Dr. Chandre Dharmawardana
Sri Lanka has now woken up to the fact that the armyworm caterpillar, known locally as the Senaa caterpillar, has arrived in Sri Lanka and begun its march of devastation. This is what is known as a “Grey Rhino” event – that is, an event whose coming is obvious but totally ignored because the attention is directed elsewhere. The armyworm arrived in Africa by 2015-16 and landed in India in 2016-17. It was obvious that other neighbouring countries will follow suite.
However, in Sri Lanka scientific agriculture had been hijacked out of the agricultural and environmental scientists, and taken into the hands of NGOs and political ideologues. They usually begin their Manthra by quoting what Rachel Carson wrote in the early 1970s in regard to the consequences of the overuse of DDT in USA. They push for “traditional agriculture” without any pesticides or even fertilizers. They want “traditional” gourmet seeds that yield only one tonne per hectare in six months, instead of the hybrid seeds popular with the common farmer that yield 5 tons per hectare in four months!
Cutting out pesticides is as naive as claiming that the nation does not need an army or police because we have “universal Compassion” to all being and this should protect us from all evil. In reality, such extremes do not work, and the practicable alternative is the “middle path”. Instead, an extreme position was thrust on the Sri Lankan Government. It adopted a “toxin-Free Nation” policy and banned the well-known herbicide, glyphoste in 2015. Even a few parts of it per billion parts of water (or soil) was claimed to cause chronic kidney disease – a claim with no scientific support. Today we know, thanks to the work of scientists in Peradeniya and the Kidney specialists in Kandy that the disease is cause by consuming hard (“kivul”) well water contaminated by fluoride of geological origin.
Once such a climate of opinion is created by powerful political monks and organs of the Presidential secretariat like the SEMA (“Strategic Enterprise Management Agency”) no agricultural scientists can have the courage to ask for stocking up the necessary pesticides and propose a program of anticipatory pest control. The political thrust is to get rid of all toxins (agrochemicals) and use traditional solutions. Those invoke “Kema”, “Manthra”, traditional herbs like “Madurutalaa”, plants like Kohomba (Azadirachta indica), and using “biodynamic and telluric forces” to fight pests. Rudof Steiner, the father of Western-style “organic Farming” was a great believer in “telluric forces”. Our Colombo elites have uncritically lapped it all up and become warriors of the local “Green movement”.
The attitude that prevails today, and the attempt to link all this with a moral imperative is seen in the propaganda put out by the SEMA project where toxin-free farming is attached to morality (the project has now been abandoned, after much damage). One may find in the social media (e.g.,facebook), a short film by Nalaka Wijerathne, and other similar clips. It may or may not be connected with SEMA, but it displays the level of public mis-information and naivety that drives the “vash-visha nathi ratak (toxin-free nation)” type of campaigns.
An elderly farmer is shown to go to a stream, where he encounters a little boy fishing. He condemns the boy as “a sinner”, and washes out a 5-litre container that may be used for spraying pesticides. The farmer returns to his home. A short while later the boy passes by the farmer’s house and gives him some fish. The farmer asks, “do you want some money for the fish”? The boy says, “No, it was you who killed them”.
The implications and messages conveyed here are multiple. (i) Farmers are uneducated and do not know how to handle agrochemicals. (ii) The small amount of agrochemical residues that were in the container when added to the river water were enough to kill the fish. (iii) So, if the fish are killed, you too will get sick by using this stuff in growing food. All three items are actually grossly incorrect. Another subtle put down is the suggestion that farmers, having to kill pests (be they Kapra Beetles or Army worms) are “adharmishta” sinners.
Farmers have a fair understanding of agrochemicals, but they may misuse them, just as people misuse medication The release of agrochemicals should be done as with pharmacy products, with an agricultural technician writing the “prescription” for each farm. Farmers do not wash their pesticide containers in streams. Even if they did, a small amount of glyphosate in the tank (say 10 millilitres), when added to the river, gets diluted extensively, and also rapidly react with the green plants and algae and get destroyed. To claim that fish would be killed within a short time, as depicted by the film is complete nonsense. Claims of increased deformed births, mutations etc., in the NCP made by Ven. Ratana in a TV interview (AdaDerana, April 2018) are totally unsubstantiated and agree with the level of mutations expected from cosmic and other radiation falling naturally on the earth. A truly large chemical spill is needed for killing the fish. However, small amounts added regularly over a long time need to be tightly controlled, and this is why the sale of agrochemicals should be monitored just as with pharmaceuticals. The precautionary principle consists in control and constraint, and not in banning and banishing.
Similarly, a recent press scare claimed that common herbs like “Gotukola”, “Mukunuwenna” are laced with traces of insecticides and are too dangerous to eat. This was entirely unfounded as the writer confused maximum allowed levels for good farming practice with thresholds for health risks. The amounts found are so small that you have to eat several kilograms of the herbs everyday, perhaps for a decade, for any type of chronic illness to set in.
Today, even DDT has been re-approved by the WHO (since 2006, after much research) for domestic use. Far more advanced knowledge of pesticides, sustainable agriculture, and biotechnology at the molecular level are in our hands. Minimal but optimal use of fertilizers and herbicides by using crop rotation, no-tillage farming to cut down erosion, and soil analysis to control agrochemical inputs etc ., are routine. Instead, in Sri Lanka we have wealthy Colombo-based groups who push for traditional agriculture devoid of any pesticides and even discourage the use of fertilizers. Their justification is multi-pronged: heroic opposition to “multinationals”, unfounded fear of toxins in the food , and grand claims of Sri Lanka being “the granary of the East” when it used traditional agriculture. So, we should revert back to traditional agriculture!. They are simple solution to a complex problem, like the five lessons of the JVP of the 1970s.
