-sector since its strong intervention after independence, one cannot be very happy about the status of Sri Lanka’s SSF as at present. Fishers complain of low catches and incomes and, in a context (...)
The ‘Pavidihanda’ Organisation headed by Ven. Muruththettuwe Ananda Thera launched a march towards the statue of Srimath Anagarika Dharmapala on September 18. The march was organised in support of the government ‘s decision to ban cattle slaughter. Cattle were paraded in a bid to convince people (...)
As Sri Lanka struggles with outstanding foreign debt, rural households across the country have been living off borrowings after exhausting their savings. Meera Srinivasan reports on how those already struggling with severe economic hardships are now grappling with a pandemic-induced crisis (...)
The time has come again to reveal the pathetic state of affairs looming around the plantation sector; unpredictable weather and work conditions, poor housing and education, low wages and poverty, while politicians are frantically crossing and switching sides to support the Presidential (...)
Often described as the backbone of the economy, close to 1.5 lakh tea estate workers have been agitating for fair wages for the last three years. Ahead of Sri Lanka’s presidential election in November, which the labourers see as another season of empty promises, Meera Srinivasan reports on how (...)
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