M. D. Banda – The Indefatigable and Unassuming Representative of the People

September 18, 2025 marked the 51st death anniversary of M. D. Banda, who passed away in 1974.

- BY D. S. KARUNANAYAKE.

In a tribute to this great national figure, it seems fitting to quote from a message he wrote to the January-March 1966 issue of the quarterly magazine published by the Agriculture Department, Govikam Sangarava, as Minister of Agriculture:

"As a nation that has lived 18 years with independence, we now also need economic freedom. Increasingly, the food required by the country must be produced within the nation itself. Only then can true economic independence be achieved" [English translation of the Sinhala text].

The pinnacle of M. D. Banda's 27-year-long political career (1943-1970) was his tenure as Minister of Agriculture and Food in 1965-1970, when he launched the "National Food Drive" in Ceylon. As his words above reveal, he believed that agriculture had a key role to play in achieving economic independence. Basing himself on this conviction, he strove tirelessly to achieve self-sufficiency in food for Ceylon. That his efforts proved successful is borne out by both the 'Agricultural Development Plan - 1971-1977' published by the Ministry of Agriculture of the ULF (United Left Front) Government given below and the Annual Report of the Asian Development Bank for 1970.

(See Table 1)

According to the statistics presented above, potato production increased annually and systematically from 360 tons in 1964 to 29, 521 tons in 1969. Similarly, chilli cultivation expanded from a mere 4 cwt in 1964 to 133 cwt in 1969, and red onion cultivation from 325 cwt to 741 cwt within the same period.