According to the Bible, Egypt was the granary of the world (Genesis 41), and most ancients have such claims. According to our Chronicles, Lanka exported rice on a number of occasions. But the Chronicles themselves, and the records of rings in old tree trunks reveal a series of famines, pestilences etc., that ravaged S-E Asia regularly. However, most people have only heard of the “Baeminitiyaa Saaya”, a historic famine so severe that even the upper classes and monks had no food, and began to perish. Hence the surviving monks decided to write down the Buddha’s word, held by oral tradition up till then, on ola leaves at the Alu Vihara temple (1st Century BCE)..
Prof. Siriweera of the Rajarata University has researched and written about the precarious nature of food availability in Sri Lanka in medieval and ancient times. Even if traditional agriculture sustained a small population (less than that of Colombo today), it cannot even marginally meet today’s needs. The world’s output of “organic” agriculture remains below 2% and increasing it even by 10-fold is a challenge and creates a two-tier food system.
We should remember that in recent times, the Soviet Union and also China tried out ideologically driven “Marxist” agriculture, and produced record famines and much human suffering. China exported rice to Sri Lanka in the middle of a famine in China, hoping to be noted when China was just an international underdog. So, the occasional export of grain does not make a country a granary of the region even for that period!
rbh / January 24, 2019
Why not have intelligent office like monitoring the terrorist group to monitor smart greenhouse monitoring army worm attack, these worms will strip even a fully-grown maize plant down to the last leaf. attack on regional food security. Hunger anywhere threatens peace everywhere. Instead of finding the remedy after 3 months it must be on same time.
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Edward / January 24, 2019
Nothing is done intelligently in Sri Lanka. There are already conspiracy theories claiming that the worm was borught not Sri Lanka by multi-national companies, and that scientists who support scientific agriculture and the use of agrochemicals are supposed to be paid agents of these multinationals. Unfortunately, people are fool enough to believe them. Just as in any profession, there may be a few crooks, but most scientists, employed by research stations run by the government, have nothing to do with the multinationals.
In spite of all the evidence availabe that glyphosate is harmless and not related to Kidney Disease, the governemtnwas ready to ban it because some a Nath Deviyo medium said so.
The scientists are devoted people who hard work; they are poorly paid individuals much maligned by a thankless public. Before my retirement I worked for the Dept. of Agriculture as a scientific Officer and I know how it was.
Also, as the writer says, with the Presidential secretariat and Ven. Ratana (who ran the agriculture policy) saying that we can do without pesticides and fertilizers, and that compost is enough, how can any scientist or Government Department Director put his head out sand say, no we have to be ready for pestilences?
Pest attacks occur in ever decade, especially after droughts, since Biblical times, as have been recorded in history, and we ourselves know this from experience.
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Concerned Sinhala Man / January 25, 2019
This is the reason why Australians and europeans countries are strict with any passenger entering the country. Our custom would do nothing like taken rigorous steps being taken in order to block any hazadous bio/agro/producted being imported by politicians and their bunch of highly abusive business men.
Today, there is a mud slinging program, against Rajitha Senaratne, since he stood iron rod like at the time, tobacoo supporters and other drug importers that abuse the laws in Sl. May be his ministry under BP Rajapakshe had been no highly abusive sorta as heard about all other ministries to that time, but one thing should be clear even WHO praised the bold actions taken by Senaratna as a minister during the last 4 years. Those GMOA led groups are the ones that would do the job for Rajaakshe sinister forces not allowing the opinion be gone to the common man, that over a total number 80 of medical drugs and medical devices were subjected to price reductions of 30-80%. All these weere kept away from theaverage mindset, there are divious programs being made to attack Rajitha Senanayaka today.
That is the nature of third world politics. This goes to on from the day one, anyone that would see things, become perplexed not being able to know as to why lankens stay lag not taking bold actions against kin pin culprits, even if almost their names are public secret. Entire structure in the rotten island is kaputt. Not the surface nature is depicted what goes through in their mind set, i mean average, almost over 50% or more are controlled by racism and extremist agendas: Political goons that continue to do so are mostly welcome by grass eaters dominated srilnkaa. Astrology and sorcery tricks have been instrumental in order to keep the guillible people in dark. Darker would not be, since, they the average are misled by Rajaapkshe sinister forces for their power struggle.
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LEELAGEMALLI / January 25, 2019
I doubt that the title of the article is right ?.
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This author is btw known as one of the reasearchers who favoured Glyphosate further be acceessed to lanken farmers. There are two groups researchers regarding Glyophosate-round up- the most controversal biozid in the world. American manufacturing company, Monsanto earns billions of dollars as their annual turnover.
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Besides, this nation has long been made poisonous (means not TOXIN free, but captured intoxication for such a long time).- is a fact.
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And the fact is that this country is caught by various toxines long ago , for the last 2 decades. Predatory business men and politicians earned millions and became wealthy but on the costs of the lives of lanken poor farmers. We perfectly know, had the hazardous agro chemicals along with numerous compounds been NOT importad into the country, no doubt, our faming community would never become a prey of UKKD or the like minded, unexpected health problems.
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Danapala / January 24, 2019
Scientists do not have a place, no are they given any attention in a country where everyone is a self-styled Pundit. See the claims that a housewife has invented a concoction that can kill the caterpiller
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Jinadasa / January 25, 2019
Going by the last 50 or 60 years of ‘agricultural research’ in this country, I will gladly accept the housewife’s invention, because it will be based on common sense.
