Plastic Containers & the Farmer!!!
Posted on December 17th, 2011
Vajiragnana Warnakulasuriya
The controversy around this argument led me to pen this unique article, rather cynical and confused in presentation!!!
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ LetƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s analyze the character farmer. I thought he is a calm and collected very humble human being making an effort to help the society and him by producing the nourishment that it essential for the existence of the very species. In the Asian culture I believe he worship the land that is used to cultivate his produce. A small dais is erected at the corner of the offerings to various deities were placed and the chanting of the stanzas begins.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Here comes the surprise, having conditioned his mind to be virtuous, unbelievably he gets into a rage and cracks the earth (soil) with that iron hoe held by the both arms, now
I tend to believe this is how he becomes a violent person, and these actions are kept in a dormant stage till his emotions are exited, say by external factors that know how to manipulate the dormant anger of this Wolf in SheepƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s clothing!
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ This led us to see the real farmer (?) dashing his produce in city centers just as the incredible Hulk go berserk. He objected to the progressive change over of the delivery from a primitive method to that in line with a civilized nations sensible approach. Of course there are still hiccups that need to be addressed with the cooperation of the transport areas for a smooth and a pragmatic conclusion!
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ This is what baffles me, a man who started the day with paying reverence to the very earth that produces the livelihood turned into Hulk the destroyer who with a confused, warped mind can perform deeds like that, can any psychologist convince me how possible this change over of a simple farmer we took for a grant all these years!
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ No, not for a moment I suggest that the farmer was fully paid off for the goods and it was staged to arouse the wrath of the public! Madness, the decent opportunists in Sri Lanka never tend to pull wool over the eyes of the gullible public.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ However the main opposition party, I believe lost several golden opportunities to win back the clawed voter numbers supporting the Governments progressing proposals that were not presented in a user-friendly manner. After all itƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s all the ideas of the one time kin pins of the main opposition party, who through shear disgust of being unable to serve the country crossed over to show what they were capable of contributing to the progress of the country, so if they failed, the present situation would have been the outcome had the head of the country was a different person who is hell bound to step into the shoes of the one in command!
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Views of a confused man!!!
December 18th, 2011 at 9:08 am
You are barking up the wrong tree. It is the all powerful middle-person and traders who dashed the produce which they can afford due to the high profit margin they keep at the expense of producer and the consumer. The 40% wastage in handling which is passed on to the consumer and the producer is a crime considering the widespread malnutrition in Sri Lanka which has already resulted in stunted growth and will have huge future problems in all spheres of day to day life. Unfortunately no one in authority – government, spiritual, civil not care a hoot about this grave problem. Only few NGO aided by foreign humanitarians are taking any actions in this regard.
December 19th, 2011 at 8:02 am
I agree with Sena. It is the Middle man who puts the vegetables in gunny sacks, a method that breeds bacteria in the moist vegetables and leads to quick perishability in a tropical climate. The new law re packaging of vegetables for transport is a good one, possibly poorly delivered to the Middle men.
The Farmer, particularly the Organic Farmer, belongs to the category of a ‘sort of royalty’ in our ancestral thinking. Without life sustaining & honest farming practices of the old days, our good health is lost and the the environment is also lost. Then all is lost ! Please do not denigrate our Farmers. They are currently being confused with excessive propaganda on the virtues of artificial fertilizer and insecticides, which when used in excess brings heavy metals into our water supply resulting in cancers, kidney disease etc.
Spare the Farmer and mend the heal of the Nation. Use Organic methods wherever possible, and pack our vegetables preventing wastage.
December 19th, 2011 at 11:21 pm
This should not even be a debate, up to 40% of the produce is damaged and destroyed due to bad handling and transportation. Its time Sri Lankan Farmers stop belly-aching about having to spend money on Plastic Transportation Containers to properly transport food. It will save them money in the long run and it will lead to better hygiene standards for all Sri Lankan people. This policy was enacted in India and it has been an all round unquestionable success.