@prefix vivo: . @prefix edm: . @prefix ns0: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix skos: . vivo:departmentOrSchool "Arts, Faculty of"@en, "Anthropology, Department of"@en ; edm:dataProvider "DSpace"@en ; ns0:degreeCampus "UBCV"@en ; dcterms:creator "Lebbe, M.U. Ishak"@en ; dcterms:issued "2010-03-17T18:50:41Z"@en, "1979"@en ; vivo:relatedDegree "Master of Arts - MA"@en ; ns0:degreeGrantor "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:description "A heavy dependence on primary exports is an important colonial legacy of many underdeveloped countries of the world today. In the study of these primary export economies two sectors have generally been identified - one, referred to as the 'modern' sector, producing for the world market such crops as coffee, sugar, tea, rubber, coconut, palm-oil etc. and extracting non-renewable resources such as petroleum, tin, timber etc. and the other, referred to as the 'traditional' sector, producing food crops for home consumption or the local market. The practice of distinguishing two analytical categories along the above sectoral lines is known as the 'dualistic' approach. The present work is an attempt at an evaluation of the dualistic approach in the context of Sri Lanka. The main contention of the thesis Is- that the dualistic approach has little explanatory power with regards to developments in the country's economy during the British period and even less in the post-independence period. The above contention is based on two major criticisms of the dualistic approach. One is directed at the tendency among those using the dualistic approach to view the Sri Lankan economy as having two distinct sectors - one 'modern' consisting of the plantations and the other 'traditional' consisting of peasant agriculture - existing independently of each other. This is criticized on the basis that it neglects the overlaps and the interactions between sectors. The other criticism is that the dualistic approach, lacks a holistic and historical perspective. It is contended that, viewed from a holistic and historical point of view the 'modern sector' has had a pervasive influence on the whole of the economy and society of the country. This contention is based on the observation that the 'modern sector' or the plantations, from the time of its rise in the 1840s until recent times, prevailed as the dominant mode of production in the country. In other words, the country's political economy which included the state, bureaucratic, and legal apparatus and other institutional infrastructure on the one hand and material resources, and physical infrastructure on the other - was dominated by the modern sector. In view of this dominant influence it is misleading to identify a 'peasant sector' as: having existed free of influence from the 'modern sector'. The time period covered by the thesis ranges from the 1840s, i.e. the time of the advent of the plantations, to the present. The sources of data are the published primary and secondary materials. The chapters are arranged as follows: Chapter 1 is divided into two sections. The first section introduces the dualistic approach, as developed by J.H. Boeke and others with, reference to the economies of South. Asia. The second section presents an overview of the applications of the dualistic model to Sri Lanka and criticism of it, through an analysis of the organization of agriculture in the country. The criticism in this section focuses on one of the two shortcomings of the dualistic model noted earlier, namely the neglect of the overlaps and interactions between sectors. The other criticism of the dualistic model, namely the need for a holistic and historical perspective, is the subject of the remaining three chapters. Chapter 2 discusses the historical circumstances and the manner in which the factors of production - investors and capital, labour, and land - were brought together, and the rate and extent of growth of coffee, tea, rubber, and coconut, the major plantation crops, which went to form the plantations as the dominant phenomenon in the country during the British period. With this historical background, Chapter 3 attempts to specify the nature of the influence of plantations during the British period. The plantations are viewed as the dominant mode of production in the country during this period. Their dominant influence is discussed in the way it effected the productive process in agriculture - specifically the monetization and commercialization of agriculture, changes relating to the institutions of labour and land - and the social structure. Chapter 4 takes a closer look at the state of 'peasant' (or domestic) agriculture during the British period as well as in the post-independence period. In the first section, which relates to the British period, the main theme is that peasant agriculture was in a state of relative neglect due to the dominant and favoured position of the plantations, and hence experienced little growth. The theme of the second section, which relates to the post-independence period, is that, under changed political and economic circumstances, peasant agriculture has undergone rapid change and growth. The nature of this change is such that the 'peasant sector' is coming to resemble, more and more, a 'modern sector'. The nature of the growth is such that a small-farmer domestic agriculture is emerging as the major component of the Sri Lankan economy."@en ; edm:aggregatedCHO "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/22006?expand=metadata"@en ; skos:note "PLANTATIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SRI LANKAN ECONOMY AN EVALUATION OF THE DUAL ECONOMY APPROACH by M.U. I Ishak Lebbe A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS i n THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of Anthropology and Sociology) We accept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming to the r e q u i r e d standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA August, 1979 © M.U. Ishak Lebbe, 1979 In presenting th i s thesis in par t i a l fu l f i lment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the Univers ity of B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree that the Library shal l make i t f ree ly avai lable for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of th i s thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representatives. It i s understood that copying or publ icat ion of th i s thesis for f inanc ia l gain shal l not be allowed without my written permission. Department The Univers ity of B r i t i s h Columbia 2075 Wesbrook Place Vancouver, Canada V6T 1W5 E-6 B P 75-5 1 1 E i ABSTRACT A heavy dependence on primary exports i s an important c o l o n i a l legacy of many underdeveloped countries of the world today. In the study of these primary export economies two sect o r s have g e n e r a l l y been i d e n t i f i e d - one, r e f e r r e d to as the 'modern' s e c t o r , producing f o r the world market such crops as c o f f e e , sugar, tea, rubber, coconut, p a l m - o i l e t c . and e x t r a c t i n g non-renewable resources such as petroleum, t i n , timber etc. and the other, r e f e r r e d to as the ' t r a d i t i o n a l ' s e c t o r , producing food crops f o r home consumption or the l o c a l market. The p r a c t i c e of d i s t i n g u i s h i n g two a n a l y t i c a l categories along the above s e c t o r a l l i n e s i s knoxra as the ' d u a l i s t i c ' approach. The present work i s an attempt at an e v a l u a t i o n of the d u a l i s t i c approach i n the context of S r i Lanka. The main contention of the t h e s i s Is- that the d u a l i s t i c approach has l i t t l e explanatory power w i t h regards to developments i n the country's economy during the B r i t i s h p e r i o d and even l e s s i n the post-independence p e r i o d . The above contention i s based on two major c r i t i c i s m s of the d u a l i s t i c approach. One i s d i r e c t e d at the tendency among those using:the d u a l i s t i c approach to view the S r i Lankan economy as having two d i s t i n c t s e c t o r s - one 'modern' c o n s i s t i n g of the p l a n t a t i o n s and the other ' t r a d i t i o n a l ' c o n s i s t i n g of peasant a g r i c u l t u r e - e x i s t i n g independently of each other. This i s c r i t i c i s e d on the b a s i s that i t neglects the overlaps and the i n t e r a c t i o n s between s e c t o r s . The other c r i t i c i s m i s that the d u a l i s t i c approach, l a c k s a h o l i s t i c and h i s t o r i -c a l p e r s p e c t i v e . I t i s contended t h a t , viewed from a h o l i s t i c and h i s t o r i c a l p o i n t of view the 'modern s e c t o r ' has had a pervasive i n f l u e n c e on the whole of the economy and s o c i e t y of the country. This contention i s based on the observation that the 'modern s e c t o r ' or the p l a n t a t i o n s , from the time of i t s r i s e i n the 1840s u n t i l recent times, p r e v a i l e d as the dominant mode of production i n the country. In other words, the country's p o l i t i c a l economy which included the s t a t e , b u r e a u c r a t i c , and l e g a l apparatus^ and other i n s t i t u t i o n a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e on the one hand and m a t e r i a l resources, and p h y s i c a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e on the other - was dominated by the modern s e c t o r . In view of t h i s dominant i n f l u e n c e i t i s misleading to i d e n t i f y a 'peasant sector'- as: having e x i s t e d f r e e of i n f l u e n c e from the 'modern s e c t o r ' . The time p e r i o d covered hy- the. thesjLSj. ranges,, from the 1840s>, i . e . the time of the advent of the p l a n t a t i o n s , to the present. The sources of data are the published primary and secondary m a t e r i a l s . The chapters are arranged as f o l l o w s : Chapter 1 i s d i v i d e d i n t o two s e c t i o n s . The f i r s t s e c t i o n introduces the d u a l i s t i c approach, as developed by- J.H. Boeke and others with, reference to the economies of South. A s i a . The second s e c t i o n presents an overview of the a p p l i c a t i o n s of the d u a l i s t i c model to S'ri\": Lanlca,anda c r i t i c i s m - of i t , through- an analysis- of the o r g a n i z a t i o n of a g r i c u l t u r e In the country. The c r i t i c i s m i n t h i s s e c t i o n focuses on one of the two shortcomings of the d u a l i s t i c model noted e a r l i e r , namely the neglect of the overlaps and i n t e r -a ctions between s e c t o r s . The other criticsm of the dualistic model, namely the need for a ho l i s t i c and historical perspective, is the subject of the remaining three chapters. Chapter 2 discusses the historical circumstances and the manner in which the factors of production - investors and capital, labour, and land - were brought together, and the rate and extent of growth of coffee, tea, rubber, and coconut, the major plantation crops, which went to form the plant-ations as the dominant phenomenon in the country during the British period. With this historical background, Chapter 3 attempts to specify the nature of the influence of plantations during the British period. The plantations are viewed as the dominant mode of production in the country during this period. Their dominant influence is discussed in the way i t effected the productive pro-cess in agriculture - specifically the monetization and commercial ization of agriculture, changes relating to the institutions of labour and land -, and the social structure. Chapter 4 takes a closer look at the state of 'peasant' (or domestic) agriculture during the British period as well as in the post-independence period. In the f i r s t section, which relates to the British period, the main theme is that peasant agriculture was in a state of relative neglect due to the dominant and favoure position of the plantations, and hence experienced l i t t l e growth. The theme of the second section, which relates to the post-independence period, is that, under changed p o l i t i c a l and economic circumstances, peasant a g r i c u l t u r e has undergone r a p i d change and growth. The nature of t h i s change i s such that the 'peasant s e c t o r ' i s coming to resemble, more and more, a 'modern s e c t o r ' . The nature of the growth i s such that a small-farmer domestic a g r i c u l t u r e i s emerging as the major componant of the S r i Lankan enonomy. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ± TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES v i CHAPTER I THE DUALISTIC APPROACH IN THE CONTEXT OF SRI LANKA 1 1. The D u a l i s t i c Approach 1 2. The D u a l i s t i c Approach as A p p l i e d to S r i Lanka 5 CHAPTER I I THE MAKING OF A PLANTATION ECONOMY 25 1. The Coffee Era 27 a. The Growth of Coffee 27 b. Investors and C a p i t a l 29 c. Labour 33 d. Land 35 e. Supportive Services 39 2. Tea 44 3. Rubber 47 4. Coconut 49 CHAPTER I I I PLANTATIONS AS THE DOMINANT MODE OF PRODUCTION 56 1. Monetization of the Economy 59 2. Labour as Commodity 63 3. Land as P r i v a t e Property 66 4. Changes i n the S o c i a l S t r u c t u r e 72 CHAPTER IV DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PEASANT SECTOR 85 1. The B r i t i s h P e r i o d 85 2. The Post-Independence P e r i o d 92 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 114 vi LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1 Area Under Major Agricultural Crops... 7 2 Distribution ofAgricultural Land... 9 3 Size of Holdings of Principal Crops... 13 4 Size of Holdings of Minor Plantation Crops... 14 5 Ownership of Land Under Principal Crops... 15 6 Extents Aquired Through the Land Reform Laws... 16 7 Principal Recipients of Land Reform Lands... 18 8 Paddy Production and Govt. Purchasesl969/70-1973/74 ... 20 9 Growth of Coffee Industry... 29 10 Agency Houses and Their Involvement in the Plantations... 31 11 Immigration and Emigration... 35 12 Land Sales by the Govt., 1835-1894... 39 13 The Tea Industry, 1875-1951... 46 14 The Rubber Industry, 1900-1949... 48 15 Acreage Under Coconut, 1860-1946... 50 16 Ownership in Coffee,1880-81 59 17 Area Under Estates and Small-Holdings... 61 18 Reciepts From Domestic Exports... 62 19 Landless Agricultural Families in the Wet-Zone... 65 20 Labour Srength in the Estates.... 66 21 Size of Crown Grants to Ceylonese and Europeans... 75 22 Singhalese Purchasers of Waste Land in the 19th c. ... 77 23 Acreage Hnder Paddy and Other Non-exports... 91 24 Trade Indices Selected Years— 94 v i i 25 Growth of Pop u l a t i o n and the Rural Density... 95 26 Acreage Under P r i n c i p a l Food Crmps ... 96 27 Production , Area and Y i e l d i n Paddy... 97 28 Adoption Rates of Improved V a r i e t i e s of Paddy... 98 29 Paddy Loans and Recoveries... 100 30 D i s t r i b u t i o n of Paddy Lands by Size of Holding... 101 31 System of Tenure i n Paddy , Selected D i s t r i c t s . . . 103 32 F e r t i l i z e r Issues f o r Paddy... 104 33 Paddy Area Under Pest C o n t r o l 105 34 Paddy Area Tra c t o r Ploughed... 105 35 G.N.P. and the A g r i c u l t u r a l Sector.... 108 36 Change i n Area Under C u l t i v a t i o n . . . 109 37 Change i n Employment i n A g r i c u l t u r e . . . 110 CHAPTER I THE DUALISTIC APPROACH IN THE CONTEXT OF SRI LANKA 1. The D u a l i s t i c Approach A Primary export economy i s one of the most important c o l o n i a l legacies of many underdeveloped countries of the world today. In the study of such economies two sectors have generally been i d e n t i f i e d - one, r e f e r r e d to as the \"modern\" sector, producting for the world market such crops as coffee, sugar, tea, rubber, coconut, palm-oil etc. and extracting non-renewable resources such as petroleum, t i n , timber etc. and the other, r e f e r r e d to as the \" t r a d i t i o n a l \" sector producing food crops mainly for home consumption or the l o c a l market. To describe t h i s phenomenon of two d i f f e r e n t patterns of economic organization the concept \"dualism\" has been used by many s o c i a l s c i e n t i s t s . ^ This dualism has been defined i n various terms as: c a p i t a l i s t vs. subsistence, monetised vs. non-monetised, export vs. domestic, a p o s i t i v e vs. a zero marginal labour systems etc. Perhaps the best known version of dualism i s that of J.H. Boeke. For Boeke dualism i s p r i m a r i l y a s o c i a l phenomenon which he defines as, ...the clashing of an imported s o c i a l system with an indigenous s o c i a l system of another s t y l e . Most frequently the imported s o c i a l system i s high ca p i t a l i s m . But i t may be s o c i a l i s m or Communism as w e l l , or a blending of them.