Rebuttal to ‘Pesticides then, now and toxin free nation’

February 5, 2019, 12:00 pm 

It is with a sense of frustration that I address the simplistic arguments that I see paraded before the public to win support for energy intensive agriculture. Many a word is being written with no awareness of the real situation. This is tragic as these arguments do not address the scientifically known reality, but often reflect some narrow minded personal vendetta against, other Sri Lankans (misguided or not) to bolster the view that, the economically utilitarian view of the world is best. In this, he shares the stage with many of our politicians and bureaucrats who believe that development is only measured by the GDP. Public health and well-being is of little consequence. While much of what has been written can be challenged at many levels the following excerpts will illustrate the shallowness of the arguments.

In a rebuttal to the observation that Mr. Pathirana made about fishes being poisoned by agrochemicals the author states "Mr. Pathirana thinks that our paddy fields are full of toxins. Large numbers of egrets ('kokku') and other birds collect to eat the earthworms and other bugs that get turned up by the farmer's plough. If the soil is toxic, these organisms should be dead. In fact, the soil is rich in worms and micro-organisms, fertile, and yields bountiful harvests."

This statement is a demonstration of the colossal ignorance of the writer in ornithological history and confusion with the soil ecosystem highly fertilized and traditionally farmed fields.

First, it should be noted the diversity of birds in the paddy fields have fallen dramatically over the last twenty years. Once there were at least ten to eleven waders common to the paddy fields. There are only Egrets left (and sometime a few Ibis), these are the most resistant to toxins in the chemically changed paddy fields we have today. All the sensitive species have disappeared.

The earthworms and bugs that are turned up by the farmer’s plough, are again only those species with a high degree of tolerance, the rest have disappeared. The species that remain have highly elevated levels of agro-toxins and the process of biological magnification ensures that all but the most resistant species will die off. Yes, the soil is toxic and the few resistant species that remain are totally unable to provide nutrient for a good harvest, the ‘bountiful harvests’ from such fields are due to the massive quantities of chemical fertilizer applied.

The take home lesson is, ‘Do not make sweeping political statements couched in narrow perspectives’, and I would add ‘do not try to belittle your countrymen who are attempting to address problems, right or wrong’. They are trying and that effort is what we should laud, not pointless name calling and cynicism, especially from so far away.

And to those politicians and bureaucrats who see ‘Development’ only as the growth of the GDP, consider the view of our founding father the Rt. Hon. D.S. Senanayake who said that ‘Development of our nation should be measured by the larder of the poorest of its homes’. These ideals have been totally ignored in the current definition of ‘Development’ being peddled by the political system today.

RANIL SENANAYAKE