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Apart from a bit of rice breeding at Batalagoda, what have all the American PhDs inthe department of agricultyre done to develop Sri Lankan agriculture? They have been using government vehicles and jeeps to go for seminars and conferences and work for agrochemical firms to promote their products for a foreign trip or two.
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I can go on, but it is almost sickening to talk of research and extension of the department ‘pin padi’ karayas.
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Sam Fernando / January 25, 2019
Mr Danapala,
You may be right.
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I happened to watch a program on the SENA caterpillar: Unfortunately, Derana the TV – the mouth piece of former President ET al, had not invited any experts form local Universities to take part in the forum ???
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The awareness programs should be held with Experts being kept as the references – on the position, since we cant stand against the FACTs. That says almost everything right.
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The country is caught by RAJAPAKSHE caterpillar so that nothing can go right in this country. He is the most dangerous Caterpillar born to destroy this ISLAND nation.
Unitl MEDIA MAFIA is taught a lession, nothing will work towards the benefit of the VULNTERABLE/gullible masses in this country.
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Danapala / January 26, 2019
Keep shadow boxing with the media you corrupt morons.
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If there is a conspiracy against this country, it is from the UNP+TNA and Muslim Extremists Bathurdeen only. DOnt blame the media, you fakirnando.
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Sam Fernando / January 26, 2019
Dana pala, If I may say so, I have been stupid to call you the kind of backlickers of Rajanoa as Mr. My apologies to my fellow CT readers if my previous comment misled them. Danapala or the like brainwashed for Rajapakshe selfish gains are plenty in this country. Unfortunately, the ones that realize this yet is not much.
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These backlickers would do any illegal jobs to save their god father et al who have now been alleged to have committed high crimes including various murders. For our bad luck, the legal systems remain akin to an incurable cancer.
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Let me explain you GUYs, BP Rajapkashe et al is undoubtedly the root cause of complex of our problems today. But media mafia run by RAJAPKASHE underhand paint the picture in favour of Raja. This should further be treated with indifference. Our peoples should be fed with truthful information Rajaakshes and their malicious acts.
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Not only MR adminstration failed to stand against HIGH profile crimes and but his direct patronage in any high crimes were not overlooked. during his days. He is alike to that zimbabwian man-Mugabe, whose politics brought that country in to pieces today.
to be continued.
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Sam Fernando / January 26, 2019
contd.
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And it is public secret that the legal system in this country is equally in all appalling levels; that unfortunately let the bugger et al to stay scot free yet today.
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Bp RajapFUKshe was complacent with illegal imports made to this country since 2005. Be them pharmaeceuticals or Agro chemicals, so long their pockets were filled, BP Rajakashe never stood against any fraudsters the way it should have been…. whatever they imported into the country caused unexpected/unidenficiable renal problems or varied other health problems of unknown etiology are seen today as a result. Chemicals and any other bio hazardous products are imported to any country being very cautious due the harm being done to humanity. But greedy politicians and predatory business men would abuse their powers not thinking twice.. Be them caterpillars or any other bovine and avian health problems being spread from country to other easily this way. So long our custom and airport regulations would not be subjected to enforcement of rigorous law and order, even entire country could easily be prey of those hazardous materials.
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Silva / January 24, 2019
Dr. Darmawardana, how could any good thing happens in this God blessed country, when we have ill educated, ill informed and clueless man as a President who surrounds himself with useless goats and donkeys as advisors – no offense for the real goats and donkeys which are really useful for human beings.
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Heeraluwa / January 25, 2019
We hear that Ven. Rathana has said “We do not need the Government, officials etc. We can show the country our capability of destroying Armyworm caterpillar by using biological chemicals based on Neem (kohomba) and without using any artificial poisons”.
What happened the Monk’s vows to to not to take any life?
It is a cardinal precept of Buddhism which applies without compromise to ordained people – THEY CANT TAKE LIFE or CULTIVATE CHETHANA OF ANNIHILATION OF LIVING BEINGS.
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As for lay people, there is no obligation for them to practice it.
But if you area monk, you have to leave the robe and then take up the business of annihilating worms and caterpillars and waht ever.
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Dr Wimalawansa / January 25, 2019
How come Dharmawardana is not among his advisers then? How can he leave out a Monsanto donkey like him?
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Dr.Bob / January 25, 2019
Dr Wimalawansa,
Please get the facts about the writer. I have no idea about his current post. But he has worked for Monstanto protecting them for such a long time. The kind of agents publicly work for Monsanto murderous company. In Europe, it has been not easy to bann Glyphosate, since no such ground water contaminations levels are reported on their soils. Only pooor countries not being able to control their ground water levels, being unable to provide their destitute farming communites with proper drinking water, the numbers of renal diseases have gone up drastically.
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Buramphisincho / January 25, 2019
Silva,
dont get caught by this so called researcher – he is sorta of an agent being hired by giant manufacturing company called Monsanto. Purpose is to protect the name Monsanto.sendin the message across that further use GLYPOSATE as a weedicide would be not that harmful.
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But some european researchers see it otherway around, since the compound being found in ROUND UP is believed to be cancerous. Almost everyone in europe is captured by this to date, as the analysts reveal it.
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In SL too, there are two groups of researchers as is the case in Europe, that work on the issue. You will come to know them, if you would please read few of the articles being circulated on webs to date.
