{"id":4307,"date":"2021-09-26T16:29:46","date_gmt":"2021-09-26T10:59:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/?p=4307"},"modified":"2021-09-27T00:10:57","modified_gmt":"2021-09-26T18:40:57","slug":"renaissance-sri-lanka-monlar-and-greenfem-launch-a-live-webinar-series-on-building-a-sri-lankan-model-of-organic-farming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/4307\/renaissance-sri-lanka-monlar-and-greenfem-launch-a-live-webinar-series-on-building-a-sri-lankan-model-of-organic-farming\/","title":{"rendered":"Renaissance Sri Lanka, MONLAR and Greenfem, launch a live webinar series on building a Sri Lankan model of organic farming"},"content":{"rendered":"

Renaissance Sri<\/span>\u00a0Lanka<\/span>, MONLAR and\u202f<\/span>Greenfem<\/span>\u00a0are<\/span>\u00a0launching\u202fa\u202flive\u202fwebinar series\u202fon agroecology.\u202fHosted\u202fvia Renaissance Sri Lanka\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Kumbuk<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0online networking platform, the series will run<\/span>\u00a0every Saturday,<\/span>\u00a0from 8 October to 30 October, from 6.00pm to 7.30pm<\/span>\u00a0IST (GMT+5:30)<\/span>. It will highlight the importance of organic farming with the aim of contributing\u00a0<\/span>to a people-friendly true green revolution in Sri Lanka<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

After World War II, a \u2018green revolution\u2019\u202fwas launched globally to increase food production to meet the\u202fpopulation’s requirements. The traditional Asian farming methods were transformed into\u202fan\u202fadvanced, scientific agricultural system by\u202fthe\u202f1960s. Hybrid seeds that produce high yields were introduced,\u202fbut they highly depended on agrochemicals, resulting in a threat to the people, animals and\u202fenvironment.<\/p>\n

\"Massive
Massive scale farming – Unsplash Thomas Hertogh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The agricultural system introduced by the green revolution created a mass of socio-economic, health and environmental problems.\u202fSignificantly, the green revolution failed to fulfil the promise of safeguarding small food producers and minimizing rural poverty. Guaranteeing access to food for all, alleviating hunger and malnutrition are other issues yet to be resolved.<\/p>\n

In April 2021, the government of Sri Lanka implemented an overnight decision\u202fto\u202fbanning chemical fertilizer and converting the country\u2019s agricultural system into organic farming. This decision astonished many who\u202fhad been\u202fused to the lavish use of chemical fertilizer and pesticides after the green revolution in Sri Lanka in\u202fthe\u202f1970s that introduced and promoted agro-technology.<\/p>\n

The government stated that its policy was\u202fguaranteeing the people\u2019s right to\u202faccess\u202fa poison-free balanced diet.\u202fIntending to create\u202fa healthy and efficient citizen, the government stated that it had decided to use only organic fertilizer in agriculture. The leaders vowed\u202fto stand firm on this decision. The reasons outlined for banning the import of chemical fertilizer were health issues created by the pollution of water sources and unknown chronic kidney disease spreading nationwide.<\/p>\n

\"Organic
Organic Fertilizer – Pexels Sippakorn Yamkasikorn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa urged the people\u2019s representatives to educate\u202fthe\u202fpublic on the benefits of\u202fusing\u202forganic fertilizer despite the challenges in the transition period.<\/p>\n

The dialogue in the society on organic farming polarized heavily with the sudden\u202fgovernment\u202fdecision of\u202fbanning chemical fertilizer entirely. One sector advocated for systematic transition to organic farming due to the challenge of achieving targets of mass-scale food production. The other section opined that the space opened by this sudden decision should be used to convert the Sri Lankan agricultural system into organic farming,\u202finvesting\u202fin the lack of leadership with a long-term vision.<\/p>\n

Against\u202fthis backdrop, the organizations, farmers and citizens who have been already using agroecology farming methods welcomed the government decision with the hope of\u202fcreating a sustainable agricultural system in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

Multiple stakeholders such as agricultural institutes, universities,\u202fand organizations\u202fconducted many webinars\u202fabout organic farming.<\/p>\n