^ The basic contrast between the two systems i s made i n terms of such behavioural c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s as ' p r o f i t seeking', 'unlimited needs' and 'entrepreneurial behaviour' which are f a m i l i a r i n the West. In terms of these c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s the n o n - c a p i t a l i s t sector of the s o - c a l l e d dual economies i s said to exhibit behavioural patterns which are d i a m e t r i c a l l y opposed to those i n the c a p i t a l i s t sector. Thus with reference to 'unlimited needs' Boeke writes that, 1 2 ...anyone expecting western r e a c t i o n s w i l l meet w i t h frequent s u r p r i s e s . When the p r i c e of coconut i s h i g h , the chances are that l e s s of the commodities w i l l be o f f e r e d f o r s a l e ; when wages are r a i s e d the manager of the e s t a t e r i s k s that l e s s work w i l l be done; i f three acres are enough to supply the needs of the household a c u l t i v a t o r w i l l not t i l l s i x ; when rubber p r i c e s f a l l the owner of a grove may decide to tap more i n t e n s i v e l y , whereas high p r i c e s may mean that he leaves a l a r g e r or smaller p o r t i o n of tapable t r e e s untapped.3 Boeke's assumptions about the eastern s o c i e t y such as the 'aversion to the c a p i t a l and p r o f i t ' , ' f a t a l i s m and r e s i g n a t i o n ' have been challenged 4 by l a t e r w r i t e r s on the s u b j e c t . Higgins , f o r example, argues r a t h e r c o n v i n c i n g l y , the eastern s o c i e t y i s b a s i c a l l y not very d i f f e r e n t from the western s o c i e t y i n i t s economic behaviour. Nastf' puts forward s i m i l a r arguments w i t h reference to Burma, supporting that the easterners are no l e s s e n t r e p r e n e u r i a l than the westerners. While r e j e c t i n g Boeke's ra t h e r s i m p l i s t i c assumptions of s o c i a l dualism, some of these w r i t e r s r e t a i n the b a s i c notions of \"economic dualism\". Higgins, f o r example, emphasizes the \" t e c h n o l o g i c a l dualism\" of the Eastern economies. Te c h n o l o g i c a l dualism i s based on the observation that the so-c a l l e d t r a d i t i o n a l s e c t o r and the modern s e c t o r have very d i f f e r e n t t e c h n i c a l c o e f f i c i e n t s of production: The t r a d i t i o n a l s e c t o r has v a r i a b l e t e c h n i c a l c o e f f i c i e n t s of production i . e . the products can be produced w i t h a wide range of techniques and a l t e r n a t i v e combinations of labour and c a p i t a l . In c o n t r a s t , the modern sect o r has r e l a t i v e l y f i x e d t e c h n i c a l c o e f f i c i e n t s of production and the production process i s r e l a t i v e l y c a p i t a l i n t e n s i v e , compared to the labour i n t e n s i v e t r a d i t i o n a l s e c t o r . The major i m p l i c a t i o n s of t h i s a n a l y s i s are that the modern se c t o r ' s c a p a c i t y to absorb the growing and abundant labour i n these c o u n t r i e s i s l i m i t e d . On the other hand i n the t r a d i t i o n a l s e c t o r due to the abundance of labour, 3 there i s l i t t l e i n c e n t i v e towards modernizing techniques of production along c a p i t a l i n t e n s i v e l i n e s . Instead, the t r a d i t i o n a l s e c t o r absorbs more than the optimum labour that i s necessary, l e a d i n g to d e c l i n e s i n the marginal p r o d u c t i v i t y of labour. This process of i n t e n s i f i c a t i o n of labour i n t r a d i t i o n a l a g r i c u l t u r e and the r e s u l t a n t c o m p l e x i t i e s i n t e n u r i a l arrangements Geertz c a l l s \" a g r i c u l t u r a l i n v o l u t i o n \" , the r e s u l t of which i s \"shared poverty\".^ In d e a l i n g w i t h these s o - c a l l e d dual s o c i e t i e s these t h e o r i s t s were addressing to the question of economic development or modernization. As Lucien W. Pye notes w i t h reference to Boeke t h a t , In e l a b o r a t i n g the concept of the dual s o c i e t y , J.H. Boeke was f o l l o w i n g i n the grand t r a d i t i o n of s o c i a l t h e o r i s t s who, from the beginning of the i n d u s t r i a l r e v o l u t i o n , have sought to s p e c i f y the c r i t i c a l d i s t i n c t i o n s between t r a d i t i o n a l s o c i a l orders and modern i n d u s t r i a l s o c i e t i e s . This c l a s s i c a l school has in c l u d e d such great seminal t h i n k e r s as S i r Henry Maine, Ferdinand Toennies, Emile Durkheim, and, to b r i n g the l i n e down to the contemporary times, T a l c o t Parsons and Edward S h i l l s . Boeke thus sought to apply to the Asian scene elements of the dichotomous scheme which has been so long used to c h a r a c t e r i z e the d i f f e r e n c e s between what have been v a r i o u s l y c a l l e d t r a d i t i o n a l and modern, r u r a l and urban, s o c i e t a s and c i v i t a s , Gemeinschaft and G e s e l l c h f t , communal and a s s o c i a t i o n a l . 7 In so dichotomizing t r a d i t i o n and modernity or development and underdevelopment the d u a l i s t i c t h e o r i s t s were d e a l i n g w i t h \" i d e a l t y p i c a l c o n s t r u c t s \" , based on some d i f f e r e n c e s i n the p a t t e r n of economic and s o c i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n , observable w i t h i n these eastern s o c i e t i e s . These i d e a l types have o f t e n been taken as separate e n t i t i e s e x i s t i n g independently of each other, i n the sense of Rudyard K i p l i n g ' s \"East i s East and West i s West 8 and never the twain s h a l l meet\" as Higgins notes w i t h reference to Boeke. Several c r i t i c i s m s could be l e v e l l e d against t h i s p r a c t i c e of dichotomizing ' t r a d i t i o n ' and 'modernity' i n p a r t i c u l a r , and against the 4 d u a l i s t i c approach i n general. F i r s t l y , the dichotomy or dualism does not correspond to r e a l i t y , because there are great many over-laps and i n t e r a c t i o n s between the 'modern s e c t o r ' and the ' t r a d i t i o n a l s e c t o r ' . In other words, ' t r a d i t i o n ' or 'modernity' i s a matter of degree and not w a t e r - t i g h t compartments or separate e n t i t i e s e x i s t i n g independently of each other. Secondly, the d u a l i s t i c approach i s not dynamic enough to e x p l a i n the process of economic development or modernization. I t i s s t a t i c i n that the d i f f e r e n t s e c t o r s or the i d e a l types are viewed n e i t h e r as repr e s e n t i n g p a r t i c u l a r \"stages\" i n an h i s t o r i c process, nor as c o n s t i t u t i n g p a r t s of a \"system\". I f they are viewed as \"stages\" i t might be p o s s i b l e to show how a p a r t i c u l a r type could move from one stage to another. But the tendency among the d u a l i s t i c t h e o r i s t s has been to view the s e c t o r s as r i g i d and inwardly o r i e n t e d , l i k e i n Geertz's \"runaway\" dualism i n Indonesia where the peasant s e c t o r i s s a i d to be undergoing \" i n v o l u t i o n \" , which he defines as a process o f , ...the o v e r d r i v i n g of an e s t a b l i s h e d form i n such a way that i t becomes r i g i d through an inward o v e r - e l a b o r a t i o n of d e t a i l . 9 I f the sect o r s or i d e a l types are viewed as c o n s t i t u t i n g p a r t s of a system i t might be p o s s i b l e to i d e n t i f y the i n t e r a c t i o n s between and the i n f l u e n c e of one type on the other. But the d u a l i s t i c t h e o r i s t s tend to overlook such i n t e r a c t i o n s . Even when some k i n d of i n t e r a c t i o n between the secto r s i s recognized i t i s u s u a l l y confined to the u n i d i r e c t i o n a l flow of one or two f a c t o r s of production, l i k e i n Higgins's model of t e c h n o l o g i c a l dualism which provides only f o r the flow of labour from the ' t r a d i t i o n a l s e c t o r ' to the 'modern s e c t o r ' . \" ^ Consequently, the d u a l i s t i c approach l a c k s a . h o l i s t i c s t r u c t u r a l p e r s p e c t i v e - a pe r s p e c t i v e which places the d i f f e r e n t 5 p a r t s or sec t o r s of a natio n s economy i n t h e i r proper r e l a t i o n s w i t h i n the t o t a l context. This - the need f o r a h o l i s t i c s t r u c t u r a l p e r s p e c t i v e i s the main t h r u s t of t h i s t h e s i s which presents a c r i t i c i s m of the d u a l i s t i c model i n the context of S r i Lanka. 2. The D u a l i s t i c Approach as A p p l i e d to S r i Lanka In the study of the S r i Lankan economy the d u a l i s t i c model has been a p p l i e d i n d i f f e r e n t degrees by d i f f e r e n t w r i t e r s . Most w r i t e r s contend that there was a c l e a r - c u t dualism during the post-independence p e r i o d . B a n s i l w r i t e s , P r i o r to independence i n 1948, the s t r u c t u r e of Ceylon's economy provided a c l a s s i c a l example of the d u a l i s t i c export economy. The export s e c t o r which was based on the production of t e a , rubber and coconut was a w e l l organized and r e l a t i v e l y p roductive s e c t o r which e x i s t e d and operated i n i s o l a t i o n from the r e s t of the economy which was c h a r a c t e r i z e d by low l e v e l s of p r o d u c t i v i t y and consequent..poverty. H' Snodgrass w r i t e s i n a s i m i l a r v e i n that during the pre-World War I I p e r i o d , In s t r u c t u r e , the economy was a v e r i t a b l e model of what might be c a l l e d a d u a l i s t i c export economy. There are two i d e n t i f y i n g f eatures of t h i s k i n d of economy: 1. c l o s e dependence of n a t i o n a l income on f o r e i g n trade and 2. a s p l i t of the economy i n t o two s e c t o r s , one modern i n o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e and technology, producing f o r the world market, and the other t r a d i t i o n a l i n both these regards, producing f o r the immediate v i l l a g e market.12 K a r u n a t i l a k e contends that the, Dualism was not only economic and t e c h n o l o g i c a l but a l s o s o c i a l . S o c i a l dualism continued and appeared to be even more marked u n t i l the f r e e education system, introduced by the government i n the 1940s, bore f r u i t by r a i s i n g the standard of l i t e r a c y and b r i n g i n g the r u r a l people i n t o c l o s e r contact w i t h t h e i r more s o c i a l l y and c u l t u r a l l y advanced brethren.13 There are other w r i t e r s who have attempted to present a case f o r dualism i n S r i Lanka even f o r the post-independence p e r i o d . O h r l i n g f o r example, argues f o r such dualism i n S r i Lanka along the l i n e s of a 'centre-periphery' theory. 6 In a p p l y i n g a d u a l i s t i c model most w r i t e r s have tended to view the s o - c a l l e d modern and t r a d i t i o n a l s e c t o r s as separate wholes and analyse them a c c o r d i n g l y i n terms of t h e i r own separate dynamics. B. S t e i n , f o r example, i n an a n a l y s i s of the development problems of S r i Lanka proceeds, Ceylon's economy has f r e q u e n t l y and v a l i d l y been c h a r a c t e r i z e d as a \"dual economy\", one sector of which i s dependent almost e x c l u s i v e l y on the export of i t s p r o d u c t i o n , the other s e c t o r of which i s of a subsistence nature w i t h no s u r p l u s . Each of these s e c t o r s w i l l be considered i n terms of i t s c o n t r i b u t i o n to the i n s t a b i l i t y of the economy as a whole.15 Snodgrass analyses the growth patt e r n s of the 'export a g r i c u l t u r e ' and 'peasant a g r i c u l t u r e ' s e p a r a t e l y w i t h a marginal treatment of i n t e r a c t i o n 16 between the two s e c t o r s . S i m i l a r l y , B a n s i l gives a treatment f o r ' p l a n t a t i o n a g r i c u l t u r e ' and 'peasant a g r i c u l t u r e ' i n separate t e r m s . ^ Such treatment by s c h o l a r s i s the r e s u l t of some observable d i f f e r e n c e s i n the o r g a n i z a t i o n of the production of a g r i c u l t u r e between the p l a n t a t i o n crops and r u r a l a g r i c u l t u r e . But i t would not be true to say t h a t these two s e c t o r s were two separate e n t i t i e s e x i s t i n g independently of each other, as the works r e f e r r e d to above and others using the d u a l i s t i c model would imply. This i s because f i r s t l y ; there are, and have been, a great many over-laps and i n t e r a c t i o n s between the two s e c t o r s which renders the s e c t o r a l d i s t i n c t i o n one of d o u b t f u l v a l i d i t y , and secondly; the 'modern s e c t o r ' or the p l a n t a t i o n s , as the dominant phenomenon i n the economy, have h i s t o r i c a l l y had a pervasive i n f l u e n c e on a l l s e c t o r s of the economy and s o c i e t y . A b r i e f look at the o r g a n i z a t i o n of production i n a g r i c u l t u r e i n the country would i l l u s t r a t e the f i r s t p o i n t . The second p o i n t w i l l be pursued i n the subsequent chapters. Of the crops t r a d i t i o n a l l y c l a s s i f i e d under the 'modern se c t o r ' or as ' p l a n t a t i o n crops' the important ones i n terms of acreage and i n terms of 7 the c o n t r i b u t i o n to the n a t i o n a l economy are tea, rubber and coconut. These three crops together occupied about 43% of the t o t a l land under a g r i c u l t u r e as of 1970. The other p l a n t a t i o n crops, sometimes r e f e r r e d to as minor p l a n t a t i o n crops, i n c l u d e cocoa, cinnamon, c o f f e e , pepper, cardomon, cloves and c i t r o n e l l a . These crops together occupy about 95,000 acres. Among the peasant crops paddy i s predominant, which occupies about 33% of the land under a g r i c u l t u r e . The other peasant crops i n c l u d e kurakkan, maize, manioc and sweet potatoes and the commercial crops such as tobacco, cotton and ground nuts. A l l these l a t t e r crops are g e n e r a l l y c a t e g o r i z e d as c e r e a l s , p u l s e s , o i l seeds, condiments and species of f i b e r crops. Table 1 shows the extent of land under the major p l a n t a t i o n crops and the major peasant crop,, paddy. TABLE 1 AREA UNDER MAJOR AGRICULTURAL CROPS , 1970 Extent Crop (000' acres) % T o t a l Tea 597 10.9 Rubber 590 10.8 Coconut 1153 21.1 Paddy 1792 32.8 Other 1332 24.4 T o t a l 5464 100.0 Source : S r i Lanka, Department of Census and S t a t i s t i c s , adapted from United Nations Economic and S o c i a l Commission f o r A s i a and the P a c i f i c , Comparative Study of Pop u l a t i o n Growth and A g r i c u l t u r a l Change (ESCAP Asian P o p u l a t i o n Studies S e r i e s , No. 23 , 1975), pp.62,72. THE FOUR AGRO - ECOLOGICAL ZONES AND THEIR DENSITY OF POPULATION - 19.71 Source: Department of Census and S t a t i s t i c s , Census of P o p u l a t i o n 1971, S r i Lanka: General Report. (Colombo, 1978^ p. 37 9 In the d i s t r i b u t i o n of these crops there i s a great d e a l of v a r i a t i o n . One way of c l a s s i f y i n g these v a r i a t i o n s would be i n terms of agro-e c o l o g i c a l zones based mainly on r a i n f a l l , s o i l f e r t i l i t y , h y d r o l o g i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and land e l e v a t i o n . The Department of A g r i c u l t u r e of S r i Lanka recognizes 24 such a g r o - e c o l o g i c a l zones. Although data are not a v a i l a b l e by these a g r o - e c o l o g i c a l zones, the land use f i g u r e s reported by the 22 a d m i n i s t r a t i v e d i s t r i c t s provide an i n d i c a t i o n of the v a r i a t i o n s . In the t a b l e below (Table 2) the 22 a d m i n i s t r a t i v e d i s t r i c t s are grouped under 4 major a g r o - e c o l o g i c a l zones - a simpler c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of zones used 18 by some government agencies. TABLE 2 DISTRIBUTION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND, 1962 Zone D i s t r i c t P l a n t a t i o n Crops Paddy Other Crops I Colombo 79.4 15.8 4.8 K a l u t a r a 73.9 19.0 7.1 G a l l e 68.7 22.5 8.8 Matara 56.7 26.7 6.6 I I Ratnapura 71.2 11.2 17.6 K e g a l l e 79.7 9.8 10.5 Kurunegala 67.4 25.1 7.5 Matale 53.2 21.8 25.0 Kandy 69.3 14.1 16.6 Nuwar E l i y a 73.5 12.1 14.4 Ba d u l l a 59.3 16.6 24.1 I I I J a f f n a 22.3 48.7 29.0 Mannar 8.6 82.2 9.2 Vavuniya 6.9 79.0 14.1 Trincomalee 7.7 75.6 16.7 B a t t i c a l o a 16.4 76.1 7.5 IV Hambantota 40.3 33.0 24.0 Mpnaragala 27.8 23.6 48.5 Amparai 7.6 83.4 9.0 Polonnaruwa 9.0 68.5 12.5 Anuradhapura 7.8 75.5 16.7 Puttalam 76.1 15.8 8.1 Source: A g r a r i a n Research and T r a i n i n g I n s t i t u t e , Data Bank, (Colombo: ARTI). 