Two groups are as given below:
1- Researchers working for MONSANTO (Agents of Chandre D nature works pro-Monsanto for their abusive nature -funds they earn is huge – this man is said to be a canadian btw)
2. Researchers working against Monsanto.
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Facts related to the subject :Glyphosate brings thousands of billions as annual turnover to the USA, so this has been a very sensitive issue to them.
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The reason why rich countries are not caught by kidney diseases as seen in developing farming communities are truly connected with the manner how those rich conuntries get on with their ground water. They usually test their ground water and its pollutants unlike the case in developing poor countries. Farming coummunities
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Rajash / January 25, 2019
can it only attack politicians?
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ramona therese fernando / January 25, 2019
CD,
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In a world too far gone in capitalistic money-making liberalism (which is away from traditional social occupational values), what you say is correct. Once money of the world is place on money-making, there is no time or through left for food-making. No thought left for the health of posterity, except for the experimental technique.
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Traditional agriculture can only exist when there is a market for it. But when the world is bent on the creation of money from useless and unnecessary technology like addictive online gaming, how can money ever think of going towards life-sustaining foods? Instead it is the quick-fix of genetically modifying plants, animals and people so humans can run back to their dopamine-filled craves.
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If there have been any times of famine in Sri Lanka it have been about a 1:100 ratio of famine to plentiful foods. Food- availability would have been the norm, and not written about too much. But if there was a famine, volumes would have been written because humans like to write most when they are suffering.
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Nowadays however, with all of the networking with other places, if one place faces famine, another place can supply food. But these socialized networks are disallowed by the capitalists who want to sell their own kind of produce – produced out of the destruction of their own lands for industrialization, and their farming being thus of the GMO-type ; Soviet Union didn’t stand a chance. Senaa caterpillar could be easily combated if the socialized network is given a chance to think-tank, network and implement solutions.
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Leonard Jayawardena / January 25, 2019
We should consider the possibility that plagues such as the armyworm may in the first place be a consequence of modern agricultural methods. Pestcides are known to destroy biodiversity, which results in the undermining of natural biological control of pests.
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Rathraliye Athana / January 25, 2019
This ‘bada gostharaya’ is still smarting about the demise of the poison previously known as glyphosate. That is dead and buried after the Californian court case result.
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He must be now acting on the orders of his pay masters Bayer, previously known as Monsanto, to sell some poison to control the American introduced ‘Sena” caterpillar.
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These bada gostara vadeen, even at age 90 will do anything to fatten their purses before they start counting daisies. Bloody parasites!
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thumpane gamaya / January 25, 2019
Genetically modified seeds of “Monsato” is said to be resistant to this pest attack? Therefore, the so called scientist are now campaigning for “Monsanto” seeds. This is exactly why multi national mafia like “Monsanto” is maintaining so called “scientist” on their payroll. I was wondering why “Chandre” was silent all these days on this issue being an ardent fan of CKD causing “Glyphosate” another poisonous product of “Monsanto” marketed under the brand name of “round-up”.
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JD / January 25, 2019
Sri lankan scientists are chicken and are sczared to talk. I believe it is an introduction by the people.
it did not fly all the way from Africa or Striaghtly to UVA fromIndia. It came with the nfected seeds and npqs did not check it can be a very reasonable argument Or they had hidden it from the npqs. It is amazing to know that NGOs run even the agriculture in Sri lanka.
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Dr Kamal Gammampila MPhil, PhD, DIC / January 25, 2019
It is implied that Kivula is a natural condition, hence it has nothing to do with agrochemicals (weedicide and pesticide) or fertilizer. If it’s a natural condition, why only in the last three decades or so?
Anything to do with the well water has everything to do with Hill Country water contaminating the wells. It could also happen with wash-off during heavy rain and floods.
There are extremely small quantities of heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium and lead) in Mahaweli waters. Lead and cadmium are the agents identified for chronic kidney disease in toxic exposure for kidney disease. That water could be drunk with no adverse effects. Because the dosage is insufficient. But in rice cultivation through rice-water footprint over 3000 liters per kg and Biomagnification make the rice sufficiently toxic to cause CKDu.
Peradeniya scientists (this group) really should take a realistic view of this condition. Why haven’t they measured the fluoride levels in Mahaweli, if nothing else to eliminate as a possibility.
CKDu is limited to the places that receive Hill Country water directly or indirectly, but nowhere else!
As for fluoride fertilizer has 1000 times more fluoride than cadmium according to Prof Dharmawardana in a 2018 publication. Hill Country is the source of fluoride and the newly acquired rejuvenated Kivula!
CKDu is a ‘protein in urine’ condition as identified by the WHO., Fluoride does not cause protein in urine.
cause of CKDu is heavy metals mostly via rice. Farmer communities fall victim first, because of their highly Persistent exposure – every day, or indeed every meal!
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Desperate Sinhalaya / January 25, 2019
Dr. Gammampila,
What I believe, nothing but the derivatives of heavy metals (Fe, Cd, As and etc) and glyphosate (also together with other similar compounds) can more likely be connected with the uknown kidney disease being found in the farming communities of some developing countries. The similar health problems are not reported in Germany and any other other nations that the round up is being excessively used for their crop cultiviations.
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EU farmers would not be without ROUND UP as a weedicide for their farming cultivation. That is also the reason their countries being unable to bann it yet in Europe (I am focusing on grand nations such as Germans, French and English).
Since i ve been living in Germany for such a long time, I know how they keep their ground water within the their limits by regularly held water controls.
