EASTERN DEVELOPMENT

- FARMING AND FISHING AT THE MERCY OF EXPLOITERS

- By Ahilan Kadirgamar

My work with the cooperatives in the North has led me to frequently visit the East in recent years for collaborative initiatives.

The geography of the long Eastern coast from Trincomalee to Ampara, with lagoons and vast paddy fields, and dotted towns and expanding villages is stunning. The fishing sites, the lush paddy farms and the roaming herds of cattle everywhere portray a region with abundant resources for local food production.

Indeed, fish, rice and milk, so central to our nutrition, are ubiquitous. Nevertheless, the small scale producers are left at the mercy of the traders with little value addition in the region; and these producers of our staple foods have seen little progress in their social and economic lives.

Conflict and polarising politics

This difficult situation of the farmers and fisher-folk are marked by different political, historical and economic factors of the region. The long history of conflict and polarising politics could be one reason for the debilitated rural institutions. The flawed development policies that have for long neglected, if not undermined, rural development is another reason for the atomisation of these small producers falling into debt and mercy of traders. The long protracted conflict, the Tsunami, the Covid pandemic and the ongoing economic crisis with the rise in the cost of living have all left their destructive imprint on the body politic of the region.