10 As Table 2 i n d i c a t e s , the d i s t r i b u t i o n of crops v a r i e s g r e a t l y from region to r e g i o n . In the f i r s t two zones, which c o i n c i d e w i t h the area known as the Wet zone, the p l a n t a t i o n crops occupy over 50% of the a g r i c u l t u r a l land i n a l l d i s t r i c t s , whereas i n the other two zones, which cover the area known as the Dry zone, the p l a n t a t i o n crops occupy much smaller extents. Paddy, which i s the most important of peasant crops, occupies areas ranging from l e s s than 10% i n K e g a l l e to over 80% i n Amparai and Mannar. Paddy i s the l a r g e s t s i n g l e crop i n a l l but one of the d i s t r i c t s i n zone I I I and IV, v i z Dry Zone. With such v a r i a t i o n s i n land use there are a l s o c e r t a i n v a r i a t i o n s i n the economic o r g a n i z a t i o n of the c u l t i v a t o r s . Thus, peasant c u l t i v a t i o n i s d i f f e r e n t i n the Wet Zone d i s t r i c t s from that i n the Dry Zone d i s t r i c t s . In the Wet Zone d i s t r i c t s a l a r g e r p o r t i o n of the a g r i c u l t u r a l land i s occupied by the p l a n t a t i o n crops which leaves r e l a t i v e l y l i t t l e land f o r peasant c u l t i v a t i o n . These are the d i s t r i c t s which have a higher d e n s i t y of population (see Map p.8 )• Thus, i n those d i s t r i c t s i n zone I I , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the d i s t r i c t s of Kandy, Nuwera E l i y a , B a d u l l a , Ratnapura and K e g a l l e , the v i l l a g e s are h i g h l y circumscribed by the tea e s t a t e s and peasant c u l t i v a t i o n i s confined to small v a l l e y s a d j o i n i n g the v i l l a g e where paddy, which u s u a l l y occupies the lower p a r t s of the v a l l e y and the home-garden crops which occupy the higher slopes are c u l t i v a t e d through a h i g h l y labour i n t e n s i v e process. In c o n t r a s t , i n the Dry Zone d i s t r i c t s paddy occupies a c e n t r a l place. In a l l these d i s t r i c t s , except i n J a f f n a , p o p u l a t i o n i s r e l a t i v e l y sparse and land i s r e l a t i v e l y abundant. But water i s a scarce f a c t o r and poses c o n s t r a i n t s to c u l t i v a t i o n . Thus, i n the c u l t i v a t i o n of paddy the two major v a r i a t i o n s are provided by the type of i r r i g a t i o n a v a i l a b l e . The v a r i a t i o n s 11 are the Purana v i l l a g e paddy f i e l d s which are i r r i g a t e d by the small v i l l a g e tank or minor i r r i g a t i o n schemes and the c e n t r a l l y organized c u l t i v a t i o n of the major i r r i g a t i o n schemes most of which were developed by the government under the C o l o n i z a t i o n Scheme i n the recent decades. These v a r i a t i o n s , however, do not always confirm to the v a r i a t i o n s i d e n t i f i e d along s e c t o r a l l i n e s . The d i s t i n c t i o n of a 'modern' and a ' t r a d i t i o n a l ' s e c t o r i s based on the idea that these two represent c o n t r a s t i n g patterns i n the o r g a n i z a t i o n of p r o d u c t i o n , i . e . i n the f a c t o r combination and i n the d i s t r i b u t i o n or exchange of the product. A p l a n t a t i o n i s perceived as, ...a h i g h l y c a p i t a l i z e d , regimented and e x p l o i t a t i v e form of a g r i c u l t u r a l o r g a n i z a t i o n which i s t y p i c a l l y a ' f o r e i g n enclave' c o n t r o l l e d by a c i t y - b a s e d managing agency which represents i t s owners, and operated by a l a r g e wage-earning labour f o r c e under the d i r e c t i o n of a f u n c t i o n a l l y ^ i n t e g r a t e d h i e r a r c h y of supervisory and t e c h n i c a l personnel. Other general d e f i n i t i o n s of p l a n t a t i o n s a l s o u s u a l l y emphasize the above and other r e l a t e d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . Binns, f o r example w r i t e s , The general idea of a p l a n t a t i o n i s a l a r g e c e n t r a l l y operated e s t a t e , u s u a l l y growing a crop which i s not regarded as an o r d i n a r y f i e l d crop, w i t h the help of a c o n s i d e r a b l e body of workers o f t e n h i r e d under s p e c i a l c o n t r a c t from d i s t a n t d i s t r i c t s and l i v i n g on the e s t a t e s . S i m i l a r l y , Jones defi n e s a p l a n t a t i o n , i n the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Encyclopedia of S o c i a l Sciences, as, An economic u n i t producing a g r i c u l t u r a l commodities ( f i e l d crops and h o r t i c u l t u r a l products but not l i v e s t o c k ) f o r s a l e and employing a r e l a t i v e l y l a r g e number of u n s k i l l e d labourers whose a c t i v i t i e s are c l o s e l y supervised. P l a n t a t i o n s u s u a l l y employ a year-round labour crew of some s i z e , and they u s u a l l y s p e c i a l i z e i n the production of only one or two marketable products. They d i f f e r from other kinds of farms i n the way i n which the f a c t o r s of production, p r i m a r i l y management and labour, are combined.21 From these d e f i n i t i o n s and from the d e s c r i p t i o n s of d u a l i t y (quoted i n p.5 ), one may a r r i v e at s e v e r a l c o n t r a s t i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a t t r i b u t e d to 12 the p l a n t a t i o n or the 'modern' secto r and the peasant or the ' t r a d i t i o n a l ' s e c t o r . These c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s r e l a t e to the o r g a n i z a t i o n of production and t h e • d i s t r i b u t i o n of the product. Among the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s r e l a t i n g to the o r g a n i z a t i o n of production which are a t t r i b u t e d to the p l a n t a t i o n s are t h e i r l a r g e - s c a l e c e n t r a l i z e d operations which go w i t h h i g h l y regimented management and labour crew, r e l a t i v e l y modern technology and higher p r o d u c t i v i t y ; and f o r e i g n ownership. Among the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s r e l a t i n g to the d i s t r i b u t i o n of the product which are a t t r i b u t e d to the p l a n t a t i o n s , the important one i s the o r i e n t a t i o n to the e x t e r n a l market. But only a l i t t l e of what are known as p l a n t a t i o n s i n S r i Lanka would confirm to these c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . This may be i l l u s t r a t e d by a review of data r e l a t i n g to some of the above c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . In terms of s c a l e the p l a n t a t i o n crops are produced i n holdings ranging from a f r a c t i o n of an acre to hundreds of acres. Table 3 gives a breakdown of the s i z e of holdings of the p r i n c i p l e crops of the country as estimated f o r 1972. 13 TABLE 3 SIZE OF HOLDINGS OF PRINCIPAL CROPS, 1972 (percentages) conut Paddy 50 80 14 25 *r 6 25 71 Source: Data from Census of A g r i c u l t u r e , 1962; adjusted w i t h data on annual changes from A d m i n i s t r a t i o n Reports of the Tea C o n t r o l l e r , Rubber C o n t r o l l e r and Land Commissioner; Ceylon Year:Book and the S t a t i s t i c a l A b s t r a c t s . o f Ceylon, i n G.H. P e i r i s , \"Land Reform and Ag r a r i a n Change i n S r i Lanka\", Modern Asian .Studies 12:4 (1978): 615. As the t a b l e shows only t e a , w i t h 71% of the acreage i n holdings of over 100 acres and, to a l e s s e r extent, rubber w i t h 46% of the acreage i n holdings of over 100 acr e s , may be considered as l a r g e - s c a l e operations. But i t should be noted that 18% of the tea acreage and 31% of the rubber acreage are i n holdings of l e s s than 10 acres. Coconut i s p r i m a r i l y a small s c a l e crop, w i t h 50% of the acreage i n holdings of l e s s than 10 acres. I t may be noted that small s c a l e operations are a l s o the predominant p a t t e r n i n the c u l t i v a t i o n of the 'minor p l a n t a t i o n crops'. As shown i n Table 4, n e a r l y h a l f of the holdings of these crops are i n holdings of l e s s than 1 acre and there i s very l i t t l e i n the range of over 10 acres. Size Group Tea Rubber C< (acres) _ 0 to 10 18 31 10 to 25 1 T I I 23 25 to 100_ over 100 J . 71 46 14 TABLE 4 SIZE OF HOLDINGS OF MINOR PLANTATION CROPS, 1968 (percentage of holdings) S i z e Group Cinnamon Cocoa C i t r o n e l l a Cardamon Less than 1 67 51 35 40 1 to 5 30 41 56 50 5 to 10 2 4 6 5 over 10 1 4 3 5 Source: S r i Lanka, Department of A g r i c u l t u r e , Sample Survey, 1968 (Colombo: Gov't. P r e s s , 1968). With v a r y i n g s c a l e the o r g a n i z a t i o n of production, i . e . , the combination of f a c t o r s of production - land, labour, c a p i t a l and management, al s o v a r i e s a great d e a l . Obviously, l a r g e e s t a t e s of hundreds of acres r e q u i r e a permanent supply of h i r e d labour, c o n s i d e r a b l e o u t l a y of c a p i t a l and s p e c i a l i z e d management. This i s the case f o r the m a j o r i t y of tea p l a n t a t i o n s . But smaller f a m i l y operations, which are predominant i n coconut and to a l e s s e r extent i n rubber, could be c a r r i e d out w i t h l i t t l e or no h i r e d labour, l i t t l e c a p i t a l and w i t h no s p e c i a l i z e d management. Another c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a t t r i b u t e d to the p l a n t a t i o n s e c t o r i n the d u a l i s t i c model i s i t s \" f o r e i g n enclave\" nature. Here again the S r i Lankan p l a n t a t i o n s do not present a d e f i n i t e p a t t e r n . As of 1972, only i n tea and to a l e s s e r extent i n rubber was there a s i g n i f i c a n t p r o p o r t i o n of f o r e i g n ownership. Coconut i s almost wholely l o c a l l y owned. Table 5 shows the p a t t e r n of ownership. 15 TABLE 5 OWNERSHIP OF LAND UNDER PRINCIPAL CROPS, 1972 (P ercentages) Tea Rubber Coconut Paddy S t e r l i n g Companies 24 11 neg.* -Rupee Companies 25 13 neg. -Non-Ceylonese I n d i v i d u a l s 2 2 - -Ceylonese I n d i v i d u a l s 26 41 49 20 P u b l i c Sector Agencies 5 5 neg. neg. Cooperative Farms neg. neg. neg. neg. Small holdings owned by Ceylonese 18 31 50 80 T o t a l 100 100 100 100 *neg. = n e g l i g i b l e amounts of l e s s than 1 per cent. Source: Same as f o r Table 3 I t i s true that the share of f o r e i g n ownership was much greater during the pre-independence p e r i o d . The extent held by companies r e g i s t e r e d i n the United Kingdom and by non-Ceylonese i n d i v i d u a l s f e l l from 69 to 30 per cent i n t e a , 38 to 13 per cent i n rubber and 11 to 4 per cent i n coconut between the years 1948 and 1972. The main reasons f o r t h i s process of ' C e y l o n i z a t i o n ' , as P e i r i s p o i n t s out, are: The f i s c a l p o l i c i e s pursued by the government during t h i s p e r i o d ( i n c r e a s i n g d i r e c t and i n d i r e c t t a x a t i o n of the p l a n t a t i o n i n d u s t r i e s , r e s t r i c t i o n s placed on t r a n s f e r of p r o f i t s abroad) and, more g e n e r a l l y , the dwindling of p r o f i t s generated by the p l a n t a t i o n i n d u s t r i e s , reduced a t t r a c t i v e n e s s of t h i s s e c t o r of the economy to the f o r e i g n i n v e s t o r . L o c a l p o l i t i c a l c o n d i t i o n s , which at v a r i o u s times s i n c e independence engendered among f o r e i g n owners 16 of p l a n t a t i o n s a fea r that t h e i r assets would be n a t i o n a l i z e d , a l s o c o n t r i b u t e d to the gradual withdrawal of f o r e i g n c a p i t a l from S r i Lanka's p l a n t a t i o n s . 2 2 But much more has changed si n c e 1972, consequent to the implementation of a program of land reform. The Land Reform Law of 1972 which brought i n a c e i l i n g of 25 acres on paddy lands and 50 acres on other lands r e s u l t e d i n the a c q u i s i t i o n by the government of a t o t a l of over 560,000 acres of land. The Land Reform (Amendment) Law of 1975 a p p l i e d to land owned by p u b l i c companies, which the e a r l i e r law l e f t out, and brought i n a f u r t h e r 418,000 acres of land under the government c o n t r o l . Table 6 shows the d i s t r i b u t i o n of the land acquired under the two Laws i n terms of crops. TABLE 6 EXTENTS ACQUIRED THROUGH THE LAND REFORM LAW OF 1972 AND THE LAND REFORM LAW OF 1975 (acres) Law 1972 Law 1975 Tea 139,354 237,592 Rubber 82,563 95,835 Coconut 112,523 6,406 Paddy 18,407 -Other Crops 30,303 79,124 U n c u l t i v a t e d 180,261 -T o t a l 563,411 417,975 Source: S r i Lanka, Land Reform Commission, i n G.H. P e i r i s (1978), o p . c i t . , pp.616-17. 17 The t o t a l extent of land acquired through the Land Reform Laws amounted to about 1 m i l l i o n acres which i s about 22% of the t o t a l land under a g r i c u l t u r e i n the country. I t may be noted that a greater p a r t of the land acquired was that under the p l a n t a t i o n crops, p a r t i c u l a r l y of tea and rubber. The a c q u i s i t i o n s i n c l u d e about 60% of the tea acreage, 30% of the rubber acreage and 10% of the coconut acreage. In c o n t r a s t only about 2% of the land under paddy was a f f e c t e d by the reform. The s i g n i f i c a n c e of the land reform f o r the present d i s c u s s i o n i s that i t e f f e c t e d some b a s i c changes i n the p l a n t a t i o n s e c t o r . One of the changes was that i t l e d to the complete e l i m i n a t i o n of the ' f o r e i g n enclave' element. Another was the changes i n the t e n u r i a l arrangements. In the r e d i s t r i b u t i o n of the government acquired lands, there were a number of t e n u r i a l arrangements. These f a l l under three main types namely, land under p u b l i c s e c t o r agencies, land leased to the government sponsored co-operatives, and the land r e d i s t r i b u t e d to p r i v a t e i n d i v i d u a l s . Table 7 shows the p a t t e r n as of October 1976, which represents about 90% of the acquired land. 18 TABLE 7 PRINCIPAL RECIPIENTS OF LAND UNDER THE LAND REFORM PROGRAM (UP TO OCTOBER, 1976) Approximate Extents A l i e n a t e d PUBLIC SECTOR AGENCIES State P l a n t a t i o n Corporation 261,500 USAWASAMA (Up-Country Corporative Estates Development Board) 73,100 JANAWASAMA (Peoples' E s t a t e Development Board) 234,100 Tea and Rubber Research I n s t i t u t e s 9,900 COOPERATIVES Janawasa (Land Reform Cooperatives) 48,000 E l e c t o r a l Cooperatives 175,000 S p e c i a l Cooperatives and Others 40,000 PEASANT SMALL-HOLDINGS 115,000 OTHERS 88,500 Source: Land Reform Commission, USAWASAMA and State P l a n t a t i o n s Corporation, i n G.H. P e i r i s (1978), o p . c i t . , p.619. As the t a b l e i n d i c a t e s , most of the acquired land were put under the management of p u b l i c sector agencies and co-operative arrangement. As a r e s u l t the land reforms d i d not lead to a t o t a l ' p e a s a n t i z a t i o n ' or small-holder a g r i c u l t u r e i n the p l a n t a t i o n s e c t o r . However, the new arrangements represent a departure from the previous system of p r i v a t e l y or company owned c a p i t a l i s t operations which has been a d e f i n i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the p l a n t a t i o n s . Another c r i t e r i o n i n the d i s t i n c t i o n of the d u a l i t y has been i n terms of d i s t r i b u t i o n of the product, or more s p e c i f i c a l l y i n terms of the 19 degree of market o r i e n t a t i o n , where the 'modern s e c t o r ' i s presumed to be t o t a l l y market o r i e n t e d as compared to the g r e a t l y consumption o r i e n t e d ' t r a d i t i o n a l s e c t o r ' . Here again the S r i Lankan case presents a mixed phenomenon. While i t i s true that the p l a n t a t i o n crops g e n e r a l l y have a commercial o r i e n t a t i o n , not a l l of them are o r i e n t e d to the market, much l e s s e x c l u s i v e l y to the e x t e r n a l market. In t h i s respect tea and rubber come c l o s e to being the i d e a l p l a n t a t i o n crops, w i t h over 90% of the products being o r i e n t e d to the e x t e r n a l market. A major p a r t of the 'minor p l a n t a t i o n crops' are a l s o exported. But i n the case of the coconut products, as much i s consumed l o c a l l y as that which i s exported. In f a c t the exported share of the coconut products has tended to decrease i n recent years, one of the reasons f o r which being the increased l o c a l 23 demand. On the other hand, the 'peasant s e c t o r ' , w i t h i n c r e a s i n g monetization and commercialization, has moved, i n recent decades, f u r t h e r and f u r t h e r from the presumed subsistence o r i e n t a t i o n end towards market o r i e n t a t i o n . The amount of paddy purchased by the government under the Guaranteed P r i c e Scheme, which has v a r i e d from 27% to n e a r l y 50% of the t o t a l produce between the years 1970-1974, as shown i n the t a b l e below, provides an i n d i c a t i o n as to the commercialization i n the peasant s e c t o r . 20 TABLE 8 SRI LANKA - PADDY PRODUCTION AND GOVERNMENT PURCHASES UNDER THE GUARANTEED PRICE SCHEME (GPS), 1969/70 - 1973/74 Year T o t a l Paddy Production ('000 bushels) GPS Purchases ('000 bushels) % of T o t a l Production 1969/70 77,447 26,218 34 1970/71 66,895 32,377 48 1971/72 62,720 25,214 40 1972/73 62,900 22,892 36 1973/74 76,798 20,865 27 Source: C e n t r a l Bank of Ceylon, Annual Report, 1974 (Colombo: C e n t r a l Bank of Ceylon 1975), p.40. I t should be noted that the a c t u a l amount of s a l e s t r a n s a c t i o n s i n paddy would be greater than that i n d i c a t e d by the GPS purchases as there were considerable amounts of p r i v a t e purchases i n s p i t e of government r e s t r i c t i o n s on such dealings during these years. As f o r the other peasant crops, although p r e c i s e f i g u r e s are not a v a i l a b l e , there has been greater production of such s u b s i d i a r y food crops as c h i l l i e s , onions, potatoes and pulses, o r i e n t e d to the l o c a l market. This process gained a d d i t i o n a l impetus as a consequence of import r e s t r i c t i o n s and p r i c e i n c e n t i v e s 24 introduced by the government i n the l a t e 1960s. Along w i t h an i n c r e a s i n g degree of market o r i e n t a t i o n there have been other changes i n the o r g a n i z a t i o n of a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the technology and i n the use of c a p i t a l and labour, i n the peasant s e c t o r . In f a c t , the emergence of a new form namely, a form of commercialized small-holder production of domestic food crops, w i l l be the subject of a subsequent chapter. 