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Whoever whatever being suggested, as their opinions, i do believe you cant exclude that Glyphosat would not have relations with the renal diseases Just because the facts that not yet a single publication brought proving the direct relation between glyphosate and reported renal disorders, we cant also say that Glyphosate would not harm to humans and animals. As I lately read, that the german researchers had found that glyphosate is now found in everyone body after having control the urine of the a set of volunteers. And also in cattle and other animals as well. However the levels that are known in such analyses, are much lower than to the doses that could harm to human body.
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gamini / January 25, 2019
Could this Senna Caterpillar have been introduced by an outside source as a deliberate measure to devastate the Maize crop? Nothing is impossible in this country as we have no checks and balances.
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Rtd. Lt. Reginald Shamal Perera / January 25, 2019
Gamini,
Which country has checks and balances? America?
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Desperate Sinhalaya / January 26, 2019
Gamini@
Sena Caterpillar (Army fall worm) is though new to srilanken farming, they are not new to Germany, USA, Australia and several other countries. The mentioned countries have found them long before and have held under control in their farming. I have added you below few links. Those who have now been on an effort to paint the picture in favour of ruling govt, will have to see the facts as they really are.
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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/deadly-armyworm-could-march-britain-devastating-african-crops/
https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/29810
http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7424e.pdf
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Desperate Sinhalaya / January 26, 2019
Garmin@
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjrdnEJQlwA
See, this is just new to lanka, but I believe, should have been brought from India. Our airport authorties need to be vigilent on the issues than they handle them today.
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A former pest controller / January 25, 2019
It is interesting to read that pushers of chemical poisons are laughing at the misfortune of poor Maize growers in Sri Lanka.
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This caterpillar did not just fall from the sky.
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Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Economy P. Harrison told Parliament that Sena Caterpillar has been originally spotted in America and had later spread towards Africa and Asia. The insect was first identified in India in 2018. He assured that further investigations will be carried out to determine whether there are any acts of sabotage including the charge that the pest has been released into fields by the multinational companies which import pesticides. If it was maliciously introduced, by ‘whom’ is the question.
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Obviously, such sabotage has been the way large exporters remove threats to their dominance in global supply of agricultural commodities. In the case of Maize its USA (US$9.6 billion, 32.3% of total corn exports) and three of their closest ‘strategic partners Brazil, ($4.6 billion, 15.6%) Argentina ($3.9 billion, 13.1%) and Ukraine ($3 billion 10.1%).
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So how could they have introduced the pest to our country. It is dead easy. Katunayaka airport is the only one in the world where foreign passport holders are allowed entry without baggage check through the green lane. They can bring in anything including pests, currency and even weapons to the country, if they have white skin.
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Large scale release can also occur through the transfer of US Navy cargo between planes at BIA, taking place right at this moment. The exercise is apparently to our American friends to ‘help’ make Sri Lanka a regional hub for logistics and commerce. Under the operation, US naval aircraft land and depart from the BIA, bringing in supplies (personal mail for sailors, paper goods, spare parts and tools, and ‘other’ items) that will be transferred between planes and then flown to the USS John C. Stennis at sea.
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MsMaralathoni / January 26, 2019
Pest Controller@
I wonder how a pest controller could add the kind of info regarding SENA caterpillar (Army fall worm). This particular catterpillar is common to vegetations in the USA, Australia, Germany and several other countries. Anyways, they have long succeeded to keep them under control in each of the said countries.
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To tell you, if anyone would want to introduce any kind of harmful flora and fauna, that is not at all difficult with lanken AIRports. It is just, you dont have to be a white skin, but anything that could harm lanken flora and fauna can easily be brought into the country. If you are a frequent traveller, you will know it actually. Each time travelling to lanka, I get hurt being unable to see the silly nature they get on with the travellers in our home country. Airport authorities are not trained enough . They the custom authorities do nothing like proper checks on the passengers if they are from rich countries. In Europe, even on any domestic airports, they are very strict with the goods being transported by passengers. This was even more I noticed while entering to Australia.
To implement the rule to the letter, our people obvioulsy have no courage, may well be they are suffering from some sort of psychological problems not going by international norms.
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Nothing seems to work PROPERLY yet today in our country even if authorties are being paid by tax payers funds. They should be provided with proper trainings let alone today. No any new regulations seem to be added improving the standards. I hear those law makers keep travelling abusing the funds of the tax payers, but going by international standards, they dont want to amend the laws going by international standards.
Just AMENDMENT to be added to any prevailing laws they take years, or just mov on a curve only.
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Nathan / January 25, 2019
Which is more dangerous, this senaa caterpillar or bodu bala Senaa? To me the most dangerous is the latter led by a monster monk and supported by monsters.
You get what you deserve.
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SJ / January 25, 2019
This caterpillar is said to be a recent creature that originated in the US.
Any thoughts?
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Native Vedda / January 26, 2019
SJ
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U.S. Army Biological Warfare Laboratories (USBWL) secretly created these caterpillar to devastate China and third world countries. This is one of the Neo Liberal conspiracies, part of germ warfare.
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This can only be fought by strategies published Mao’s Holy red book.
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Malage / January 26, 2019
This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2
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Entomology 101 / January 26, 2019
So you think the US first released it in mid-west USA (where the Sena caterpillar first devastated the crops in places like Idaho), and then released the bug to Latin America, Africa, and then to India, and Then to Sri lanka etc?
The level of naivety seems unbelievable.
May be the Tamil diaspora released it?
May be Prabhakarn had stocked it and the eggs got released from an underground cache.
Earlier versions of this bug have been known from time immemorial. This is just a more recent mutation, and such mutations occur all the time.
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SJ / January 26, 2019
E -101
Do not get agitated by a TiC remark and strike in all directions.
