"Zero Budget" agriculture introduced to the rehabilitated
"Zero Budget" agriculture introduced to the rehabilitated at the Kandakadu Farm
72 awarded certificates after completion of a course as trainers
October 30, 2010, 7:06 pm
A ceremony was held recently at the Kandakadu Farm, Polonnaruwa when 72 rehabilited persons were given certificates for their competency to train others in Sustainable "Zero Budget" Agricultural Practices.
The event was held under the auspices of the Bureau of the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation, the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture Research and Development (SARD), the Bio Energy Association of Sri Lanka and the Mahathma Gandhi Centre.
Mr Clive Jachnik of the International Organisation of Migration was also present at the ceremony.
According to the Bureau of the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation, in July this year, there were 12,500 rehabilitated LTTE members were living in camps under army security in many parts of the Polonnaruwa District and North of Sri Lanka. Of them 2,500 were women.
They were all implicated in different types of offences. After screening and rehabilitation a large number have been released. Sixty six percent of them want to undergo training in agriculture. At the request of the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation and the Mahatma Gandhi Centre, the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture Research and Development (SARD) undertook the task of training them in the Kandakadu Farm, Polonnaruwa.
The Army Farm covering 5,000 acres has been used for the rehabilitation programme. SARD officers have trained 160 persons in different aspects of Sustainable Agricultural practices. This training will be invaluable in the next main rainy season (Maha 2010/11).
The reintegration of these persons will be further monitored by the supporting organizations and plans are being made to engage financial institutions to come up with proposals for furnishing micro-credit.
The training programme covered the following areas:-
* Making "A" frames, blocking out farmlands, land development.
* Soil and water conservation measures
* Seed and seedling nurseries and crop planting beds.
*Soil fertility improvement through in situ organic matter management/ composting, organic liquid fertilizer, alley cropping
*Crop protection using leaf extracts and crop combination/ mixed farming / polyculture etc.
* Propagation and integration of Gliricidia sepium in farming system
The objectives of the training
The main objective of this Sustainable Agriculture programme is for the rehabilited persons to be trained in cultivation which does not involve external inputs in their farming, protect the farm environment, water and soil from degradation and pollution, and enhance biodiversity in their farms. This will enable them to obtain a sustainable crop production for the family and community when they return to their villages.
Sunday Island, 31 October 2010