21 The p o i n t of the foregoing d i s c u s s i o n has been that the ' p l a n t a t i o n s ' or the 'modern s e c t o r ' does not confirm to the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s presumed i n the d u a l i s t i c model. In terms of the s c a l e of operation and the f a c t o r combination i n the process of production, the p l a n t a t i o n s range from s m a l l -s c a l e f a m i l y operations which are predominant i n coconut and minor export crops to l a r g e s c a l e e s t a t e s which are predominant i n tea and to a l e s s e r extent i n rubber. In terms of ownership tea and rubber, which were predominantly f o r e i g n owned, have moved g r a d u a l l y i n t o Ceylonese hands during post-independence p e r i o d , w i t h the land reforms of 1975 completely e l i m i n a t i n g the f o r e i g n enclave element. In terms of the d i s t r i b u t i o n of the product, there has been a wide range from a great degree of home consumption i n coconut to a great degree of export o r i e n t a t i o n i n tea and rubber. Further, the domestic a g r i c u l t u r e has been undergoing changes r e s u l t i n g i n a movement away from the 'subsistence o r i e n t e d peasant c u l t i v a t i o n ' presumed i n the d u a l i s t i c model. (This w i l l be discussed i n Chapter 4.) Consequently, S r i Lanka presents a mixed phenomenon where elements of both 'modernity' and ' t r a d i t i o n a l i t y ' are found i n the ' p l a n t a t i o n s e c t o r ' as w e l l as the 'peasant s e c t o r ' . Therefore a d u a l i s t i c model along these s e c t o r a l l i n e s holds l i t t l e v a l i d i t y . While i t i s true that there has been an i n c r e a s i n g tendency f o r b l u r r i n g the s e c t o r a l boundaries i n recent times, the s e c t o r a l d i v i s i o n was never a complete one. For, there has always been a c e r t a i n degree of 'peasant' involvement i n the production of p l a n t a t i o n crops, as d i r e c t producers and as s u p p l i e r s of labour. F u r t h e r , the e f f e c t s of the exposure to the world market were f e l t not only by the ' p l a n t a t i o n sector' but by the 'peasant s e c t o r ' as w e l l . As Samarasinghe w r i t e s , during the Great Depression of the 1930s, 22 The c o l l a p s e of the market f o r S r i Lanka's exports l e d to considerable unemployment i n the r u r a l areas. I t happened both because est a t e s retrenched workers and because small-holders were forced to e i t h e r c u r t a i l or cease production. The p r i c e of paddy i n the l o c a l market d e c l i n e d sharply under the i n f l u e n c e of f a l l i n g world p r i c e s and that hurt the peasants badly.25 This brings us to the second c r i t i c i s m noted f o r the d u a l i s t i c model namely, the need f o r a h o l i s t i c p e r s p e c t i v e . From a h o l i s t i c p o i n t of view i t would become c l e a r that the p l a n t a t i o n s have had a pervasive i n f l u e n c e on the whole of the p o l i t i c a l economy of the country and t h e r e f o r e a d u a l i s t i c model w i t h independent s e c t o r s could be m i s l e a d i n g . The p l a n t a t i o n s exerted a pervasive i n f l u e n c e on a l l s e c t o r s of the economy and s o c i e t y because they became the dominant phenomenon i n the country towards the end of the 19th century. To understand t h i s dominant i n f l u e n c e a h i s t o r i c a l review of the r i s e of p l a n t a t i o n s would be i n order. The f o l l o w i n g chapter attempts to o u t l i n e the h i s t o r i c a l circumstances and the • manner i n which the p l a n t a t i o n s came to prominence i n S r i Lanka. 23 CHAPTER I NOTES AND REFERENCES 1. The concept was f i r s t formulated by J.H. Boeke i n The St r u c t u r e of the Netherlands Indian Economy (N.Y.: I n s t i t u t e of P a c i f i c R e l a t i o n s , 1942); and The E v o l u t i o n of the Netherlands Indies Economy (N.Y.: I n s t i t u t e of P a c i f i c R e l a t i o n s , 1946). Which he r e s t a t e d i n h i s Economics and Economic P o l i c y of Dual S o c i e t i e s (N.Y.: I n s t i t u t e of P a c i f i c R e l a t i o n s , 1953). J.S. F u r n i v a l l expanded the concept to \" p l u r a l i s m \" i n h i s Netherlands I n d i a (Cambridge: Cambridge U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1944). Some notable examples of the use of the concept are: G. Myrdal, Economic Theory and Underdeveloped Regions (London: Gerald Duckworth and Co., 1957); H. Myint, The Economies of the Developing Countries (London: Hutchinson and Co., 1964); C. Geertz, A g r i c u l t u r a l I n v o l u t i o n (Berkeley: U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a P r ess, 1963). 2. J.H. Boeke, Economies and Economic, p.4. 3. I b i d . p.40. 4. B. Higg i n s , \"The D u a l i s t i c Theory of Underdeveloped Areas,\" Economic Development and C u l t u r a l Change, IV (Jan. 1956), pp.99-115. 5. M. Nash, \"Southeast Asian S o c i e t y : Dual or M u l t i p l e ? , \" The Jo u r n a l of Asian Studies, 23 (May 1964), pp.417-123. 6. Geertz, pp.79-82. 7. L.W. Pye, \"Perspective Requires Two Po i n t s of V i s i o n , \" J o u r n a l of Asian S t u d i e s , 23 (May 1964), pp.429-430. 8. Higg i n s , p.100. 9. Geertz, p.82. 10. M. Mier, Leading Issues i n Economic Development: Studies i n I n t e r n a t i o n a l Poverty (Stanford: Oxford U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1970), pp.143-162. 11. P.C. B a n s i l , Ceylon A g r i c u l t u r e : A Pe r s p e c t i v e (New D e l h i : Oxford and IBH P u b l i s h i n g Co., 1971), p.23. 12. D.R. Snodgrass, Ceylon: An Export Economy i n T r a n s i t i o n (Homewood: Richard D. I r v i n g , 1966), p.56. 13. H.N.S. K a r u n a t i l a k e , Economic Development i n Ceylon (New York: Praeger P u b l i s h e r s , 1971), p.25. 14. S. O h r l i n g , Rural Change and S p a t i a l Reorganization i n S r i Lanka (London: Curson Press L t d . , 1977), p.14. 24 15. B. S t e i n , \"Development Problems of Ceylon\" i n Economic Development i n South A s i a , ed. B. S t e i n (New York: I n s t i t u t e of P a c i f i c R e l a t i o n s , 1954), p.76. 16. Snodgrass, pp.125-180. 17. B a n s i l , pp.179-320. See a l s o , N. Bala k r i s h n a n , \"A Review of the Economy\" i n Modern S r i Lanka: A Society i n T r a n s i t i o n , ed. T. Fernando and R. Kearney (Syracuse: Syracuse U n i v e r s i t y , 1979), p.101-130. 18. S r i Lanka, Department of Census and S t a t i s t i c s , Census of P o p u l a t i o n 1971, General Report (Colombo: Department of Census and S t a t i s t i c s , 1978), p.38. 19. G.H. P i e r i s , \" P l a n t a t i o n A g r i c u l t u r e \" i n S r i Lanka: A Survey, ed. K.M. de S i l v a (London: C. Hurst and Co., 1977), p.215. 20. B.O. Binns, P l a n t a t i o n s and Other C e n t r a l l y Operated Estates (Rome: FAO, 1955) , p.32. 21. W.O. Jones, \" P l a n t a t i o n s , \" The I n t e r n a t i o n a l Encyclopedia of S o c i a l Sciences, V o l . 12 (MacMillan, 1968), p.154. 22. G.H. P i e r i s , \"Land Reform and A g r a r i a n Change i n S r i Lanka,\" Modern Asian Studies, V o l . 12, No. 4 (1978), p.613. 23. C e n t r a l Bank of Ceylon, Annual Reports, Series (Colombo: C e n t r a l Bank of Ceylon). 24. See, f o r example, Marga I n s t i t u t e , Welfare and Growth i n S r i Lanka (Colombo: Marga P u b l i c a t i o n s , 1974), pp.22-29. 25. S.W.K. de Samarasinghe, ed., A g r i c u l t u r e i n the Peasant Sector of S r i Lanka (Peradeniya: Ceylon Studies Seminar, 1977), p.IX. 25 CHAPTER I I THE MAKING OF A PLANTATION ECONOMY 1. The Coffee Era The h i s t o r y of an export crop economy i n S r i Lanka begins i n the e a r l y decades of the 19th Century. But the export trade was not new to t h i s country. S r i Lanka i s known to have engaged i n the export of her cinnamon and other s p i c e s , gems, elephants and p e a r l s f o r many c e n t u r i e s p r i o r to the advent of Western powers.\"'* In f a c t i t was the cinnamon trade that provided one of the major a t t r a c t i o n s f o r the Portuguese who r u l e d the Maritime Provinces of S r i Lanka from 1505 to 1658. I t was the same trade that a t t r a c t e d the Dutch who took over from the Portuguese and r u l e d the Maritime Provinces u n t i l they l o s t to the B r i t i s h i n 1796. However, n e i t h e r the Portuguese nor the Dutch made much attempt to produce cinnamon or other t r a d i n g items on an organized s c a l e . They depended mainly on w i l d harvests. The Dutch, towards the l a s t decades of t h e i r r u l e , are reported 2 to have h i t upon the idea of systematic growing of cinnamon. T h i s , however, was undertaken w i t h i n the context of the p r e v a i l i n g economic o r g a n i z a t i o n and the s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s . I t was the B r i t i s h who introduced a new form of economic o r g a n i z a t i o n and made changes i n the o l d e r economic and s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s . Hence the beginning of p l a n t a t i o n s . The economic p r a c t i c e of the B r i t i s h i n S r i Lanka evolved over a p e r i o d of time and not u n t i l the 1840s d i d i t take the concrete form of l a r g e s c a l e and w e l l organized p l a n t a t i o n crop production. For the B r i t i s h , the o r i g i n a l a t t r a c t i o n of the i s l a n d was not economic but i t s m i l i t a r i l y s t r a t e g i c p o s i t i o n , p a r t i c u l a r l y that of the n a t u r a l harbour of Trincomalee, 3 i n the Indian Ocean. But the a d m i n i s t r a t i v e costs i n v o l v e d i n r u l i n g the 26 country n e c e s s i t a t e d the generation of economic s u r p l u s , f o r the broader p o l i c y of the B r i t i s h r e l a t i n g to c o l o n i a l i s m during the p e r i o d was that the cost of a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of c o l o n i a l t e r r i t o r i e s was to be generated 4 from the c o l o n i e s themselves. But S r i Lanka, at the time, d i d not have the necessary i n s t i t u t i o n a l and p h y s i c a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e or the entrepreneurs to e x p l o i t , f u l l y , the economic o p p o r t u n i t i e s and to provide the government w i t h the necessary revenue. Therefore, the goverment i t s e l f took the i n i t i a t i v e i n e x p l o i t i n g such economic o p p o r t u n i t i e s . In f a c t the c o l o n i a l government r e t a i n e d a monopoly over trade i n the e a r l y y e a r s , i n s p i t e of the f a c t that such government monopoly runs counter to the avowed p o l i c y of l a i s s e z f a i r e of the times. This c o n t r a d i c t i o n was solved g r a d u a l l y w i t h the appearance of European t r a d i n g f i r m s , to be known as \"agency houses\", i n the 1820s.^ These t r a d i n g firms gained a f o o t - h o l d i n the export of S r i Lankan coffee to England and thus paved the way f o r a great coffee e ra. The appearance of p r i v a t e e n t e r p r i s e , however, does not mean any slac k e n i n g of involvement of the c o l o n i a l government i n the country's economy. The government's i n t e r e s t s were i n t r i n s i c a l l y t i e d to the p l a n t a t i o n economy i n s e v e r a l ways. F i r s t l y ; the c o l o n i a l government favoured economic development through p r i v a t e e n t e r p r i s e , as a matter of p o l i c y o , secondly; the p l a n t a t i o n s came to provide the l a r g e s t revenue to the government, about a quarter of the government's revenue was provided by the p l a n t a t i o n crops throughout the co f f e e p e r i o d ^ , and t h i r d l y ; many government o f f i c i a l s themselves had p l a n t a t i o n investments. This i s p a r t i c u l a r l y t r u e f o r the i n i t i a l p e r i o d of the coffee era where the g Governor hims e l f and the Government Agents acted as pioneers. Though such d i r e c t involvement by the government o f f i c i a l s was d iscontinued subsequently, the p l a n t a t i o n i n t e r e s t s found ample r e p r e s e n t a t i o n i n the government. From the 1840s to u n t i l the r i s e of a S r i Lankan middle c l a s s i n p o l i t i c a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n i n the 20th century the European p l a n t e r s were the major 9 f o r c e i n the L e g i s l a t i v e C o u n c i l . Viewed i n t h i s context of deep government involvement, i t i s no s u r p r i s e that the p l a n t a t i o n e n t e r p r i s e became the ' f a v o u r i t e c h i l d ' of the c o l o n i a l government. The government i n c e n t i v e s f o r the development of p l a n t a t i o n s during the c o f f e e p e r i o d i n c l u d e the a b o l i t i o n of export d u t i e s on c o f f e e , exemption of coffee land from land tax, r e p e a l of import d u t i e s on a g r i c u l t u r a l and manufacturing equipment, exemption from f e u d a l labour dues of those employed i n coffee growing, s u b s i d i e s f o r the i m p o r t a t i o n of Indian labour and f o r the c o n s t r u c t i o n of branch roads l e a d i n g to the p l a n t a t i o n s from the main trunk r o a d s . A p a r t from such d i r e c t i n c e n t i v e s the government, of course, helped develop the necessary p h y s i c a l and i n s t i t u t i o n a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e f o r a p l a n t a t i o n economy. I t i s i n t h i s context of deep government involvement that the development of a p l a n t a t i o n economy and i t s dominant i n f l u e n c e on the whole p o l i t i c a l economy of the country should be understood, a. The Growth of Coffee By 1820, as noted e a r l i e r , some European t r a d i n g f i r m s had moved i n t o the export of c o f f e e . However, c o f f e e d i d not blossom immediately i n t o a prosperous economic e n t e r p r i s e . Coffee was grown, at the time, mostly i n l i t t l e home gardens w i t h p r i m i t i v e techniques of c u l t i v a t i o n . The output t o t a l l e d only a few thousand hundred weights per annum.\"'\"\"'\" Fu r t h e r , the demand f o r coffee i n the European market was low and the B r i t i s h market was 28 dominated by the c o f f e e from the West I n d i e s , which had the advantages of p r e f e n t i a l t a r i f f and the low cost of production obtained i n the s l a v e 12 worked p l a n t a t i o n s . But the l a t t e r h a l f of the 1830s saw such changes i n the e x t e r n a l and i n t e r n a l c o n d i t i o n s that the growth of coffee i n the 1840s was to be 13 described as the \"coffee mania\". The e x t e r n a l changes i n c l u d e a r a p i d l y growing market f o r c o f f e e i n Europe, the a b o l i t i o n of p r e f e r e n t i a l t a r i f f f o r the \"West Indies i n the B r i t i s h market which put the c o f f e e from S r i ' Lanka i n a b e t t e r competitive p o s i t i o n , the emancipation of the s l a v e s who worked the West Indies p l a n t a t i o n s which r e s u l t e d i n a d e c l i n e i n the production and hence i n d e c l i n i n g competition f o r S r i Lankan c o f f e e . I n t e r n a l l y the important events were the i n t r o d u c t i o n of advanced methods of coffee c u l t i v a t i o n by R.B. T y t l e r who brought the knowledge from Jamaica 14 and the i n f l u x of i n v e s t o r s who came mainly from B r i t a i n . Under such changed c o n d i t i o n s the great coffee era of the 1840s began. The mood of the time i s conveyed by a contemporary w r i t e r , The Governor and the C o u n c i l , the m i l i t a r y , the judges, the c l e r g y , and one h a l f the C i v i l Servants penetrated the h i l l s and became purchasers of crown lands. The East I n d i a Company o f f i c e r s crowded to Ceylon to i n v e s t t h e i r savings and c a p i t a l i s t s from England a r r i v e d by every p a c k e t . ^ The acreage under c o f f e e t r i p l e d i n the 1840s. In 1847 S r i Lanka's export to the B r i t i s h market was 15,500,000 pounds of coffee as opposed to 16 the 5,300,000 pounds from the West I n d i e s , the former l e a d i n g exporters. There was a severe setback f o r coffee i n 1847-49 as a r e s u l t of f a l l i n g p r i c e s due to a world depression. But the good times were back soon and the f o l l o w i n g three decades saw the r u l e of 'king c o f f e e ' i n S r i Lanka. Table 9 shows the p a t t e r n of c o f f e e ' s growth. 29 TABLE 9 THE GROWTH OF COFFEE (Annual Average INDUSTRY s) Year Acre Planted (000 Acres) Export Volume (000 Cwts) 1840 - 44 23 97 1805 - 49 51 260 1850 - 54 59 344 1855 - 59 138 537 1860 - 64 199 615 . 