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BTW
Mutation is much faster in microbial organisms than in higher animals.
The news here was that FAW was first reported in the US in 2016 and next in Africa in 2017 and in India last year. There seems to be an error about its first occurrence.
My fear was that it could have been a laboratory experiment gone awfully wrong, as much of the research conducted by multinationals are far from benevolent.
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FAO websites have a different story:
Fall Armyworm (FAW), or Spodoptera frugiperda, is an insect that is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. In the absence of natural control or good management, it can cause significant damage to crops. It prefers maize, but can feed on more than 80 additional species of crops, including rice, sorghum, millet, sugarcane, vegetable crops and cotton. FAW was first detected in Central and Western Africa in early 2016 and has quickly spread across virtually all of Sub-Saharan Africa. In July 2018 it was confirmed in India and Yemen. Because of trade and the moth’s strong flying ability, it has the potential to spread further. Farmers will need great support through Integrated Pest Management to sustainability manage FAW in their cropping systems.
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Strangely, little news has hit the headlines about its impact and control in the Americas, where it was known in the 1970s.
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Malage / January 26, 2019
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Foodie the Food Scientist / January 25, 2019
Many people commenting here have tried to dismiss what Prof. Dharmawardana has said, claiming that he is employed by Monsanto. This pathetic.
Nothing can be further from the truth. I was a student of his at Sri Jaywardenapura when he was a Professor and later Vice Chancellor, in the 1970s. He was the first to introduce food science and environmental chemistry courses and diploamas in Sri Lanka. He worked with Mr. Alles and helped the Marketing Dept in setting up its cannary etc., in the 1970s. At the time some of us students went there for course orientation.
Dr. CD left for the Sorbonne University and quite the country in 1975 when students opposed his attempt to make English a compulsory subject for everyone, and conflict with Dr. MP Wijesinghe who roused the students led by Mr. S.B. Dissanayake, now a powerful politician in the xcountry.
Then Dr. CD went to Canada where he worked for the National research Council of the Canadian government, and for the University of Montreal . He has many recent publications on Kidney disease, environmental science and related topics. So he is a recognized world authority on the subject. He was consulted by a committee of the European Parliament and by other international committees.
All you have to do is to Google his name and read the accounts of him given in the Wikipedia, (or the Canadian Whose Who published by the Toronto University) to find out details of his career, research and employment, mostly in theoretical Physics.
But in Sri Lanka he is slandered and it is people like Venerable Rathana and his associates who have become the experts on Agriculture, environment and Kidney Disease. The opinion of the Kidney Specialists in the Kandy Hospital seem to have no traction with Aiyyo Sirisena or Run-nil l Wickremasinghe or MR
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Desperate Sinhalaya / January 25, 2019
I am afraid, yours sounds to be biased to your beloved prof. Let me explain you from my point of view as one who has been alert on the topic for the last few years.
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. I just want to share you me being in Eruope, we also have read a number of publications issued on the topic. Anyways, none of them have revealed anything about the direct relation between GLYPHOSATE and UNKNOWN KD whichthe farming community of srilanka and some other like minded countries have been facing today. Not just Glyphosate, but various kind of compounds and the heavy metals such Cd, Fe, Ph etc being entered to lanken fields through fertilizers, pesticides and biozid/weedicides in a form of agro chemicals, should be interconnected damaging the cortex of those patients/victimized farmers.
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I got to study few of the histograms taken from the diseased patients, there what became clearer was the damages being made on the cortex is unique in UKKD patients. That accroding tot he experts in the fields are connected with probable damage may have been made by complex molecules of above said derivatives.
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Now coming to the two varied kind of reasearchers that have been doing the job on the topic. I believe, proxy-MONSANTO research groups would never agree with their opponnent researchers so long direct relation between GLYPHOSATE and aforementioned renal problems are proved black and white by them. However EU would also facde all the difficulties in getting that banned on EU soils since whole lot of farmers would rise up if ROUND up would be banned in Europe. All in all, let s hope, direction relation between RU and etiology of the mentioned health problems would be clarrifed by the researchers sooner than later.
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Kapala Maranage / January 26, 2019
Is this Bodhi Dhanapala from Toronto speaking, or he is dead and buried with Monsanto and glyphosate?
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Ane anichchan, mehemath horu.
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Edward / January 25, 2019
JInadasa writes Going by the last 50 or 60 years of ‘agricultural research’ in this country, I will gladly accept the housewife’s invention, because it will be based on common sense. Apart from a bit of rice breeding at Batalagoda, what have all the American PhDs inthe department of agricultyre done to develop Sri Lankan agriculture? ….I can go on, but it is almost sickening to talk of research and extension of the department ‘pin padi’ karayas”.
Unfortunately, government scientists cannot come into the fray and answer this type of completely false slandering. They can only speak through the official spokesman of the ministry. So it is fortunate that there are people like Professor Dharmawardana who is outside the government and based in Canada, who can speak authoritatively and without fear in defending scientific agriculture against the self-appointed agricuture experts like Ven. Ratana and the people claiming to do ariculture without “Toxins”.
The great work that has been done by the scientists of the Dept. of Agriculture (DOE), Tea Research Institute, Rubber Research Institute, Coconut Research Institute etc has not been placed before the ignorant lay public. But their cutting edge work is well known internationally and so Sri Lankan agricultural scietists are held in very high regard. When ever pests or diseases appeared in tea, runner or coconut these scientists produced solutions and solved the problems rapidly. They raised the paddy harvest from 1 metric ton per hectare to 5 metric tons per hectare cutting down the time needed, the amount of fertilizer and water needed to produce one kilo of rice.
