Information from the economic centres has revealed that about 365 tons of vegetables and fruits, produced by the Rajarata farmers are discarded as waste at Thambuththegama. The Government as well as the private sector is now searching for solutions to minimize the wastage.

The Thambuththegama Economic Center was opened in 2005 due to the untold miseries faced by the Mahaweli farmers at the Dambulla Economic Center. It was managed by the Trade and Marketing Development Ministry.

There were instances where the farmers who took their vegetables to Dambulla, had to sell their produce for such low prices, that they were unable to even cover their transport costs. The Thambuththegama Center in the Mahaweli H Zone is an alternative which enables the farmers to acquire some relief from this tragic destiny.

The officer in charge of this centre, H. M. Thushara, said as a result of the transport costs decreasing to a large extent and the reduction of the wastage while transporting and also maintaining steady prices similar to those at Dambulla, the supply of vegetables to the Thambuththegama Center has increased greatly.

Around 12,000 vehicles enter the center, in order to do business. In the beginning, an amount close to 30,000kg of agri-produce was handled during a day of business and now that has gone up to about 700, 000 presently.

However, the centre points out that, during every step of transport, preparation and packaging, vegetables are subject to bruising and spoilage and as a result the amount that goes to waste has also increased greatly. Manager, Mr. H.M. Thushara says, that as they do not have any guidance regarding the choice of crops which are in demand, it is a very serious problem for the farmers. He also said “During the last harvesting season, the price of a kilo of marrows rose to Rs. 35. The farmers cultivated a large amount of marrows during the next season. The result was that, the price of a kilo dropped to, as low as Rs 4 and 5 so much so, that the marrows could not be sold. They do not have any guidance. They come to us to inquire about pesticides when their crops become disease ridden, as they have no one to ask. That does not concern us. Finally they buy whatever pesticides the shops recommend.”

Vendors say that, many of the farmers, do not have the proper knowledge, attitude or a system in order to reduce the amount of wastage until they bring the produce to the market.

Initially, the private sector introduced plastic boxes as a solution for this problem. The Post-Harvest Technology Institute in Anuradhapura, also commenced distribution of plastic boxes at a concessionary rate as a special project. However, instances can be seen where, varieties of vegetables which can get bruised have been packed into gunny bags and loaded onto lorries and people sleep on them during transportation.

Mr. Thushara is of the opinion that, when the private sector supplied boxes for packaging, the quality stocks went to them and the leftovers reached his center.

The centre for collecting agro-produce which is maintained by the Cargills organization at Thambuththegama, pack their vegetables according to the highest standards and give a higher price than the Economic Center. They train the farmers to maintain a high standard from harvesting until they take charge of the produce. They collect private data and data regarding their cultivations from the farmers.

Lakshman Wakishta, the Manager, told us that the objective of their organization is to purchase agro produce direct from the farmers, sans a middleman, at higher prices. The produce that is purchased is distributed among the Cargills Supermarkets.

However, once again the vendors say that, once the better produce has been selected by the Cargills centre and purchased, the rest reaches the Economic center once more.

What happens finally is that the garbage dump at the economic centre keeps rising daily. Now, the Government sector is searching for solutions, for the volume of waste amounting to 30 tons which is collected during a month.

The Chairman of the Post-Harvest Technology Institute, Attorney, H.M. Abeyratne says they are hoping to dry their refuse and make them into blocks for animal feed. The farmers in the Thambuththegama area, take a small amount of this to their pig-pens.

The management of the Economic Center is hoping to reduce the wastage and thereby reduce the collection of garbage through the Department of Agrarian Services and to make use of the waste for some service.

However the first step towards, reducing wastage is to provide the farmers with advice and guidance on crops that are in demand and those which do not go to waste. Nevertheless, the officers of the Economic Center declare that there is no result from this effort, because there are no statistics for any season regarding the cultivable lands of the farmers and the volume that reaches the market and as there is no planning.

As the, “Ministerial Sub-Committee on Food Protection and Cost of Living” via the intervention of the President’s Secretariat office, is directing their attention towards this problem, Manager, Mr. H.M. Thushara says that he intends to submit his issues and problems as well.

Whatever happens, it is the heap of garbage at the Economic Center that keeps increasing. The Government sector is now, searching for solutions for the thirty tons of waste that collects at the Center, monthly.

However, under these circumstances, no satisfactory solution has been found or planned for this wastage and the garbage that remains. There is practicality to a certain extent, visible in the system that the Cargills organisation commenced. Farmers declare their opinions on this, as follows.

“We can call and find out the price before we harvest the vegetables. When we bring them, they are methodically packed into boxes and we are given the money. If the price of a kilo is thirty rupees at the Economic Center, here, we get around 34 or 35. More often than not it is advantageous to us,” said, Mr. H. M. Subharatne, who supplies winged beans to the Cargills Center from Thalakolawewa.

Mr. D.M.S. Dissanayake of Thambuththegama states thus; “From this we can get to know what we should or should not cultivate. We learnt how to work methodically. There is no loss to us. It is not necessary to throw away vegetables, either.”