1865 - 69 243 939 1870 - 74 276 881 1875 - 79 310 795 1880 - 84 259 433 1885 139 316 1886 110 179 Source: Snodgrass, p.20. I t remains to be shown how the various f a c t o r s of production that made the p l a n t a t i o n s were brought together and how an i n f r a s t r u c t u r e t h a t f a c i l i t a t e d the p l a n t a t i o n was developed. The f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n s d i s c u s s the drawing together of c a p i t a l / l a b o u r and land and the development of i n s t i t u t i o n a l and p h y s i c a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , b. Investors and C a p i t a l In the r i s e of the p l a n t a t i o n s , the i n v e s t o r s , or entrepreneurs, and the c a p i t a l provided the i n i t i a t i v e . The entrepreneurship was o r i g i n a l l y provided by the c o l o n i a l government i t s e l f . As e a r l y as 1822 Governor 30 Edward Barns himself e s t a b l i s h e d the f i r s t c o f fee p l a n t a t i o n of 200 acres. Several Government,. Agents a l s o followed h i s example under h i s encouragement. But not u n t i l 1837 d i d the e n t e r p r i s e become p r o f i t a b l e enough to a t t r a c t l a r g e numbers of i n v e s t o r s from Europe. By 1840 coffee had been t r i e d and proven a success and the f o r e i g n i n v e s t o r s s t a r t e d f l o w i n g i n . Most of the i n v e s t o r s were not l a r g e c a p i t a l i s t s and t h e r e f o r e had to depend on some i n s t i t u t i o n a l f i n a n c i a l support to supplement t h e i r modest capital.\"\"\"^ This i s where the agency houses proved most u s e f u l . The agency houses are firms which performed the 'middleman' f u n c t i o n of management, exports and imports r e l a t e d to the p l a n t a t i o n i n d u s t r y . As noted e a r l i e r , there were already s e v e r a l agency houses i n S r i Lanka engaged i n the export trade. With the r i s e of coffee there was a p r o l i f e r a t i o n of agency houses. In a d d i t i o n to p r o v i d i n g c r e d i t f o r the p l a n t e r s , and managing absentee owned estate s and handling the export - import trade, many of the agency houses f i g u r e d prominently as p l a n t a t i o n developers and owners themselves. At the height of the coffee era there were some 37 agency houses managing and owning thousands of acres of c o f f e e p l a n t a t i o n . The Ferguson D i r e c t o r y f o r 1876-78 re p o r t s 36 agency houses managing or owning 990 estates covering a t o t a l area of 245,065 acres, which was about 90% of a l l acreage under e s t a t e s . Those owning/managing over 5000 acres are shown i n Table 10. TABLE 10 AGENCY HOUSES AND THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN THE PLANTATIONS, 1878 (THOSE OWNING/MANAGING OVER 5000 ACRES) Name of Firms No. of Estates T o t a l Acreage Sabonadiome & Co. 155 40,345 McGregor & Co. 122 27,345 George Stewart & Co. 84 23,214 J.M. Robertson & Co. 86 23,036 George Wall & Co. 92 21,701 Ceylon Co. L t d . 40 13,406 A l s l o n Scott & Co. 41 11,003 Carey, Strach & Co. 39 9,533 Mackwood & Co. 47 9,363 Lee, Hedges and Co. 30 8,827 Colombo Commercial Co. L t d . 21 7,816 Rudd Bros. 35 7,779 H.S. Saunders and Co. 36 7,375 Armitage Bros. 25 6,917 Leachman & Co. 23 5,086 Others (21) 114 21,784 Estates without Agents 367 26,529 T o t a l 1,357 271,594 Source: A.M. and J . Ferguson, The Ceylon D i r e c t o r y ; Calendar and Compendium of U s e f u l Information, 1876-78 (Colombo: Ceylon Observer Press, 1878), I n t r o d u c t i o n . 32 While the agency houses played a c r u c i a l r o l e i n the development of p l a n t a t i o n s throughout the p l a n t a t i o n h i s t o r y i n S r i Lanka, t h e i r r o l e i n c a p i t a l formation was more important f o r the coffee p e r i o d , f o r most of the coffee p l a n t a t i o n s were owned mostly by i n d i v i d u a l p r o p r i e t o r s , as opposed to the predominantly corporate ownership of the tea p l a n t a t i o n s . In 1878, f o r example, out of a t o t a l of 1,351 p l a n t a t i o n s , 800 were owned 18 by i n d i v i d u a l p r o p r i e t o r s . However, the p l a n t e r s d i d not have to depend on the agency houses alone f o r c a p i t a l . Before long there came i n t o being s e v e r a l banks, mostly branches of w e l l e s t a b l i s h e d banks overseas, i n the country. The banks were a response not only to the need f o r c a p i t a l but a l s o a v a r i e t y of other s e r v i c e s r e q u i r e d by the p l a n t a t i o n e n t e r p r i s e : The p l a n t a t i o n s needed banks i n order to remit t h e i r c a p i t a l from abroad, to discount the b i l l s of exchange which they drew against the export of t h e i r produce, to pay wages and to s e l l them s t e r l i n g d r a f t s when they wished to remit t h e i r earnings home. The commercial community which was f a s t developing alongside the p l a n t a t i o n s e c t o r needed s i m i l a r banking s e r v i c e s . There arose too, an increased demand f o r s t e r l i n g and rupee d r a f t s to pay f o r the growing volume of imports -manufactured goods from B r i t a i n and r i c e and food s t u f f s from I n d i a . ± y The f i r s t bank was opened i n 1841 under a Royal Charter from England. Another bank, the London based O r i e n t a l Bank opened a branch i n Colombo i n 1845. The above two merged i n 1851 to form the O r i e n t a l Bank Corporation whose branches were soon opened i n Kandy and G a l l e . This was followed by the M e r c h a n t i l e Bank of I n d i a , London and China i n 1854. Other banks that opened branches before the end of the century were the N a t i o n a l Bank of I n d i a , The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and the Bank of Madras. 33 c. Labour Labour was another c r u c i a l f a c t o r i n p l a n t a t i o n production. But the k i n d of wage labour r e q u i r e d f o r the p l a n t a t i o n s was an a l i e n i d e a f o r the e a r l y S r i Lankan s o c i e t y . The only system of rendering labour known to them was a system known as r a j a k a r i y a . R a j a k a r i y a i s based on the p r i n c i p l e that a l l land belongs to the k i n g , and the people who l i v e on the land are o b l i g e d to r e c i p r o c a t e i n o f f e r i n g t h e i r labour. So the people o f f e r e d t h e i r labour f o r such works as were r e q u i r e d i n the name of the k i n g . This system had come to be abused under the r i s i n g commer-c i a l i s m during the r u l e of the Western powers. The Mudaliyars ( t r a d i t i o n a l l o c a l o f f i c a l s of h i g h f a m i l y s t a t u s ) who were entrusted w i t h the f u n c t i o n of o b t a i n i n g t h i s labour are s a i d to have pressed t h i s f u n c t i o n to the extent that i t became 'forced labour'. This appears to have been done of t e n under pressures from the Government i n such a c t i v i t i e s as c o l l e c t i n g 20 cinnamon. The r a j a k a r i y a was abolished by the B r i t i s h i n 1833 as a reform measure. When the p l a n t a t i o n s cropped up i n the l a t t e r h a l f of the 1830s i t was probably expected that the 'peasants' would o f f e r t h e i r labour f o r wages. But the expected labour was not forthcoming. E i t h e r the wages o f f e r e d by the p l a n t e r s were not a t t r a c t i v e enough o r , more p l a u s i b l y , the idea of wage labour was not c o n s i s t e n t w i t h the Kandyans' i d e a of earning' a l i v i n g . F o r t u n a t e l y f o r the p l a n t e r s , the South Indian labour provided the answer from the impasse. Cheap labour became a v a i l a b l e i n almost u n l i m i t e d q u a n t i t i e s mainly from the D i s t r i c t s of Madura, T i n n e v e l l y 21 and Tanjore. The impetus to a massive labour m i g r a t i o n was provided by the worsening economic c o n d i t i o n s i n the home d i s t r i c t s and the r e l a t i v e l y a t t r a c t i v e wages o f f e r e d by the p l a n t a t i o n s . The t r i c k l e of 1839 soon became a f l o o d . A r r i v a l s swelled from about 3,000 i n 1839 to 77,000 i n 1844 By the 1880s the accumulation of the Indian labourers and t h e i r f a m i l i e s permanently s e t t l e d i n Ceylon amounted to about 200,000.^2 This labour m i g r a t i o n from I n d i a continued u n t i l l e g a l r e s t r i c t i o n s were brought i n a f t e r Independence. In 1946 the number of Indian labourers 23 employed i n the estates was 665,853. Table 11 showing the n a t i o n a l immigration and emigration f i g u r e s provides an i n d i c a t i o n of the p a t t e r n of movements of these l a b o u r e r s , f o r these f i g u r e s are h e a v i l y i n f l u e n c e d by them. 35 TABLE 11 IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION 1871-1949 ( f i v e year Averages i n thousands) Year Immigration Emigration Net M i g r a t i o n 1871 - 74 95 75 20 1875 - 79 119 90 29 1880 - 84 .46 58 -12 1885 - 89 61 52 9 1890 - 94 96 63 33 1895 - 99 122 94 28 1900 - 04 114 80 34 1905 - 09 97 66 , 31 1910 - 14 147 138 9 1915 - 19 152 145 7 1920 - 24 185 145 40 1925 - 29 267 222 45 1930 - 34 192 205 -13 1935 - 39 163 170 - 7 1940 - 44 142 154 -12 1945 - 49 252 204 47 Source: Y. Lim, \"Export I n d u s t i r e s and P a t t e r n of Economic Growth i n Ceylon,\" Ph.D. T h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y of C a r o l i n a , 1965, p.202. d. Land Land as an i n s t i t u t i o n i s probably the f a c t o r that f e l t most the impact of a p l a n t a t i o n economy. P r i o r to the a r r i v a l of the Western powers 36 the Sinhalese had a r a t h e r complicated system of land tenure. The b a s i c p r i n c i p l e w i t h regard to land was that a l l land belonged to the k i n g . But w i t h i n t h i s broad p r i n c i p l e the r i g h t to use land and the o b l i g a t i o n s i n v o l v e d i n such use v a r i e d a great d e a l . Broadly, three c a t e g o r i e s of 24 land may be i d e n t i f i e d : 1. Crown lands which were d i r e c t l y administered by the government and c u l t i v a t e d on i t s behalf by persons appointed temporarily f o r the purpose and paid a share of the produce to the Crown. 2. Non-service tenures (paraveni). To t h i s c l a s s belong a l l lands permanently a l i e n a t e d by the government on c o n d i t i o n of r e c e i v i n g a share of the produce as tax. These lands were s a l e a b l e and h e r i t a b l e . 3. Service tenures. To t h i s c l a s s belong a l l lands temporarily a l i e n a t e d by the government on the c o n d i t i o n of r e c e i v i n g personal s e r v i c e from the holder. They cannot be t r a n s f e r r e d or mortgaged. The Portuguese and the Dutch had made only marginal m o d i f i c a t i o n s i n t h i s o l d system. For one t h i n g , they r u l e d only the Maritime Provinces and f o r another, they were content w i t h having access to land that produced cinnamon. But the B r i t i s h gained c o n t r o l over the whole i s l a n d and t h e i r involvement i n the economy was g r e a t e r . Therefore, they attempted to unravel t h i s complicated land tenure system and i n the process, ...they i n e v i t a b l y i n t e r p r e t e d l a nd-holding i n s t i t u t i o n s i n t h e i r own frame of reference. For example, they i n s i s t e d on a r i g i d d i s t i n c t i o n between p r i v a t e and government ownership.25 From the f i r s t Governor on, the B r i t i s h favoured p r i v a t e p r o p r i e t o r s h i p over land on the assumption that the t r a d i t i o n a l forms of tenure were 26 u n f a i r , uneconomic and discouraged a g r i c u l t u r e . This i s i n keeping w i t h the broader p o l i c y of the B r i t i s h r e l a t i n g to land i n the c o l o n i e s . The p o l i c y , notes Roberts, i s a modified v e r s i o n of Wakefield's d o c t r i n e s : 37 Lands were to be s o l d and not granted f r e e . There was to be a minimum upset p r i c e per acre; and s a l e s were to be by au c t i o n w h i l e the revenue from land s a l e s would be employed f o r c o l o n i a l development. This scheme was intended to regula t e a l i e n a t i o n so that crown land went to those who could make best use of i t - i n other words, the men w i t h c a p i t a l . 2 7 Thus, from 1833 the C o l o n i a l government undertook the s a l e of crown lands to pro s p e c t i v e coffee p l a n t e r s . There was no se r i o u s problem as long as f o r e s t lands not used by the v i l l a g e r s were i n abundance. But as the demand f o r land increased immensely towards the end of the decade and the p l a n t a t i o n s began p e n e t r a t i n g the Kandyan highlands, the new land p o l i c y came i n t o c o n f l i c t w i t h the o l d p a t t e r n of land use. This was p a r t i c u l a r l y marked i n the area of chena lands. The chena lands are f o r e s t lands a d j o i n i n g the v i l l a g e s which were c u l t i v a t e d on a seven or more year r o t a t i o n a l b a s i s as a supplement to the v i l l a g e paddy lands. Though the v i l l a g e r s d i d not own the chena lands, under the Kandyan k i n g s , there was the t a c i t understanding that the v i l l a g e r s had a r i g h t to these f o r e s t lands. But the c o l o n i a l government's land s a l e s proceeded on the b a s i s that a l l land to which the v i l l a g e r s d i d not have e x p l i c i t r i g h t was crown property and a l i e n a b l e by the crown. But the v i l l a g e r s a s s e r t e d t h e i r c l a i m when the chena f o r e s t s were encroached by the p l a n t a t i o n s . This was awkward f o r the f u r t h e r development of the p l a n t a t i o n s . This awkward s i t u a t i o n was r e s o l v e d by the Crown Lands Ordinance No. 12 of 1840. As Roberts p o i n t s out, The fundamental and i n t e r r e l a t e d o b j e c t i v e s of t h i s p i e c e of l e g i s l a t i o n were to provide s e c u r i t y of tenure and to p r o t e c t crown f o r e s t s from encroachments and cl a i m s , and by there-means to e s t a b l i s h a s u i t a b l e foundation f o r a g r i c u l t u r a l improvement, so as to a t t r a c t f o r e i g n c a p i t a l and to permit the crown to s e l l f o r e s t land to p r o s p e c t i v e planters.28 The Ordinance declared t h a t , a l l f o r e s t , waste, unoccupied and u n c u l t i v a t e d lands s h a l l be presumed to be the property of the crown, u n t i l the contrary thereof be proved.29 With such l e g a l enactments which defined land ownership i n terms of u n q u a l i f i e d possession and t r a n s f e r a b i l i t y , i . e . i n a manner that i s conducive to the development of c a p i t a l i s t p l a n t a t i o n production, and w i t h the necessary l e g a l and a d m i n i s t r a t i v e apparatus, such as the Surveyor General's Department and the R e g i s t r a r General's Department, land s a l e s proceeded at a h e c t i c r a t e . Though there were some land s a l e s from the e a r l y 1830s, the year 1840 marks an a l l time Crown Land s a l e s record of 78,680 acr e s , and i n j u s t four years from 1840 to 1843, 230,000 acres were s o l d by the government. Land purchases of t h i s p e r i o d were as much a r e s u l t of s p e c u l a t i o n as they were of the expansion of c o f f e e . Such ' w i l d s p e c u l a t i o n ' however was a r r e s t e d towards the end of the 1840s by a s e t -back faced by c o f f e e i n the world market. Land s a l e s continued during the r e s t of the co f f e e era at a slower r a t e . Table 12 gives the government land s a l e s f i g u r e s f o r the 19th Century. 39 TABLE 12 LAND SALES BY THE GOVERNMENT, 1835-1894 ( f i v e year t o t a l s ) Year Acres 1835 - 39 27,987 1840 - 44 237,305 1845 - 49 30,995 1850 - 54 16,158 1855 - 59 77,936 1860 - 64 153,980 1865 - 69 191,030 1870 - 74 128,361 1875 - 79 129,497 1880 - 84 127,925 1885 - 89 97,528 1890 - 94 72,299 Source: Y. Lim, o p . c i t . , Adapted from Appendix Table. e. Supportive Services Several of the supportive s e r v i c e s or the i n f r a s t r u c t u r e r e q u i r e d f o r the p l a n t a t i o n economy, such as the agency houses, the banks, l e g a l enactments and i n s t i t u t i o n s r e l a t i n g to land t r a n s a c t i o n s have already been mentioned. A f u r t h e r , and probably the most important, i n f r a s t r u c t u r a l aspect i s t r a n s p o r t . As Van den Driesen notes, 40 Since p l a n t a t i o n a g r i c u l t u r e concerned i t s e l f w i t h the market and not w i t h subsistence a g r i c u l t u r e , t r a n s p o r t immediately became the p i v o t on which the e n t i r e economy turned. Ceylon's system of communication thus came i n the course of time, to bear the stamp imposed upon i t by the planters.30 The e x i s t i n g roads i n the i s l a n d at the time of B r i t i s h conquest were l i t t l e more than foot-paths. The Kandyan highlands were almost i n a c c e s s i b l e and that i s one reason why the Kandyans were able to fend o f f the e a r l i e r f o r e i g n powers. The B r i t i s h r e a l i z e d the importance of roads. Governor Edward Barnes, who a r r i v e d i n 1819 considered that without good roads, We can never be s a i d to have secure possession of the country, nor can i t commercially improve.31 Hence, he set about the task of b u i l d i n g roads. For Barnes the expenditure was no great problem. As M i l l s w r i t e s , The greater part of Barnes's roads were b u i l t by exacting a f o r t n i g h t l y compulsory labour from the n a t i v e s who h e l d t h e i r land by s e r v i c e tenure. Had i t not been f o r the existence of R a j a k a r i y a the work could not have been accomplished .