It was in the 1920s that the DOE began experimenting with hybrid seeds, the idea being to get the good qualities of the many different traditional varieties of rice into easily grown hardy high-yielding seeds.
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Ajith / January 26, 2019
It is sad that every one try to politicise the armywork caterpillar attack on Maize crop which has significant impact on farmers. Even Mahinda Rajapkase used this to get advantage using this attack. We have a problem which happens at some point for some reason. Recently, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu were affected by excess rainfall, water escape from tanks etc following the opening of Iranaimadu by President Sirisena. We saw how politicians of all Sinhala political parties showed their helping face on TV and media. The problem has to researched and solved by Scientists, Government with the cooperation of farmers. International help should be soughted if necessary. Blaming, Lieing, cheating are not the solution.
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Dr Kamal Gammampila MPhil, PhD, DIC / January 26, 2019
I focus on WHO, US and EU accepted agents for chronic kidney disease. They are cadmium and lead. I am one of two academics who re-analysed the MOH/WHO study. Forty percent could be identified by cadmium. I was not given the complete set of lead data. Lead in urine was about 10 percent greater than cadmium. I also re-analysed recently published rice data by two groups Geologist from Peradeniya, and water engineers. They declared rice as safe. They could not be more wrong. The authorities have formulated national policies based on that type of science. They were funded by the National Research Council. This is just one example.
MOH/WHO study cost USD 1 million. It was interfered with by interested parties. Yet, it pointed to heavy metals as the dominant factor. It also identified weedicide and pesticide residues in urine at adverse levels. Had we acted upon the MOH/WHO findings, we would have saved hundreds of thousands. Now we are doing the opposite but in larger numbers.
Whether glyphosate cause kidney disease or not excess ingestion should be prevented. It takes several decades typically to establish the toxicity or identify critical levels. We have no time for that. It should not be not used in Hill Country.
CKD is spreading thick and fast affecting all ages and people of all walks of life. We have no time whatsoever to waste anymore. Presently we are heading towards changing Sri Lanka beyond recognition. That is through our diet. Rice.
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Disgusted / January 26, 2019
It is a sad day when Buddhist monks come forward to kill caterpillars en mass. When this sort of thing happens, we know that we have arrived into the so called “Abudhdhassa Era”, when the nation itself has gone mad, and spiraling down wards into an abyss of moral degradation .
These monks should be stripped of their bogus robes and shown the door and NOT be admitted to temples and kicked out of the Buddhist order. Ratana can disrobe and then do his killing caterpillars and also do the black market selling of cars imported duty fee on public expense and collect a cool 50 million per car, every three or four years, and also engage in all sorts of other iniquities. It is not the caterpillars that we should spray with insecticide, but the whole bunch of crooks in the Diyavanna Parliament.
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Babalathappu / January 26, 2019
Disgusted@
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Ridiculously enough, if you were not born yestrerday, alone to add the kind of comments to this forum.
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You talk about killing ” army fall warm aka SENA dalambuwa”; but you guys should not have been overlooked at the time putting BBS men, how Rajapakshes inflicted riots in Durga City few years ago, not forget, the last had been in Kandy last year, it was all against own minority folks ?
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However the head of BBS- the most known KILLER Monk with aggression potentials of Dammarakkitha nature, is though prisoned, there are lot more supportive elements want the bugger monk be set free and let the RACISM be continued against minority srilankens.
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We the sinhalayas should be ashamed to CALL us majority as BUDDHISTs, since what they practise in the country today is totally the opposite of NON-VIOLENCE வன்முறை இல்லை ප්රචණ්ඩකාරී නොවන බවයි. So called buddhist 99% just follow the other – as no times in the past. No matter if you would be on your way to next contract killing, you as buddhists would do it – wearing PIRITH noole and just exchanging each other budusarnayi -may you be blessed by buddha
ඔබ බුදුන්ගෙන් ආශීර්වාද ලබනු ඇත
நீங்கள் புத்தர் மூலம் ஆசீர்வதிக்கப்படுவீர்கள் that is unfortunately the buddhism has been placed in the country today. I think OUR red robe wearing so called monks should be accoutable for all the mess. apart from that the MEDIA mafia would do anything being close to them. Impunity being exercised by so called budhists monks and buddha- adherents are seen as an another fraudulent business.
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Mallaiyuran / January 27, 2019
Racist Chandre Dharmawardana’s solution for any Sena is Chemical bomb!
Buy the Chemical Bombs and let Chandre Dharmawardana to get the commission on that.
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Bodin / January 28, 2019
As far as Mallaiyuran is concerned, every sinhales is a Racist, while every Tamil is a very enlightened decedent of a historic race. The Tamils lived in Sri lanka first. The Tamils lived and ruled in India long before the Gyptas and the Mohondo_Jaro harappa people. The Tamils ruled in the Middle East in the days of the Assyrians and the babylonians and Hitties. Even those languages are derived from tamil which is the oldest language of the world. Even Brahma speaks tamil. And yet, in Indian airlines they don’t speak Tamil. It is not even a National language. Only in Sri Lanka (the land of the communal Sinhalese) that Tamil is an offiicial National Language. It is only in Sri lanka that the Parliamentary procddedings are available in Tamil, but not in the Lok Shabha. It is only in Sri lanka that you may find that ALL the DIGs and the IGP are tamil in the Capital city of Colombo, including Nadesan (Prabhakaran’s leutinent was an IP in Nggegoda) as was the case even in 1983 when there was a program against the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Why didn’t the Tamil IGPs resign in protest? Why did the Tamil officers in Vel-Vetti-Thurai allow smugglers to bring in contaminated glyhposate from India into the country? Is this a plot organized by Gajendran and Vigneswaran to destroy the Racist Sinhalese so that fair minde dpeiople like Vigneswarna, Gajendran Ponnambalam and Mallaiyuran can thrive and lead this country on the parth of non-racist enlghtened government follwoing the Manu Dharma, banishing the the lower castes to work in the Senaa devasted Maize plantations due to the Sena caterpillar sent these by Vel-vetti-thurai smugglers who bring stuff, and diseases, from South India.
