It was only in 2007-08 that the price of rice began to increase sharply. In 2007 it increased by 42%. Between April 2007 and April 2008 the price almost doubled. The reasons are many. But it is certainly not because the rapacious traders in Colombo tried to fleece the consumers. They may want to. But they do not have that kind of market power.

The basic reason for the price increase is a shortfall in supply relative to an increase in demand. In the recent past the country's annual per capita consumption of rice has been about 100kg and that of wheat about 35 to 40kg. Given these eating habits, annually we need about 2.0 million metric tons of rice and around 0.8m mt of wheat. In the past ten to fifteen years we have been fairly close to self-sufficiency in rice. But it is a very fine balance. In most years we hover around 95% to 98% self-sufficiency. That means any serious disturbance on the demand or supply side can upset the market. That is what happened in 2007-08.

On the demand side as the price of bread and other wheat products increased people switched to rice. Between 2006 and 2007 wheat imports dropped by as much as 21% from 1.2m mt to 0.95m mt. On the supply side there was a shortfall in rice. The net area harvested shrunk by about 12% from 808,000 ha in 2006 to 713,000 ha in 2007. Although the paddy yield per hectare increased by about 6% the net outcome was a loss of about 150,000 mt tons (8% of annual requirement) of rice. In 2006, cushioned by a good harvest, government imported very little rice. In 2007 also imports were only 88,000 metric tons (60% of the crop loss). Thus stocks were low at the beginning of this year. When the floods adversely affected the 2007/08 Maha crop in some areas the supply situation worsened.

The government failed to anticipate the looming shortage. By the time it decided to import rice some countries such as India, China, Vietnam and Cambodia had restricted export of rice. The world price of rice also had risen sharply by about 140% between January and April this year.
The supply shortfall was compounded by a rise in the cost of production. Rising energy prices made fertilizer, agro-chemicals, milling and transport more expensive. In 2007 fertilizer use in paddy dropped by 8.4% and the wages for unskilled paddy workers went up by about 15%.
Certainly in a country where about 25% live below the official poverty line the sharp increase in price was a severe imposition on the poor. But there was no scarcity of rice in the market before the government imposed price control. The solution should have been to import rice to make up for the shortfall and supply subsidized rice to the poor using the food stamp scheme. Pinning the blame on rice traders was totally misleading. All traders have to carry stocks to do business. Moreover, if they do not buy cheap when rice is plentiful and sell when rice is scarce farmers will get yet lower prices during harvest time and consumers will have to pay even higher prices when supplies are low.

There are allegations that the two big rice millers with ties to the government manipulate the market. It is not exactly clear how they do it because they certainly do not have a monopoly of milling. Moreover, millers also buy cheap and sell dear having a beneficial impact on the producers and consumers. In any event it is left to President Rajapakse who allocates cabinet portfolios to ensure that there is no conflict of interest.

It is likely that the era of cheap rice is over. That does not mean that the price of rice will remain as high as it is today. Globally farmers will respond to price increases and produce more to bring down the price to a more affordable level. The government must abolish price control and help our farmers secure a good price so that they too can produce more.

There is scope for increasing the productivity in Sri Lanka's rice sector. In the first “Green Revolution” Sri Lanka's national average paddy yield doubled in fifteen years from about 1,500kg/ha around 1965 to about 3,000kg/ha around 1980. In the following twenty five years the yield increased more slowly by about one-third to reach 4,000kg/ha by the mid 2000s. Sri Lanka's rice yields are one-third less than that of Vietnam and only about half of that of South Korea. We need a second Green Revolution for rice to stabilize prices in the long run and ensure food security.

Samahan is an Authentic Herbal Medicine Says Professor Goonaratna

“As Chairman, State Pharmaceutical Corporation, I had a duty and a responsibility to check allegation that “Samahan” has added Western drugs. Fortunately by 1997 we had established testing facilities at our corporation and I had Samahan samples collected from the market for testing. I assure you, our testing proved Samahan did not have any chemicals or Western drugs in them. It is an authentic product.” said Professor Colvin Goonaratna, former Professor of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Colombo and presently the Director HIV/AIDS Programme (World Bank Project) and the Registrar, Ceylon Medical College Council, addressing a forum of medical professionals at the Peradeniya Medical School Alumni Association (PeMSAA) annual general meeting chaired by Dr. Thilak Jayalath, Consultant Physician and Senior Lecturer in Medicine at the Peradeniya Medical Faculty and President of PeMSAA.

Prof. Upali Illangasekera, Professor in Medicine at the University of Peradeniya opened the panel discussion “Herbal Health Supplements and Public Health”. Prof Goonaratne moderated the discussion and Professor Tuley De Silva, former Professor of Chemistry & Dean, Faculty of Applied Science, Jayawardnepura University and former Director of the Bandaranaike Memorial Ayurvedic Research Institute and present President of the Pharmaceutical Society of SL along with Dr. Lalith Chandradasa, Head, Community Health Projects of Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement and Director, GFATM Project were panelists. The sessions were held at the Royal Mall in Kandy on Sunday 20th January.

Professor Tuley de Silva stressed that herbal health supplements like Samahan are now an accepted product category in the developed world and also in some countries in the developing world like India and Malaysia. The EU countries, Canada and the USA have all formulated their own regulations for approving them for local markets. Herbal health supplements are not under prescription as they are not drugs and don't claim any cures for illnesses, explained Prof Tuley de Silva. They only claim a 'supportive' role like strengthening immunity. Nevertheless the drug regularity authorities in those countries have very stringent regulations that take into account the production process of all herbal health care products to assure quality and safety. Explaining further, Prof Tuley de Silva said herbal health supplements can not contain any chemical additive and should be 100% natural. Therefore no preservatives are added to herbal health care products and their shelf life has to be clearly mentioned after careful testing. Samahan it was said, satisfied all these very strict regulations in getting approval to be marketed in Malaysia, India and the USA, he added.

Explaining the constraints of a General Medical Practitioner in accommodating herbal health supplements, Dr. Lalith Chandradasa said, in our society, the people have a very long tradition of using herbal preparations as medicinal curatives. Some like Coriander with a pinch of Ginger and “Pas Panguwa” a mixture of five herbs are popular traditional formulations for cold and cold-related ailments. They have a good impact on common cold, fatigue and cold related symptoms and have earned a fair trust among people. In fact, there are instances where patients continue with Coriander water or brewed “Pas panguwa” even when they are under Western medication. Most such commonly used herbs are time tested medicinal herbs in Ayurveda. Therefore, a GP need not be anti herbal health supplements, if the producer is a reputed manufacturer, was Dr. Chandradasa's conclusion. “I have nothing against Samahan now. It has been proved a complete natural product.” he said, after explaining his doubts about some herbal health supplements that are not from reputed manufacturers.

Winding off the discussion, Professor Goonaratna said even the WHO accepts herbal health supplements with standards laid down. “It is not only the developed world, we too have a responsibility towards herbal health supplements. We need to contribute through research and tests. Anyone can clear doubts by testing them. That's what I did with Samahan. We can contribute by making it a science-based health supplementary sector that could service the needs of our people.” He concluded.

This is my humble tribute to Professor Channa Ratnatunga, Senior Professor of Surgery of the University of Peradeniya who retired in January 2008 after a most illustrious career spanning almost thirty years.

Professor Ratnatunga is a brilliant academic, a dedicated teacher, a colossus in the field of surgery but most of all a wonderful human being.

I believe that, in this day and age of corruption and greed, where even the standards of medical men have sunk to an all time low, we need to honour such unique personalities and hope that at least a few would aspire to emulate them.

A Tribute
To a Jeevaka of our times
With so pleasant a demeanor, mirroring the saint within
Kind words and deeds that endlessly spring
Healing hands making magic, has he a power divine?
A Teacher par excellence,
Imparting knowledge, instilling moral values,
In a manner that would make Hippocrates proud
Gracious and refined
A better role model one could never find
Truly one of a kind,
A member of a vanishing tribe?
(Not so, the genes have passed on!)
Dear Professor,
May you continue to serve humanity
Illuminating the noblest of spheres
For many more years to come

Dr Malini Epa
University Medical Officer
University of Peradeniya