\"52 Barnes's roads of 300 or 400 m i l e s may appear p a l t r y i n comparison to developments during the coffee era. With the expansion of the p l a n t a t i o n s the development of roads became a primary concern of the government. From 1837 to 1886 the cost on the c o n s t r u c t i o n of new roads and the maintenance of o l d ones was about •£ 5 3/4 m i l l i o n and that of r a i l w a y wasf 3 3/4. The f a c t that t h i s was about 24% of the t o t a l government revenue of £40 m i l l i o n r e l a t i n g to the same pe r i o d r e v e a l s the importance attached to t h i s a c t i v i t y . At the beginning of the coffee era the government revenue rose mainly due to s a l e of crown lands and due to the export trade. From 1843 to 1845 the government had an average annual revenue surplus of£44,430. Consequently, between 1843 and 33 1847, 1,247 miles of roads were b u i l t or r e s t o r e d . But i n the f o l l o w i n g years the government revenue d e c l i n e d due to the unfavourable c o n d i t i o n s faced by c o f f e e i n the world market. But the demand f o r road expansion continued. To counter the s i t u a t i o n the o l d system of s e r v i c e tenure was r e s o r t e d t o , f o r a w h i l e , under the guise of the Road Ordinance of 1848. The Ordinance required every male i n h a b i t a n t except Buddhist p r i e s t s to give s i x days compulsory labour annually to road c o n s t r u c t i o n or r e p a i r or e l s e to pay a commutation tax of 3 s.34 The Ordinance made p o s s i b l e the continued c o n s t r u c t i o n and maintenance of roads. But coffee's p r o s p e r i t y returned i n the 1850s and the government was able to accumulate l a r g e surpluses of revenue. As a r e s u l t , the new Governor, S i r Henry Ward, who came i n 1855, was able to spend over £ 1 m i l l i o n between 1855 - 1860 on road c o n s t r u c t i o n so that by 1860 S r i Lanka 35 had about 3,000 miles of roads i n good r e p a i r . This meant a reasonably well-developed road system i n the p l a n t a t i o n d i s t r i c t s which connected the i n t e r i o r w i t h the two main c i t i e s of Colombo and Kandy. But t r a n s p o r t a t i o n by means of c a r t s , f o r which the roads provided, proved not e f f i c i e n t enough f o r coffee to remain competitive i n the world market. Road t r a n s p o r t a t i o n was not only time consuming and c o s t l y but there was a l s o the danger of complete breakdowns i n t r a n s p o r t a t i o n i n the event of a prolonged bad monsoon weather. This t h r e a t would prevent the f u r t h e r development of the p l a n t a t i o n s . Therefore, the p l a n t e r s as w e l l as the government turned t h e i r a t t e n t i o n to the c o n s t r u c t i o n of r a i l w a y s . Although a Ceylon Railways Company was formed as e a r l y as 1847, plans were abandoned due to a f i n a n c i a l c r i s i s . But by 1860 the Government 42 revenue s i t u a t i o n had improved and i t was p o s s i b l e to commence c o n s t r u c t i o n of r a i l w a y s . The f i r s t l i n e from Colombo to Kandy, 75 miles l o n g , was completed i n 1867 at a cost of n e a r l y £ 2 m i l l i o n . Subsequent extensions i n the decade i n c l u d e Kandy-Nuwalapitiya, Kandy-Bandarawela, Kandy-Matale and Kandy-Kurunagela which n e a r l y covered a l l the p l a n t a t i o n r e g i o n s . Further extensions along the coast from Colombo to G a l l e and Colombo to Puttalam and to the North from Kurunegala to Talaimannar and J a f f n a were completed by the t u r n of the century. By t h i s time S r i Lanka had over 36 700 miles of r a i l w a y s . Most of the r a i l w a y s , as to be expected, were confined to the p l a n t a t i o n r e g i o n . The only exceptions were the l i n e s to the north - to Talaimannar and to J a f f n a . The former again was aimed mainly at the South Indian labourers and traders who had to do w i t h the p l a n t a t i o n s . I t was on the above supportive s t r u c t u r e c o n s i s t i n g of an elaborate t r a n s p o r t a t i o n network, a commercial and f i n a n c i a l network, and a b u r e a u c r a t i c and a d m i n i s t r a t i v e apparatus that the c o f f e e i n d u s t r y grew to prominence i n S r i Lanka. When co f f e e f e l l other p l a n t a t i o n crops were b u i l t on the e x i s t i n g s t r u c t u r e . The f a l l of c o f f e e was more r a p i d than i t s r i s e . A l e a f fungus (Hemelia V a s t a t r i x ) , which appeared on the c o f f e e p l a n t s i n 1869, continued to grow i n the 1870s causing d r a s t i c reductions i n y i e l d s . However the coffee i n d u s t r y continued to prosper under the r i s i n g world p r i c e s . But the 1880s were not so f o r t u n a t e years. The world market p r i c e s d e c l i n e d and the spread of the l e a f fungus was pervasive during t h i s p e r i o d . As a r e s u l t most of the p l a n t a t i o n s were abandoned. From 1880 to 1886 the 37 acreage under c o f f e e f e l l from 300,000 to 100,000. By the end of the decade the coffee i n d u s t r y had a l l but disappeared. 43 Although the coffee i n d u s t r y was dead by 1890, a f i r m base f o r a p l a n t a t i o n economy had, by then, been e s t a b l i s h e d i n S r i Lanka. There was a w e l l e s t a b l i s h e d commercial community and a marketing system; there was a w e l l developed p h y s i c a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e c o n s i s t i n g of roads, r a i l -ways, p o r t , e t c . ; there were vast extents of developed land and there was a l a r g e army of ' d i s c i p l i n e d ' labour. Further there was the c o l o n i a l government and the bureaucracy conditioned to an export economy. There-fore the end of coffee could not mean the end of p l a n t a t i o n a g r i c u l t u r e i n the i s l a n d . The problem was simply one of f i n d i n g one or more replacement crops f o r c o f f e e . Among the f i r s t crops to be t r i e d i n p l a n t a t i o n s was cinchona, a produce used i n the making of quinine. Cinchona proved to be a success, though a short l i v e d one. In j u s t three years from 1878 to 1883 the area under t h i s crop increased from 6,000 to 60,000 acres. But the consequent exports, along w i t h those coming from South America, I n d i a and Java caused a g l u t i n the world market. P r i c e s f e l l d r a s t i c a l l y (quinine f a l l i n g from 12 s to 1 s an ounce i n fourteen years) and t h i s made the crop uneconomic. Export of cinchona bark f e l l from 16 m i l l i o n pounds i n 1887 to 6 m i l l i o n i n 1892. 3 8 Another crop to which a t t e n t i o n was d i v e r t e d a f t e r coffee's f a i l u r e was cocoa. The i n i t i a l p l a n t i n g s began i n 1874 and by 1891 there were about 12,000 acres under t h i s crop. The export of cocoa beans rose from 10 cwt. i n 1878 to 20,532 cwt. i n 1891. But the crop appears to have reached a plateau at t h i s l e v e l . This was probably due to i t s geographic l i m i t a t i o n s : cocoa p l a n t r e q u i r e s , 44 a considerable depth of good s o i l , i n a favourable s i t u a t i o n , at a medium e l e v a t i o n , w i t h complete s h e l t e r from wind.39 These requirements are found only i n l i m i t e d areas and t h e r e f o r e i t could never f u l l y r eplace c o f f e e . The other commercial crops t r i e d during t h i s period i n c l u d e cardamon, cinnamon and black pepper. These crops provided a temporary a l t e r n a t i v e to some p l a n t e r s who were e f f e c t e d by coffee's d e c l i n e . More imp o r t a n t l y these crops were a t t r a c t i v e to c u l t i v a t o r s i n the v i l l a g e peasant economy and have remained a part of i t to the present. This was mainly because these crops d i d not c a l l f o r too s o p h i s t i c a t e d methods of c u l t i v a t i o n or processing and they were s u i t e d f o r small s c a l e c u l t i v a t i o n - sometimes as i n t e r c r o p s i n the home gardens. But as exports, the demand f o r these crops i n the world market was l i m i t e d and t h e r e f o r e they never a t t a i n e d the status that c o f f e e a t t a i n e d . 2. Tea I t was tea that provided the u l t i m a t e answer to the c o f f e e debacle. Experiments on tea growing had begun i n the B o t a n i c a l Gardens as e a r l y as 1845 but not t i l l the e a r l y 1870s was i t e s t a b l i s h e d that t h i s crop could be s u c c e s s f u l l y grown i n the I s l a n d . I t was s t i l l l a t e r i n the 1880s that i t began a t t r a c t i n g the a t t e n t i o n of the p l a n t e r s . I t s slow growth i n the e a r l y periods were probably due to coffee's p o p u l a r i t y , the low l e v e l of development of techniques of production and processing and the slow growth of demand i n the world market. There was a l s o a s c a r c i t y of tea seeds. 45 In the 1880s the c o n d i t i o n s were r i p e f o r the f u l l growth of t e a : coffee had been wiped out by the b l i g h t and the p l a n t a t i o n community was desperately searching f o r new crops. The techniques of production and processing were improving. The p o p u l a r i t y of Ceylon tea was r i s i n g i n the B r i t i s h market. Thus, a contemporary w r i t e r notes, The atmosphere of p l a n t i n g , business and even o f f i c i a l c i r c l e s i n Ceylon j u s t now i s h i g h l y charged w i t h \" t e a \" and the number of Tea Patents ( f o r preparing machines), of Tea p u b l i c a t i o n s , Tea Brokers, Tea s e l l i n g and the Tea p l a n t i n g companies would g r e a t l y a s t o n i s h a Ceylon coffee p l a n t e r of the \" f i f t i e s \" , \" s i x t i e s \" or even \"s e v e n t i e s \" i f he \" r e v i s i t e d the glimpses of the moon\" i n the C e n t r a l , Uva, Saberagamua. Southern and the Western provinces of the i s l a n d . The acreage under tea has grown from a mere 23,000 i n 1850 to n e a r l y 200,000 at the c l o s e of the decade. Exports of tea had r i s e n from about 1 m i l l i o n to about 20 m i l l i o n l b s . during the same p e r i o d . But the f o l l o w i n g years were to witness a phenomenal growth of the crop i n Ceylon so that by the middle of the century the acreage under tea was over 550,000 acres and the export volume was over 300 m i l l i o n pounds. Table 13 shows the growth p a t t e r n . TABLE 13 THE TEA INDUSTRY 1875-1951 Year Acreage Export (In thousand acres) ( i n 000 l b s . ) 1875 1 1885 58 4,373 1890 207 45,799 1895 305 98,581 1901 406 144,276 1921 418 161,611 1929 450 251,490 1940 552 290,512 1951 567 305,171 Source: S r i Lanka, Department of Census and S t a t i s t i c s , Census of A g r i c u l t u r e 1952, Part I - Tea P l a n t a t i o n s , (Colombo: Department of Census and S t a t i s t i c s , 1965), p.5. Through the decades of the 20th century tea has been the most important export item of S r i Lanka. By the mid-century tea accounted f o r 65% of a l l export earnings of the country and i t s c o n t r i b u t i o n to 42 the G.N.P. was about 18%. The question a r i s e s as to what made tea an outstanding success i n S r i Lanka. There are s e v e r a l reasons: F i r s t , i t s p e r f e c t a d a p t a b i l i t y to S r i Lanka's c l i m a t i c and s o i l c o n d i t i o n s . U n l i k e c o f f e e and other crops tea t h r i v e d under r a i n f a l l v a r y i n g from 80 to 200 inches and land e l e v a t i o n s r i s i n g from sea l e v e l to anything up to 7,000 feet above sea l e v e l . Another f a c t o r i n the development of tea 47 was the p h y s i c a l and the i n s t i t u t i o n a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e and the experience i n p l a n t a t i o n i n d u s t r y obtained from c o f f e e . I n i t i a l p l a n t i n g s of tea were done more as replacement on abandoned co f f e e lands though e v e n t u a l l y the spread of tea g r e a t l y exceeded that of c o f f e e . In the production and processing there was a vast improvement over c o f f e e , a s s i s t e d by s c i e n t i f i c knowledge: There was constant observations and input from the B o t a n i c a l Gardens and l a t e r from the Department of A g r i c u l t u r e and s t i l l l a t e r from the Tea Research I n s t i t u t e (TRI). Improved machinery and techniques provided f o r lower c o s t s , higher p r o d u c t i v i t y and q u a l i t y of products. A f u r t h e r development was the p r o l i f e r a t i o n of corporate ownership, as opposed to the l a r g e l y i n d i v i d u a l p r o p r i e t o r s h i p of the coffee times. In 1950, over 60% of the i n d u s t r y acreage and about 75% of the \" e s t a t e \" acreage was held by c o r p o r a t i o n s . This trend towards grouping together of i n d i v i d u a l estates was presumably f o s t e r e d by the economies of s c a l e provided by t e a , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n processing and the d e s i r e to avoid f i n a n c i a l d i s a s t e r s of the s o r t of c o f f e e times. 3. Rubber Rubber, another of the a l t e r n a t i v e p l a n t a t i o n crops t r i e d a f t e r c o f f e e f a i l e d , was introduced to S r i Lanka i n 1876. But not u n t i l the t u r n of the century d i d i t catch the a t t e n t i o n of the p l a n t e r s as a major p l a n t a t i o n crop. The changed i n t e r e s t towards rubber was p r i m a r i l y due 43 to poor tea p r i c e s p r e v a i l i n g during t h i s p e r i o d . But t h i s was a l s o the time that rubber had been through the experimental stage and proved i t s p o t e n t i a l . A t h i r d f a c t o r i n the growth of rubber was the growing demand f o r the product i n Europe and p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the r a p i d l y i n d u s t r i a l i z i n g America, and consequently r i s i n g p r i c e s . In 1900 there were only 1,750 acres under rubber which by the end of the decade had r i s e n to 150,000 acres. In the f o l l o w i n g decades rubber's fortunes have f l u c t u a t e d g r e a t l y w i t h changing world demand - due to overproduction, world wars, and depressions. Nevertheless the area under t h i s crop had grown s t e a d i l y u n t i l by the middle of the century i t occupied over 600,000 acres. THE TABLE 14 RUBBER INDUSTRY (Annual Averag 1900-1949 es) Years Acreage Output ( i n 000) ( m i l l i o n l b s . ) 1900 - 04 7 1905 - 09 98 1910 - 14 199 1915 - 19 244 65 1920 - 24 390 90 1925 - 29 494 133 1930 - 34 148 1935 - 39 611 128 1940 - 44 219 1945 - 49 205 Source: Snodgrass, Tables 2-6 and A.52 49 Rubber i s more of a small-holder crop compared to tea. In 1946 about 21% of the rubber was i n small holdings of 20 acres or l e s s . There are s e v e r a l reasons that account f o r the f a c t o r : The production and pro-cessing of rubber does not c a l l f o r very s o p h i s t i c a t e d techniques or machineries. The labour required f o r maintainence i s l e s s than that f o r 45 t e a , which would provide f o r the competitiveness of the small holder. F i n a l l y the land and c l i m a t e best s u i t e d f o r rubber i s i n the intermediate e l e v a t i o n s of the Wet zone which i n t e r m i n g l e s w i t h the v i l l a g e s . 4. Coconut Coffee, subsequently tea and rubber were l a r g e l y confined to the C e n t r a l Highlands and the intermediate e l e v a t i o n s of the Wet zone. Their counterpart i n the Maritime Provinces was coconut. The coconut palm i s known to have e x i s t e d i n S r i Lanka from about the 12th century, which 46 the peasant c u l t i v a t o r s put to numerous uses. But not u n t i l the middle of the 18th century d i d i t acquire any commercial value. I t was the Dutch who gave a stimulus to the c u l t i v a t i o n of coconut by p l a c i n g a commercial value on c e r t a i n coconut products, such as c o i r , of which as much as 3 m i l l i o n pounds were reported to have been exported at some 47 po i n t during the Dutch p e r i o d . However the development of coconut as a p l a n t a t i o n crop was a phenomenon of the B r i t i s h p e r i o d . In the 1840s a considerable number of coconut p l a n t a t i o n s Were opened up i n the d i s t r i c t s of J a f f n a , B a t t i c a l o a , C h i l l a w and Puttelam, by European p l a n t e r s . But i n the f o l l o w i n g decade there was a slump i n the market, during which many p l a n t a t i o n s changed hands to the Ceylonese. This was followed by a decade of great expansion of the coconut i n d u s t r y which, by 1876 covered an estimated acreage of 300,000 acres. The growth s i n c e has been f a i r l y steady u n t i l i n 1946 the acreage under coconut stood at 1,170,000 acres. Table 15 shows the growth p a t t e r n . TABLE 15 ACREAGE UNDER COCONUT 1860-1946 Year Acreage ( i n thousands) 1860 250 1893 650 1903 650 1921 820 1929 1,076 1946 1,070 Source: Census of A g r i c u l t u r e 1952 Part I I I Coconut P l a n t a t i o n , o p . c i t . , p.5. Coconut d i f f e r s from the other two major p l a n t a t i o n crops i n s e v e r a l respects. I t i s widely d i s t r i b u t e d mostly i n the Coas t a l areas, i t s o r i g i n i n the country dates back to a considerably longer time, i t represents a smaller s c a l e of ope r a t i o n , the i n d u s t r y has always been more of a Ceylonese e n t e r p r i s e and i t s share of l o c a l consumption i s much greater than the other crops. As f o r the question as to why coconut i s mostly found i n the Coastal areas and not i n the C e n t r a l Highlands where the other p l a n t a t i o n crops 51 are, the answer i s simply that i t t h r i v e s b e t t e r on lower land e l e v a t i o n s . The f a c t that the coconut palm i s s e v e r a l c e n t u r i e s o l d i n the i s l a n d may r a i s e the question as to why i t d i d not come to prominence or turn i n t o a commercial a c t i v i t y u n t i l the middle of the 18th century. Here, i t appears that the r i s e of coffee as a p l a n t a t i o n crop has been the important f a c t o r , i n that i n a d d i t i o n to having a demonstration a f f e c t , the l a t t e r a l s o gave r i s e to a whole i n f r a s t r u c t u r e on which the coconut i n d u s t r y could be b u i l t . ' That coconut i s a smaller s c a l e o p e r a t i o n , that i t has always been grown mostly by the Ceylonese, and that i t i s more o r i e n t e d to the l o c a l market are r e l a t e d f a c t o r s . Coconut, being a hardy crop, could t h r i v e under l e s s than p e r f e c t c o n d i t i o n s which meant that i t d i d not r e q u i r e the standard of maintenance and the t e c h n i c a l know-how that other crops d i d . This was an a t t r a c t i o n f o r the n o n - s p e c i a l i z i n g small h o l d e r s . Also the coconut palm had numerous uses f o r the v i l l a g e r s other than the commercial ones. Other p o s s i b l e f a c t o r s were that the S r i Lankans of the Coastal areas having been long exposed to the Western i n f l u e n c e were able to emulate and compete b e t t e r w i t h the European p l a n t e r s , the f a c t that coconut was considered to be l e s s remunerative was probably a 49 d i s i n c e n t i v e f o r the European p l a n t e r s . However, i t should be noted that during the B r i t i s h period the e n t i r e export trade and to a l e s s e r extent the processing of coconut, such as the l a r g e o i l m i l l s s i t u a t e d i n Colombo, were i n European hands and t h e r e f o r e the c o n t r o l of the i n d u s t r y by Ceylonese was f a r from complete. 52 By the end of the 19th century the economic p a t t e r n of the country and the dominance of the p l a n t a t i o n s w i t h i n i t has been e s t a b l i s h e d . This p a t t e r n remained s t a b l e through the decades of the 20th century u n t i l a f t e r c e r t a i n changes during the post-independence p e r i o d . At the time of independence i n 1948 the country's economy was predominantly a g r i c u l t u r a l and export o r i e n t e d . In terms of the G.N.P. the c o n t r i b u -t i o n of a g r i c u l t u r e was 48%, of which the three major p l a n t a t i o n crops accounted f o r over 65%.^\"^ In the t o t a l exports of the country i n 1948, t e a , rubber and coconut represented about 90%.\"'\"'' In terms of the area under c u l t i v a t i o n the three major p l a n t a t i o n crops accounted f o r about 52%, and i n terms of employment i n a g r i c u l t u r e they accounted f o r about 55% at the 52 time of the A g r i c u l t u r a l Census i n 1946. The attempt i n the preceeding pages has been to show the h i s t o r i c a l circumstances under which the f a c t o r s of production and an i n f r a s t r u c t u r e were b u i l t up f o r the production of p l a n t a t i o n crops and the manner i n which the p l a n t a t i o n s grew to be the dominant phenomenon i n the S r i Lankan economy. I t i s i n t h i s context, i . e . i n the context of p l a n t a t i o n s , supported by a s t a t e and an i n f r a s t r u c t u r a l apparatus, grown to be a dominant phenomenon that the t o t a l i n f l u e n c e of the p l a n t a t i o n s on the nation's economy and s o c i e t y should be understood. The f o l l o w i n g chapter attempts to i n d i c a t e the s p e c i f i c nature of t h i s i n f l u e n c e . 53 CHAPTER I I NOTES AND REFERENCES 1. J . Ferguson, Ceylon i n 1893 (London: John Hudson and Co., 1893), p . l ; a l s o J.E. Tennent, Ceylon (London: ?, 1860); H.N. Cordington, A Short H i s t o r y of Ceylon (London: ?, 1926). 2. Ceylon N a t i o n a l Archives 7/2357 c i t e d i n P. Peebles, \"The Transformation of C o l o n i a l E l i t e : The Mudaliyars of Nineteenth Century Ceylon,\" Ph.D. d i s s e r a t i o n , U n i v e r s i t y of Chicago, 1973, p.53. 3. L.A. M i l l s , Ceylon Under B r i t i s h Rule (London: Oxford U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1933), pp.8-15. 4. L.A. M i l l s , B r i t a i n and Ceylon (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1945), pp.22-25. 5. V. Samaraweera, \"Economic and S o c i a l Developments Under the B r i t i s h \" i n H i s t o r y of Ceylon, ed. K.M. de S i l v a (Peradeniya: U n i v e r s i t y of Ceylon, 1973), p.54. 6. G.C. Mendis, The Colebrooke - Camaron Papers, V o l . I I (London: Oxford U n i v e r s i t y P r ess, 1956). 7. L.A. M i l l s (1933), p.237. 8. K.M. de S i l v a \"Studies i n B r i t i s h Land P o l i c y i n Ceylon\" Ceylon J o u r n a l of H i s t o r i c a l and S o c i a l Studies (Jan.-June 1964), pp.28-29. 9. G.C. Mendis, Ceylon Under the B r i t i s h (Colombo: The Colombo Apothecaries Co. L t d . 1944). 10. L.A. M i l l s (1933), pp.222-250. 11. J.E. Tennent, pp.226-227. 12. I . Van den Driesen, \"Some Aspects of the Development of the Coffee P l a n t i n g Industry i n Ceylon,\" Ph.D. D i s s e r t a t i o n , London School of Economics, 1954. 13. L.A. M i l l s (1933), p.227. 14. I b i d , pp.226-230. 15. J.E. Tennent, p.231. 16. Snodgrass, p.18. 17. I . Van den Driesen, \"Some trends i n the Economic H i s t o r y of Ceylon i n the Modern P e r i o d \" Ceylon J o u r n a l of H i s t o r i c a l and S o c i a l Studies 3:1 (Jan.-June 1960), p.13. 54 18. I b i d , p.13. 19. H.A.D.S. Gunesekera, From Dependent Currency to C e n t r a l Banking i n Ceylon (London: London School of Economics, 1962), p.24. 20. Peebles, p.87. 21. M. Roberts, \"Export A g r i c u l t u r e i n the Nineteenth Century\" i n H i s t o r y of Ceylon V o l . 3, ed. K.M. de S i l v a , p.99.; I . Van den Driesen (1960), p.7. 22. I. Van den Driesen, as c i t e d i n Snodgrass, p.25. 23. S r i Lanka, Department of Census and S t a t i s t i c s , Census of A g r i c u l t u r e of Ceylon 1952 (Colombo, 1956, p.14. Department of Census and S t a t i s t i c s , 1956), p.14. 24. Based on C o l v i n R. de S i l v a , Ceylon Under the B r i t i s h Occupation 1795-1883, V o l . 2 (Colombo: The Colombo Apothecaries Co. L t d . 1962), pp.321-353. These are broad c a t e g o r i e s , and w i t h i n each were found s e v e r a l subcategories. 25. Peebles, p.221. 26. C o l v i n R. de S i l v a , p.351-52. 27. M. Roberts, \"Land Problems and Land P o l i c i e s , 1832-1900\" i n H i s t o r y of Ceylon, p.125. 28. I b i d , p.122. 29. Peebles, p.132. This much debated piece of l e g i s l a t i o n i s the forerunner to a s e r i e s of Ordinances known as Waste Lands Ordinances which i n c l u d e ; Crownlands Ordinance No. 9 of 1841, Temple Lands Ordinance No. 10 of 1956, and the Waste Lands Ordinance No. 1 of 1899. 30. Van den Driesen (1960), p.8. 31. C o l o n i a l O f f i c e 54-74: Nov. 13, 1819, i n L.A. M i l l s (1933), p.224. 32. M i l l s (1933)- p.224. 33. I b i d , p.234. 34. I b i d , p.239. 35. I b i d , p.239. 36. L.A. Wickramaratne, \"The Development of Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n i n Ceylon\" i n H i s t o r y of Ceylon, o p . c i t . , pp.303-316. 37. Snodgrass, p.20. 55 38. B. B a s t i a m p i l l a i , \"From Coffee to Tea i n Ceylon,\" Ceylon J o u r n a l of H i s t o r i c a l and S o c i a l Studies 7:1 (Jan.-June 1964), pp.43-66. 39. J . Ferguson, Ceylon i n 1893 (London: John Haddon and Co., 1893), p. 83. 40. B a s t i a m p i l l a i , p.61. 41. J . Ferguson (1893), p.83. 42. S r i Lanka, Department of Census and S t a t i s t i c s , Census of A g r i c u l t u r e 1952, P a r t I , Tea P l a n t a t i o n , p. 6... 43. Snodgrass, p.38. 44. L.A. M i l l s (1933), p.254. 45. Snodgrass, p.42. 46. Ferguson D i r e c t o r y 1876-78, o p . c i t . , I n t r o d u c t i o n ; Ceylon, Parliament, S e s s i o n a l Paper X I I of 1949, pp.11-12. \"Report of the Coconut Commission,\" pp.11-12. 47. Ferguson D i r e c t o r y 1876-78, o p . c i t . , I n t r o d u c t i o n . 48. I b i d , I n t r o d u c t i o n . 49. I b i d , I n t r o d u c t i o n . 50. S r i Lanka, Department of Census and S t a t i s t i c s , S t a t i s t i c a l A b s t r a c t s 1952 (Colombo: Department of Census and S t a t i s t i c s , 1954). 51. S r i Lanka, Customs Returns 1950, i n A.P.'A. Fernando, p.3. 52. United Nations, ESCAP, pp.72-73 and 90. 56 CHAPTER III PLANTATIONS AS THE DOMINANT MODE OF PRODUCTION It was argued i n Chapter 1 that i t i s misleading to speak of a separate and independently e x i s t i n g 'modern' sector and a ' t r a d i t i o n a l ' sector i n S r i Lanka f i r s t l y , because there are a great many overlaps and i n t e r a c t i o n s between the two sectors and secondly, because from a h o l i s t i c point of view, the modern sector has had a ' t o t a l influence' on the whole p o l i t i c a l economy of the country. In the second chapter was shown the h i s t o r i c a l circumstances and the manner i n which the 'modern plantation sector' grew to be the dominant phenomenon i n the country. With t h i s background, t h i s chapter attempts to specify the nature of the dominant influence of the plantations on the t o t a l economy and society. The t o t a l influence of the plantations i s to.be understood i n the context of the plantations as the 'dominant mode of production' i n the country. A mode of production may be defined, following Cleaver, as c o n s i s t i n g of ...the material forces of production and the s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s which p r e v a i l among those involved with production. By forces of production i s meant the combination of natural resources, man-made to o l s , s k i l l s , knowledge and labour which are co-ordinated by and through the worker i n the process of production...the r e l a t i o n s of production r e f e r to the structure of s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s among those connected to production. The mode of production thus has two aspects: r e l a t i o n s between men and material upon and with which they work; and the r e l a t i o n s between those who are associated with that production. Or more s p e c i f i c a l l y , for the present purpose, a mode of production may be understood, following Laclua, as r e f e r r i n g to ...the l o g i c a l and mutually coordinated a r t i c u l a t i o n of: 1. a determinate type of ownership of the means of production; 2. a determinate form of appropriation of the economic surplus; 3. a determinate degree of development of the d i v i s i o n of labour; 4. a determinate l e v e l of development of the productive forces. This i s not merely a d e s c r i p t i v e enumeration of i s o l a t e d ' f a c t o r s ' , but a t o t a l i t y defined by i t s mutual interconnections. Within t h i s t o t a l i t y , property in2the means of production constitutes the decisive element. 57 Defined as above, a r e g i o n , a n a t i o n , or the world may be looked upon as an 'economic system' (or a t o a l \" s o c i a l formation\" i n Marxian terminology) c o n s i s t i n g of s e v e r a l modes of production. Thus i n S r i Lanka, taken as an 'economic system', the p l a n t a t i o n s c o n s t i t u t e d one of the two or more modes of production. The p l a n t a t i o n s represented a form of C a p i t a l i s t mode of production i n that they c a l l e d f o r , i n the productive process, a C a p i t a l i s t c l a s s who owned the means of production and a p r o l e t e r i a t who s o l d t h e i r labour f o r a l i v i n g , not u n l i k e i n the development of C a p i t a l i s m i n the Western Europe which took shape from the 'putting-out system'.^ In the d i s t r i b u t i o n of the product again, the p l a n t a t i o n s were p r i m a r i l y o r i e n t e d to the market, also l i k e i n the Western C a p i t a l i s m . The p l a n t a t i o n s , as a mode of pro d u c t i o n , d i f f e r e d from the t r a d i t i o n a l mode or modes of production i n S r i Lanka i n that the l a t t e r d i d not have a c l e a r l y defined form of p r i v a t e ownership nor a wage earning c l a s s . F u r t h e r , the production was p r i m a r i l y consumption o r i e n t e d . The p l a n t a t i o n s , towards the end of the 19th century have become the dominant phenomenon i n the economy of S r i Lanka: There was a p h y s i c a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e c o n s i s t i n g of roads, r a i l w a y s , p o r t s , and developed lands which was s t r u c t u r e d around the needs of the p l a n t a t i o n s ; there was an i n s t i t u t i o n a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , c o n s i s t i n g of agency houses, banks, a commercial community and a marketing network, which was geared p r i m a r i l y to the p l a n t a t i o n s ; there was the c o l o n i a l government and the bureaucracy which were attuned to and had i n t e r e s t s i n a p l a n t a t i o n economy. Fu r t h e r , the p l a n t a t i o n s had come to be the major earners of f o r e i g n exchange, and the l a r g e s t source of l o c a l revenue to the government; the p l a n t a t i o n crops occupied the greatest area of land under c u l t i v a t i o n , and formed the major avenue of employment. Hence, p l a n t a t i o n s the 'dominant mode of production'. 58 When the plantations came to be the dominant mode of production, certain of its characteristics pervaded through the 'traditional' mode, or modes, of production. This pervasive influence was felt in the whole of the nation taken as a .'system', and therefore i t is difficult and, to some extent, artifi c i a l to isolate separate aspects for consideration of the influence of plantations. Nevertheless, a few factors will be singled out, for purposes of elucidation, in the discussion below. The factors are: the spread of a money economy, changes in the concepts relating to land and labour, and certain changes in the traditional social structure, particularly the formation of a new national elite. But i t should be noted that these changes neither began nor end with the plantations for, the process of 'Westernization', which includes a commercial orientation in agriculture, certain changes in land tenure and property relations, has begun as early as the beginning of the 16th century. Further, some of these changes were accentuated by government measures generally applicable to the country. While it would be true to say that most legal and administrative measures taken by the Colonial government were keeping in step with the new economic order, not a l l of them were necessarily related to the plantation mode of production. Also, i t should be noted that some of these changes discussed below were more perceptible in certain regions than in others. For example, the commercialization in agriculture appears to have been greater and more rapid in the plantation regions than in the rest of the country; similarly social structural'/changes in the Western Province were greater than in the other Provinces. Variations could be identified also in terms of the type and distribution of the different crops since, as has already been pointed out, the distribution and the organization of production of the different 59 p l a n t a t i o n crops v a r i e d a great deal w i t h i n d i f f e r e n t p a r t s of the country. Such v a r i a t i o n s c a l l f o r s p e c i f i c a n a l y s i s i n t o each d i f f e r e n t crop and each d i f f e r e n t g e o - p o l i t i c a l region. Such d e t a i l e d a n a l y s i s , however, i s confined to a more general l e v e l . 