Tuesday 16th March, 2021
The government is in the same predicament as an ant struggling to stay afloat in a jar of sugar syrup. The Opposition is in overdrive, inveighing against the SLPP for a sugar import racket, which has come to be dubbed the sugar scam. A controversial government decision to reduce import duty on sugar for the benefit of one of its cronies is believed to have caused a loss of about Rs. 15 billion to the state coffers. Ruling party politicians and some public officials loyal to them have denied any wrongdoing, but the public does not believe anything until it is officially denied.
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This is a continuation of the previous article written by me, published in
The Island on 19 Jan 2021. (Fall Armyworm: Strategies for Effective Management). I also wrote about this pest in 2019 and I have emphasised the following: The Fall armyworm – FAW (Spodoptera frugiperda known as sena caterpillar) female is a strong flier capable of flying more than 100 KMs per day, nearly 500Km of flying during lifetime, depositing 1500 eggs an average. The other factors that are centered on FAW are: FAW consumes many different crops but prefers Maize; also it spreads quickly across large geographical areas, and can persist throughout the year.
(Email: parajayasinghe@gmail.com)
The true nature and potential of Bio Energy in Sri Lanka is unique. It has the advantage of a sustainable use of biomass, as a renewable resource for energy, including power generation. It is incorrect to surmise that Sri Lanka is too small with a dearth of lands for plantations, or will be confronted with deforestation; be saddled with a high cost of maintaining of energy plantations; or the undesirability of monoculture plantations. Sri Lanka is fortunate that it has the options available in harnessing its bio energy without any detrimental effects. Here we have to salute the pioneering work of late Vidya Jothi Dr Ray Wijewardene and Eng P G Joseph. They who tirelessly showed the way over the past several decades to create the awareness that Sri Lanka is uniquely placed to generate sustainable renewable bio energy, using sustainably grown, short rotation coppicing tree species such as Gliricidia Sepium, with multiple benefits spanning many sectors