However,\u202fShamila\u202fRathnasooriya\u202fof Movement of National Land and Agricultural Reforms (MONLAR) pointed out that the farmers, consumers, women and youth had not been\u202fadequately represented in these discussions handled by the professionals and officials in the agricultural field.\u202fHe further highlighted that these discussions were inadequate to propose solutions to the problems in the\u202fagricultural sector and to present the advantages of the\u202fholistic\u202fapproach of\u202fagroecology.<\/p>\n

\"See
See in action, the initiative of our partner, Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform that uses their expertise in agroecology to empower women by training them in eco-friendly organic farming.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chathu\u202fSewwandi\u202fof\u202fGreenfem\u202fOrganization said, \u201cThe Ministry of Finance has relaxed the regulations on the import of chemical fertilizer through the gazette numbered as 2238\/45 dated 31 July 2021. The situation highlights the importance of restructuring the dialogue on organic farming.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two founders of Renaissance Sri Lanka,\u202fAshinsa\u202fBopearachchi\u202fCavali\u00e9 and Neville Uditha Weerasinghe said \u201cThe\u202fseries of webinars aims\u202fto create a platform to fill the gap between the traditional knowledge on agroecology and its practical application.\u202f\u202fOur partners, MONLAR and\u202fGreenfem\u202fhave been\u202fpracticing\u202fagroecology\u202ffor decades, proving its sustainability. If\u202fagroecology\u202fis promoted among farmers and implemented in mass scale, food security, good health, farmers\u2019 income, peace and prosperity can be assured.\u201d<\/p>\n

The series of webinars will bring together the knowledge and experiences of the international and Sri Lankan experts and the farmers\u202fon agroecology.<\/p>\n

No need to register, just follow the event page.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Renaissance
Renaissance Sri Lanka is proud to build Sri Lanka’s future ecosystems, with our partner GREENFEM
Greenfem Ecological Farming Training Center teaches farmers how to grow organic paddy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n

1)\u202f\u202fTime for a new Green Revolution
\nhttps:\/\/ceylontoday.lk\/news\/time-for-a-new-green-revolution\u202f<\/a><\/p>\n

2) Chemical fertilizer import ban relaxed
\nhttps:\/\/srilankamirror.com\/news\/24113-chemical-fertiliser-import-ban-relaxed\u202f<\/a><\/p>\n

3)\u202f\u2018Fertilizer Saga\u2019 in Sri Lanka: A Considered Opinion
\nhttps:\/\/island.lk\/fertilizer-saga-in-sri-lanka-a-considered-opinion\/\u202f<\/a><\/p>\n

4)\u202f\u202fGo ahead and implement decision to use organic fertilizer despite challenges
\nhttps:\/\/www.presidentsoffice.gov.lk\/index.php\/2021\/06\/08\/go-ahead-and-implement-decision-to-use-organic-fertilizer-despite-challenges\/\u202f<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Read more<\/strong><\/p>\n

Discover how Renaissance Sri Lanka builds sustainable social, environmental and economic ecosystems in Sri Lanka, here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Read how Renaissance Sri Lanka helps victims of the covid-19 related economic crisis\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Renaissance Sri\u00a0Lanka, MONLAR and\u202fGreenfem\u00a0are\u00a0launching\u202fa\u202flive\u202fwebinar series\u202fon agroecology.\u202fHosted\u202fvia Renaissance Sri Lanka\u2019s\u00a0\u201cKumbuk\u201d\u00a0online networking platform, the series will run\u00a0every Saturday,\u00a0from 8 October to 30 October, from 6.00pm to 7.30pm\u00a0IST (GMT+5:30). It will highlight the importance of organic farming with the aim of contributing\u00a0to a people-friendly true green revolution in Sri Lanka.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[103,104],"tags":[626,154,625,397,628,627,384,106,68,629],"class_list":["post-4307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events-2","category-our-success-stories","tag-agroecology","tag-climate-change","tag-ecosystems-sri-lanka","tag-environmental-sustainability-sri-lanka","tag-greenfem","tag-monlar","tag-non-profit-organization-in-sri-lanka","tag-renaissance-sri-lanka","tag-sri-lanka","tag-via-campesina"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}