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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001056 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR ANN RYAN, EEB/TPP/MTAA/ABT; MARISA PLOWDEN, 
OFFICE OF THE COUNSELOR; ROBERT HAGEN AND JOHN TUMINARO, IO. 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR ECON IO AID CE
SUBJECT: FOOD SECURITY IN SRI LANKA: A "GROWING" PROBLEM 
 
REF: A. STATE 107298 
     ¶B. GROUT - RENZULLI EMAIL 11/10/09 
     ¶C. COLOMBO 878 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Sri Lanka continues to focus attention on 
food security and is taking some actions to increase 
production on the island.  Post-harvest losses remain a 
particular problem.  The government is encouraging farmers to 
modernize production and transport techniques, but is 
hindered by poor communication networks, a lack of 
coordination, corruption, and other issues.  Despite some 
improvements, the overall agricultural policy in the country 
remains counter-productive and protectionist, something 
unlikely to change in the near-term.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) ECONOFF met with Ms. Janaki Kuruppu, who is Director 
of the President's Office and the Chair of Sri Lanka's 
inter-ministerial working group on food security, to deliver 
Ref A points and discuss the government's thoughts on food 
security.  Kuruppu expressed her disappointment with not 
being informed of the location change for the food security 
meeting held at UNGA since she had changed her return flight 
to Sri Lanka in order to participate.  She did offer to share 
the Secretary's food security goals with other members of the 
working group and to request that members consider food 
security meetings during official travel to Washington (Ref 
B).  The country was hard-hit by the global food crisis in 
summer 2008 when a number of its important trading partners 
for basic foodstuffs cut off their exports to the island. 
Food shortages and price inflation were rampant, and the GSL 
is looking at ways to ensure its people are better insulated 
against such swings. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Kuruppu mentioned that she had just met with Mr. Ken 
Marsh of the Woodstock Institute for Science in Service to 
Humanity (www.wissh.org), an NGO trying to gain support for 
an international initiative to focus on post-harvest losses. 
According to Marsh, post-harvest agricultural losses range 
from 10 to 60 percent globally and Kuruppu noted that Sri 
Lanka loses roughly 40 percent of its post-harvest produce 
due to poor transportation and storage methods.  Kuruppu 
emphasized that Sri Lanka actually produces enough to feed 
itself but is doing poorly at protecting it produce from 
spoilage and loss, costing the country $120 million annually. 
 Efforts are underway to encourage farmers and transporters 
to utilize new storage and transport techniques to limit 
loss, but Kuruppu noted that many are slow to adapt.  She 
also complained that "corrupt middle men" are hindering 
progress.  She gave an example where police closed a store 
selling new containers at the bidding of their competitors, 
traditional packaging interests. 
 
¶4. (U) Kuruppu noted that the working group plans to include 
funds in the 2010 budget for the development of a system to 
share information on all aspects of agriculture including 
production, pricing, available stocks and pest/disease 
eradication for farmers.  (NOTE: The budget will not be 
presented before the parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka, 
expected in April 2010.  The GSL is planning to operate under 
a continuing resolution-type funding program until then.  END 
NOTE.)  President Rajapaksa, currently the Chairman of the 
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) 
recently urged SAARC countries to create a "buffer stock" 
that could be distributed among its members.  His proposal 
was accepted, however the modalities of such a program remain 
vague. 
 
¶5. (U) Many government agencies handle food security issues 
in Sri Lanka (Ref C) making coordination and cooperation 
difficult and causing additional problems.  For example, 
Kuruppu complained about a recent Agriculture Ministry 
decision to ban cows from drinking water "reserved" for 
 
COLOMBO 00001056  002.3 OF 002 
 
 
irrigation which led to a drop in milk production.  (NOTE: 
Increasing milk production is a key GSL food security goal. 
END NOTE.)  During last year's crisis, consumers faced a 
severe shortage of milk powder imported from Australia (which 
was enjoying nearly a 90 percent market share at the time, 
according to Kuruppu).  Prices increased as much as 500 
percent and consumers could no longer afford milk powder, 
affecting the nutritional needs of especially vulnerable 
populations like nursing mothers and young children.  There 
are, Kuruppu noted, many similar examples of rampant price 
jumps and is the reason for the GSL's attempts at addressing 
the problem. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Unfortunately, in its quest to increase domestic 
food production, Sri Lanka is protecting uncompetitive 
domestic markets from foreign imports, causing consumers to 
pay more for less.  Kuruppu argued that the country is not a 
prohibitive or closed economy for agricultural imports -- 
despite the often 100 plus percent tariffs imposed on certain 
imported food items and the burdensome regulatory scheme 
regulating food imports -- but rather that it is attempting 
to strike a balance between imports and domestic production 
incentives.  She then pointed to a recent government decision 
to reduce taxes on 13 essential items such as lentils, dhal, 
onions and other commodities which is expected to save the 
average Sri Lankan consumer "2000 Rupees (roughly $18) a 
month."  (NOTE: This is widely considered to be an election 
year ploy rather than having any relation to the food 
security issue.  END NOTE.) 
 
¶7. (SBU) COMMENT: Food production in Sri Lanka has increased 
marginally, and is expected to continue with the 
post-conflict North and East reopening.  However, Sri Lanka's 
restrictive land policy does not permit free transfer of 
lands, and no serious effort is under consideration to open 
up arable lands for large-scale farming.  Clear policies, 
land issues, and a framework to attract greater private 
sector participation in agriculture is lacking and private 
companies are reluctant to invest in R&D in the absence of 
such an environment.  Without fundamental changes to its 
overall agricultural policies, Sri Lanka's food security is 
unlikely to dramatically improve.  END COMMENT. 
FOWLER