The Academics’ Movement to Safeguard Agriculture in Sri Lanka (AMSA-Sri Lanka)

The Academics’ Movement to Safeguard Agriculture in Sri Lanka (AMSA-Sri Lanka) proposes the
following short-, medium- and long-term measures to address immediate and medium- to longterm
threats faced by Sri Lankan Agriculture.
Immediate threat:
An imminent threat of widespread crop failure in the next two seasons leading to widespread
food shortage requiring food imports using a colossal sum of foreign exchange.
Immediate solutions:

1. Allocate limited stocks of fertilizer and pesticides to selected crops on a priority basis giving
   top priority to paddy, tea and maize
2. Provide 50% of the recommended nitrogen fertilizer for each crop and aim to fulfill part of the
   shortfall with available locally-produced organic fertilizer
3. Purchase urea and hybrid seeds using the loan facilities from World Bank and India
4. Promote technologies that minimize nutrient losses and achieve high nutrient use efficiency
   I. Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)
   a. Integrated Nutrient Management (INM)
   b. Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
   II. Precision Agriculture (PA)
5. Provide guidance to farmers with the well-coordinated extension services of the mandated
   governmental agencies
6. Provide a partial-subsidy for nitrogen fertilizer and a full-subsidy for high-quality organic
   fertilizer
7. Initiate community garden and home garden programmes at the provincial level
   Medium-term threat:
   Limited availability of agricultural inputs (e.g. fertilizer, fuel) in the next 3-4 years leading to
   reductions in the cropped area, thus requiring to produce more food with less land.
   Medium-term solutions:
8. Establish a centrally-controlled agricultural extension system in mandated institutions
9. Strengthen and expand the resource-efficient technologies proposed as immediate solutions
10. Design and update GAP and PA technologies for all crops
11. Establish a mechanism to encourage the adoption of the GAP-certification process
12. Promote research and local development of granular nano-fertilizer, biofertilizer and
    biopesticides
    Long-term threats:
    Climate change and declining soil fertility endangering long-term food security, sustainability of
    farming systems and farmer livelihoods, Slow infusion and adoption of modern technology
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    Long-term solutions:
13. Position Sri Lankan agriculture within the context of a broader integrated land management
    policy to develop along a physically- and environmentally-sustainable pathway
14. Strengthen research to adopt modern, appropriate technology in Sri Lanka agriculture
    Names of Signatories, on behalf of the AMSA-Sri Lanka:
    Senior Professor Buddhi Marambe Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya
    Senior Professor Janendra de Costa Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya
    Professor Devika de Costa Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya
    Senior Professor Aruna Kumara Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna
    Professor T. Sivananthawerl Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya
    Professor Saman Dharmakirthi Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya
    Professor Meththika Withanage Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Sri
    Jayewerdenepura
    Professor Nalika Ranathunge Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna
    Professor Warshi Dandeniya Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya
    Professor Nilantha Liyanage Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna
    Professor Ewon Kalidasa Faculty of Animal Science and Export Agriculture, Uwa
    Wellassa University
    Professor Gangani Samaraweera Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna
    Dr. Pradeep Gajanayaka Faculty of Technology, University of Sri
    Jayewerdenepura
    Dr. Chammi Attanayaka Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya