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Micro irrigation tech can help raise agri-yields: Experts
View(s):By Kasun Warakapitiya
Moves by the Israeli Government to share agricultural expertise in Sri Lanka through a proposed centre for excellence in the transfer of agricultural technology have been welcomed by local experts.
The use of micro-irrigation techniques, which have already been used in limited ways, is one of the key attractions that the experts believed could be used in agricultural lands in arid areas.
With regular drought conditions experienced, an expansion of their technology has been seen as one of the solutions to the issue.
Peradeniya University agriculture professor Buddhi Marambe told the Sunday Times that cultivation of vegetables, fruit, and field crops that are grown with spacing can be effectively cultivated using microirrigation techniques such as drip irrigation.
Date palm cultivation at one of the centres
He said microirrigation methods can be used for agricultural crops apart from paddy.
“Microirrigation methods increase water productivity and would increase the yield of crops as exact amounts of water and fertigation can be administered directly to plants,” he said.
“Though there is a tendency for more farmers to use new technology in Sri Lanka, some are reluctant to shift from traditional methods. Consequently, awareness of the technology and its advantages, as well as the know-how, should be made available to farmers to improve agricultural productivity as well as farmer profits,’’ he said.
He said the Government should make the technology easily accessible and affordable to the farmers through subsidies as well as obtaining financial assistance from foreign institutes if necessary.
Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute (HARTI) Senior Research Officer Duminda Priyadharshana told the Sunday Times that obtaining Israel technology would help with water conservation.
“These days farmers are braving a drought; earlier we had rains throughout the year, but today there would be heavy rains here and there, which would cause the irrigation tanks to overflow, but in a few months droughts will be experienced again,” he said.
He pointed out that the use of microirrigation methods would help conserve water.
Mr. Priyadharshana said clean water needs to be preserved with the increasing demand. Therefore, Israeli technology could be valuable in the conservation of water.
“Apart from that, farmers can increase yields, reduce crop damage, safeguard crops from pests, reduce the cost of production, and reduce environmental damage as direct fertigation done through drip systems,” he added.
“We do not have the resources to invent technology; we don’t have investment for that. Therefore, we need to use the opportunity to obtain knowledge and technology and develop agricultural methods,” he said.
T. B. Sarath, secretary of the All Island Farmers’ Federation, said they would welcome the use of drip irrigation technology as it would allow them to control the water supply as well as fertigation.
He said they are aware that the microirrigation technology would aid in increasing yield on farms in arid and semi-arid conditions.
“Technology is expensive. Our concern is affordability. The Government should aid farmers financially. There are some agricultural projects done with World Bank aid; if the Government could set up such a system, the farmers would be able to afford such technology,” he said.
A group of journalists from Sri Lanka was recently on a guided tour to the Centre of Excellence in Semi-Arid Horticulture in Gignow, some 150 kilometres from New Delhi. Run with the help of Israeli expertise, it aims to generate knowledge, demonstrate best practices, and provide knowledge to farmers through training experts, webinars, training programmes, and residential workshops.
The Sunday Times witnessed how the centre had made use of microirrigation methods, including drip and sprinkler irrigation. Apart from that, the centre used naturally ventilated poly net houses and insect-proof net houses, as well as a hi-tech net house that can protect seedlings from outside weather conditions.
The Israeli-trained Indian experts explained that farmers hand over the seeds they get to the centre.
The Sunday Times saw how sprinkler irrigation systems are used to water the plants according to a timer, where water stored in the tanks is pumped via pipelines and mixed with a water-soluble fertiliser and directly sprinkled into germinated seedlings via a sprinkler system, as well as drip into the plants grown in open fields.
Israeli Ambassador Naor Gilon, accredited to both India and Sri Lanka, presented an overview of the proposed centre in Sri Lanka during the visit. The focus is on facilitating technology transfer between governments.
Mr. Gilon expressed Israel’s intention to establish the first such centre in Sri Lanka within a year, based on whether a consensus is reached with the Sri Lankan Government.
He said Israel is prepared to accommodate Sri Lanka’s preferences regarding the location and specific domain of expertise needed for the centre. Once Sri Lanka makes these decisions, Israel is prepared to proceed.
Mr. Gilon highlighted Israel’s substantial contributions across various sectors, including horticulture, fruit cultivation, date palms, and citrus crops, as well as advanced technologies in honey production and dairy farming.
Israel is amenable to forging either bilateral or trilateral partnerships with Sri Lanka for setting up centres of excellence, he said.
The embassy indicated a willingness to explore financial cooperation facilitated through India, considering Sri Lanka’s economic circumstances. They further indicated that alternative avenues exist for establishing the centre directly between Sri Lanka and Israel, contingent upon Sri Lanka’s resource availability, financial support from India, or funding from international organisations.
| Israeli foreign minister at embassy talks The Sunday Times last week reported that the last discussion was held at the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi regarding the finalisation of the establishment of a centre for excellence in May. The report said that the meeting was attended by Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry. | |
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