It is the Tamil racists that threw out Muslims from jaffna, and massacred Muslims at Prayer.
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JD / January 27, 2019
Bodhi Dhanapala Looks like PRetty good idiot when I read his article about the Catapillar and Glyphosate Connection. Chandra Dhramwardane is no different when you say can not understand that the earth, I am talking about another article you wrtoe ridiculing some Sri lankan Scientists, is a Flat surface and follows first order that is a first order Regression equation can explain the Earth surface. Ask thise who wrote simulation programs for depicting the earth surface on a computer screen. I suspect that Dr PEthiagoda’s claim that Caterpillar may have come from India. but the question is then why we do not have evry pest from India in Srilanka. Because of thatI suspect it may be introduced by some one. JUST NOTICE BRAZIL’S AGRICULTURAL MINISTER SAID THEY WANT MORE TRADE CONNECTIONS WITH EUROPE AND ASIA. THE DAY AFTER ONE OF THEIR BIG DAMS EXPLOSED AND KILLED 300 PEOPLE Brazil is a oil rich country now is struggling, it was a member of BRICS too.
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Godwin / January 27, 2019
Read Dhanapa’s article
He correctly points out that the Senaa epidemic is an unexpected consequence of the banning of glyphosate put in place by Venerable Ratana just after Sirisena became President. No legally available glyphosate means people begin to use smuggled glyphosate bags, brought from India and contaminated with the caterpillar. Similarly, the SEMA people imported “organic fertilizer” (decomposed leaves which include indian corn stalks -Maize) containing a lot of Indian caterpillar eggs. These were used by Maize cultivators in Sri Lanka because they are big users of the herbicide (unlike paddy farmers). So the Indian caterpillar found its favoured habitat in Sri Lanka through smuggled glyphosate and legally imported “organic fertilzer” from India.
Now Ven. Ratana wants to spray the whole place with concentrated Neem based “natural” insecticide. This is a very dangerous substance which kills not only Sena caterpillar, but also butterfly caterpillar, bees, earthworms, helpful microbes and moths. It is also toxic to humans and household animals. Don’t let this monk cause further havoc, after having already destroyed local agriculture.
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JD / January 27, 2019
Godwin: Who is SEMA. OK they imported but how come Glyphosate will control or eliminate it ?.
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Godwin / January 28, 2019
Glyphosate is of no use here. It is a simple herbicide which acts ONLY on vegetable cells that have green stuff (chlorophyll) in them. They have no effect on caterpillars or even amoebas (contrary to the views of many people who are just frightened by anything chemical).
So it will not do anything for the Senaa caterpillar. Farmers have to simply burn the areas affected, and then begin the usual way. as in a new Chena. But the government should make glyphosate LEGAL so that the Maize farmer can get the legal stuff and not Indian imports. Maize farmers use 10 times as much as the paddy farmer and don’t get CKDu in spite of it, showing that it is quite safe.
In the US they grow corn even though the army worm has been there for almost a decade. Good farm management, good weeding, and when needed using an insecticide which is very specific to the Sena caterpillar, but does not hit other organisms, is the way out. Corn can be replaced by another crop the following year, and such crop rotation is practiced in US farms where a three-crop rotation (e.g., corn, soya, alfa-alfa) is practiced, together with, of course optimal use of insecticides, herbicides and fertilizer. There is NO NEED to go for GMO corn, and if we wish to go that way, Sri Lankan scientists can easily make their own GMO corn without buying it from foreign companies. With modern CRISPAR technology for gene splicing, this is not big deal. But please keep Ven. Ratana and other Kattadiyas from the Rajarata University out of it.
(SEMA is the outfit founded by Ven. Ratana and it was housed in the Presidential secretariat, pushed to ban glyphosate, and spent money trying to get farmers to buy their Bio-Fertilizers and Need insecticides, to create a nation free of Toxins in three years. The three years are up, the country has lost over 60 billion, and the President has disbanded it).
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Vimala G / January 28, 2019
If JD had read the article he/she would have found what SEMA is:
The article says:
SEMA (“Strategic Enterprise Management Agency”) created by powerful political monks and organs of the Presidential secretariat.
Is it possible that people just write comments without actually reading the articles, based purely on their own strongly held beliefs?
That may explain why many commentators merely accuse each other of racism or of being paid foreign agents or what ever, instead of discussing the contents of the article.
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JD / January 27, 2019
There is an american company which conducts and establish Trade Exhibition. I do not know whether Sri lankan SEMA will do the same. I am pretty sure, they will take over Sri lankan businesses popularizing the business. Ultimately foreigners hav an enitity t claom profits from all the businesses. Locals won’t be able to contest it. That is typical Neo-liberal agenda. they destroy the complete machinery. so the locals can not question. Country become a Banana Republic. Puppet politicians will run the govt. Anyone who agrees to their fortae will become the king. We have many who are willing to do that.
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