1. Monetization of the Economy The p l a n t a t i o n s l e d to a general monetization and commercialization of the whole economy through d i r e c t involvement of S r i Lankans i n the es t a t e and i n small holder production of the export crops as w e l l as through other monetary flows i n t o the economy that the p l a n t a t i o n s opened up. The S r i Lankan ownership i n the various p l a n t a t i o n crops, discussed below, would provide an i n d i c a t i o n of t h i s monetary flow. From the coffee times the S r i Lankan v i l l a g e r s had gra d u a l l y moved i n t o the production of cash crops. This Involvement was r e l a t i v e l y s m a l l e r f o r coffee and tea but was more important i n rubber and to a greater extent i n coconut. In 1880-81, at the height of c o f f e e , the share of S r i Lankan ownership was over 20,000 acres which amounted to about 8% of the t o t a l . Table 16 shows the p a t t e r n of ownership i n cof f e e . beyond the scope of the present work and the d i s c u s s i o n below w i l l be TABLE 16 NON-EUROPEAN AND EUROPEAN OWNERSHIP IN COFFEE, 1880-81 Extent i n Acres % Non-European European T o t a l 20,352 236,148 256,148 7.9 92.1 100.0 Source: M. Roberts, i n H i s t o r y of Ceylon, o p . c i t . , p . 97. 60 Coconut occupies the other end of the s c a l e i n terms of Ceylonese ownership. I t s r e g i o n a l spread was wider, extending from the northern extreme i n J a f f n a to the Southern extreme i n Matara along the coast. W r i t i n g i n the e a r l y 1890's, Ferguson estimates that there were about 500,000 acres under coconut of which a l l but 30,000 acres were owned by S r i Lankans.^ In 1952 the census of A g r i c u l t u r e r e p o r t s , Coconut c u l t i v a t i o n . . . i s the r e l a t i v e l y poor men's investment and i s almost e x c l u s i v e l y i n Ceylonese hands: Estates r e p o r t i n g coconut i n 1951 c l a s s i f i e d according to ownership show only 7.71% owned by persons other than c i t i z e n s ^ o f Ceylon and by companies incorporated outside Ceylon. In tea the small-holder p r o p o r t i o n and the Ceylonese involvement had been such that at the 1952 a g r i c u l t u r a l census the acreage under small h o l d i n g s , c l a s s i f i e d as those under 20 acres, were about 19.6%. Rubber had a much l a r g e r p r o p o r t i o n of small holdings and i t s share of Ceylonese ownership had been about 50%. Table 17 shows the s m a l l - h o l d e r s ' share i n r e l a t i o n to the estates i n t e a , rubber and coconut. Although i t does not d i r e c t l y r e f l e c t the Ceylonese involvement or of the production of those crops by peasants i t would be a rough i n d i c a t i o n . 61 TABLE 17 AREA UNDER ESTATES AND SMALL-HOLDINGS (000 acres) 1901 1946 Estates Smallholdings Estates Smallholdings Tea Rubber Coconut T o t a l 366 2 339 41 490 507 428 1,426 63 152 653 508 707 549 858 I t may be noted that although the t o t a l area under smallholdings i n tea and rubber are r e l a t i v e l y s m a l l , the number of people i n v o l v e d would be q u i t e high due to the sm a l l e r s i z e of hol d i n g s . Also the c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of small holdings as those under 20 acres i s a r b i t r a r y and under a d i f f e r e n t c l a s s i f i c a t i o n , the degree of small-holder involvement shown would be greater. Source: Snodgrass, adapted from Table 2-10, p. 49. The production of these export crops by the v i l l a g e r s means a b a s i c change i n t h e i r e a r l i e r l a r g e l y subsistence o r i e n t e d production. A cash nexus i s introduced and the costs and b e n e f i t s are c a l c u l a t e d i n terms of rupees and cents. Table 18, showing the r e c e i p t s from the export of major p l a n t a t i o n crops d i s t r i b u t e d between the \"modern s e c t o r \" and the \" t r a d i t i o n a l sector\",provides-an i n d i c a t i o n of the monetary flow i n t o the v i l l a g e s . 62 TABLE 18 BREAKDOWN OF RECEIPTS FROM DOMESTIC EXPORTS BETWEEN MODERN AND TRADITIONAL SECTOR, 1929 (Rs. MILLIONS) Modern Sector T r a d i t i o n a l Sector Tea 202.1 32.7 Rubber 73.4 13.2 Coconut products 25.0 35.6 T o t a l 300.6 81.5 % of t o t a l 78.7 21.3 Source: Snodgrass, adapted from Table 3-2, p. 60. The production of export crops was not the only source which brought i n a cash flow i n t o the v i l l a g e s . There were a host of other avenues which opened up w i t h the i n c r e a s i n g commercialization and the spread of monetization. The more l u c r a t i v e s e r v i c i n g and t r a d i n g f u n c t i o n s connected to the p l a n t a t i o n s i n which the Ceylonese were i n v o l v e d , according to Roberts were: f o r e s t c l e a r i n g c o n t r a c t s ; c o n t r a c t s to supply food and labour; the operation of general merchant stores and boutiques i n s e r v i c e centres - the \"bazaar towns\" and v i l l a g e s ; trade i n c o f f e e ; transport c o n t r a c t s ; b u i l d i n g c o n t r a c t s and a l l i e d t rades; the supply of f u r n i t u r e ; the supply of b a r r e l s and timber and the supply of arrack and toddy - both wholesale and r e t a i l . This i s , of course, i n a d d i t i o n to the wage earning of the v i l l a g e r s working i n the p l a n t a t i o n s which w i l l be discussed i n the next s e c t i o n . Such commercial a c t i v i t i e s and monetary flow, though more obvious i n the p l a n t a t i o n r e g i o n s , were by no means l i m i t e d to these areas. The improvements i n communication, p a r t i c u l a r l y roads and r a i l w a y s , that took place w i t h the development of p l a n t a t i o n s f a c i l i t a t e d the spread of commercialization and the monetization i n a l l regions of the country. The p l a n t a t i o n crops opened up c e r t a i n o p p o r t u n i t i e s which were not n e c e s s a r i l y l i m i t e d to any region. This was p a r t i c u l a r l y so i n the case of coconut. 63 Coconut provided for c e r t a i n small i n d u s t r i e s , such as the preparation of copra and coconut o i l . The c o i r industry also appears to have been 9 widespread i n the r u r a l areas. It might be expected that the r e s u l t of such d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n of a c t i v i t i e s and the commercialization of a g r i c u l t u r e and c e r t a i n l e g a l and administrative measures necessitated by the plantations was that the t r a d i t i o n a l factors of production underwent ce r t a i n changes and acquired new meanings. Those r e l a t i n g to labour and land are discussed below. 2. Labour as Commodity Labour i n the modern sense of wage labour was almost non-existent i n the t r a d i t i o n a l economic and s o c i a l organization of S r i Lanka. The only system of rendering labour, other than the mutual labour exchanges known as at tan and help rendered on a gratuitous basis known as kaiya, \"\"^ was rajakariya whereby the subjects performed c e r t a i n p u b l i c services i n the name of the Crown. But the large c a p i t a l i s t plantations required an army of resident labour which i s free from other economic t i e s . This was obtained, as has been noted already, by mass importations of labour from South India. Thus a class of landless a g r i c u l t u r a l labourers was created. This landless labour class was augmented gradually, by more and more S r i Lankans entering the ranks. Although the S r i Lankans were reluctant at the i n i t i a l period the ...less onerous conditions experienced i n the c u l t i v a t i o n of rubber and other crops and with the entry of Ceylonese c a p i t a l into the plantation industry, l o c a l labour was gradually weaned from i t s i n i t i a l unwillingness to work the plantations and has since |^und i n t h e i r further development useful avenues of employment. 64* A c o n t r i b u t a r y f a c t o r i n the augmentation of the wage earning c l a s s appears to be the landlessness r e s u l t i n g from the expansion of the p l a n t a t i o n s . The land c o n s o l i d a t i o n that took place i n the Kandyan Highlands during the r i s e of the p l a n t a t i o n s has been compared to the \"enclosure\" movement of the 15th and 16th century England - a movement which created a la r g e labour force -...a labour force without l a n d , without any t o o l s o^ instruments of p r o d u c t i o n , and w i t h only labour power to s e l l . In the rush f o r land that accompanied p l a n t a t i o n expansion, i t i s a l l e g e d , that not only government f o r e s t land but a l s o vast extents of communal v i l l a g e lands, p a r t i c u l a r l y the chena lands, were bought by 13 p l a n t e r s . In other words there was d i r e c t a p p r o p r i a t i o n of peasant land. In a d d i t i o n to such a p p r o p r i a t i o n i t has been a l l e g e d that the government land p o l i c y l e d to s a l e of land by v i l l a g e r s themselves. The Kandyan Peasantry Commission r e p o r t s , The presumption i n favour of the Crown created by the Ordinance £of 18403 l e d to a great degree of u n c e r t a i n t y among the peasantry as to the t i t l e of t h e i r peasant land. As a r e s u l j ; the peasantry s o l d what they regarded as do u b t f u l t i t l e s . . . and Farmer w r i t e s , Some at l e a s t of the chenas and other lands which have been s o l d to the estat e s were given by the peasant owners because they were unable to take the r i s k of c l a i m i n g f o r t i t l e to be s e t t l e d i n t h e i r favour when presumption was i n favour of the Crown. I t seems l i k e l y , too that land p o l i c y and i t s e f f e c t s have contribY^ed to a sense of hopelessness among the Kandyan peasantry. The outcome of a l l these i s s a i d to be a severe l i m i t a t i o n of land a v a i l a b l e f o r peasant c u l t i v a t i o n . As the Kandyan Peasantry Commission r e p o r t s , 65 . . . i n p r a c t i c a l l y the whole of the coffee p l a n t i n g areas of the C e n t r a l and Uva pro v i n c e s , a century of B r i t i s h a d m i n i s t r a t i o n has l e f t behind hundreds of plantation locked v i l l a g e s r i g o r o u s l y r e s t r i c t e d to t h e i r paddy lands. Such land a p p r o p r i a t i o n s coupled w i t h the growing p o p u l a t i o n has l e d to con d i t i o n s of landlessness and unemployment i n the p l a n t a t i o n regions. A survey on landlessness i n the Wet-Zone d i s t r i c t s r e p o rts the f o l l o w i n g r a t e s , f o r the year 1946: TABLE 19 ESTIMATED PERCENTAGE OF WET ZONE AGRICULTURAL FAMILIES WHO WERE LANDLESS, 1946 D i s t r i c t Percentage Colombo 14.2 K a l u t a r a 22.0 G a l l e 20.0 Matara 20.2 Chilaw 34.9 Kurtinegala 12.1 Kandy 19.4 Matale 38.3 Nuwera E l i y a 41.8 B a d u l l a 8.8 Patnapura 32.2 K e g a l l e 20.5 Source: Report on Survey of Landlessness, S e s s i o n a l Paper 13 of 1952. Quoted i n B.H. Farmer, Pioneer Peasant C o l o n i z a t i o n i n Ceylon (London: Oxford U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1957);., p. 89. Such'landlessness and unemployment co n d i t i o n s have provided the impetus f o r more Sri.Lankans to j o i n the wage labour force i n the e s t a t e s . At the A g r i c u l t u r a l Census of 1952 a t o t a l of 613,294 labourers were employed i n the e s t a t e s , of whom 153,063 were of S r i Lankan n a t i o n a l i t y . 66 The following table shows the d i s t r i b u t i o n of these labourers by n a t i o n a l i t y and by d i f f e r e n t crops: TABLE 20 LABOUR STRENGTH: TEA, RUBBER, COCONUT AND OTHER ESTATES WHICH EMPLOYED INDIAN LABOUR - 1951 Crop Indians Ceylonese To t a l Tea 404,597 97,665 502,262 Rubber 51,784 51,417 103,201 Coconut 1,496 2,259 3,755 others 2,354 1,722 4,076 Total 460,231 153,063 613,294 Source: Census of A g r i c u l t u r e , 1952, Part IV, o p . c i t . p. 14. The actual number of S r i Lankans employed as wage labourers i n the production of plantation crops would be .much greater than that shown i n the table .because there are large numbers of holdings below 20 acres which are not c l a s s i f i e d as estates and yet employ h i r e d iabour. These labourers are drawn mostly from the surrounding v i l l a g e s . Some of them are part time labourers,who supplement t h e i r subsistence c u l t i v a t i o n with wage earnings. Although wage labour began with the c u l t i v a t i o n of plantation crops, i t did not end there. Gradually, i t has become a f a i r l y widespread phenomenon even i n the s o - c a l l e d peasant sector, and, as w i l l be shown i n the following chapter, forms a c o n s t i t u t i v e element i n the emerging form of small-holder commercial c u l t i v a t i o n . 3. Land as Private Property Land i s probably the most important of the means of production and the one that f e l t most, the impact of the p l a n t a t i o n enterprise. Plantations, 67 the way they were e s t a b l i s h e d by the B r i t i s h , were but a c a p i t a l i s t mode of production and therefore i t was imperative that l a n d , as a means of production, be p r i v a t e p r o p e r t y , f o r there could be no c a p i t a l i s m without the p r i v a t e ownership of the means of production. P r i v a t e property means, ...an e x c l u s i v e , a l i e n a b l e , 'absolute' i n d i v i d u a l or corporate r i g h t i n t h i n g s . . . i t i s a r i g h t to dispose o f , or a l i e n a t e , as to use; and i t i s a r i g h t which i s ^ g o t c o n d i t i o n a l on the owner's performance of any s o c i a l f u n c t i o n . But such was not the concept of land i n the t r a d i t i o n a l S r i Lanka. I t i s t r u e that land c o n s t i t u t e d an important form of wealth i n the t r a d i t i o n a l economic and s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e and that there was a higher stratum 19 .of- r o y a l o f f i c i a l s known as the r a d a l a who c o n t r o l l e d vast extents of land. But they d i d not own the land as t h e i r ' p r i v a t e property' - as a commodity to be purchased and disposed of at f r e e w i l l because, the b a s i c p r i n c i p l e r e l a t i n g land was that i t belonged to the Crown and the r i g h t f o r the use of which was given to people i n r e t u r n f o r c e r t a i n s p e c i f i e d s e r v i c e s . Hence, i t was necessary to define the ownership over land i n terms of p r i v a t e property and Crown property. The C o l o n i a l government d i d t h i s through the various Land Ordinances discussed i n the preceding chapter. This made p o s s i b l e the s a l e of land as a commodity both by the government and by p r i v a t e i n d i v i d u a l s . These changes, by no means, were confined to the p l a n t a t i o n s because the government's l e g a l and a d m i n i s t r a t i v e measures a p p l i e d to the whole of the country. These and other changes, such as monetization and c o m m e r c i a l i z a t i o n , f o s t e r e d by the p l a n t a t i o n mode of production brought about the concept of p r i v a t e \" property as the predominant concept r e l a t i n g to land. Thus, not only i n the p l a n t a t i o n regions but a l s o i n the other areas land has come to be bought and s o l d as a commodity. 68 The dominance of p r i v a t e property i d e a l s r e l a t i n g to land were such that they pervaded through even those programs, such as the development of land i n the Dry Zone, i n which i t was necessary f o r the government to take the i n i t i a t i v e . In the development of land i n the Dry Zone among the dominant themes up to the World War I years, as B.H. Farmer notes, were that the i n i t i a t i v e i n the a l i e n a t i o n of Crown land must come from the i n d i v i d u a l wanting the l a n d ; and the Crown land must be p a i d f o r . In the programs of peasant land development through c o l o n i z a t i o n schemes the main c o n s i d e r a t i o n , during t h i s p e r i o d , has been t h e i r economic 20 returns r a t h e r than peasant w e l f a r e . >Not u n t i l the 1930's d i d any n o t i c e a b l e s h i f t take place i n the government p o l i c y from these p r i v a t e e n t e r p r i s e i d e a l s . The change i n the 1930*s was n e c e s s i t a t e d by a s e r i e s of circumstances which i n c l u d e the world economic depression of the 1930's which brought to the f o r e , the b a s i c weaknesses of a primary export economy and the need f o r d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n of the economy more along s e l f - r e l i a n t l i n e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y through the development of peasant production; the implementation of the Donoughmore C o n s t i t u t i o n i n 1931 whose p o l i t i c a l changes, such as the g r a n t i n g of u n i v e r s a l f r a n c h i s e and a State C o u n c i l w i t h S r i Lankans as e l e c t e d r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s , c a l l e d f o r a government which i s more responsive to the l a r g e r segment of the p o p u l a t i o n ; and the need to r e l i e v e the p o p u l a t i o n pressure i n the Wet Zone. Under such circumstances the government was forced to deviate from the l a i s s e z f a i r e i d e a l s and take greater r e s p o n s i b i l i t y i n land development by p r o v i d i n g such f a c i l i t i e s as l a n d , i r r i g a t i o n , c r e d i t and p u b l i c s e r v i c e s , such as housing, h e a l t h , . . „ . . 21 e l e c t r i c i t y and communication. 69 Since independence, the N a t i o n a l governments have pursued a p o l i c y of ' p a t e r n a l i s t i c w elfarism' towards the poorer segments of the p o p u l a t i o n , while upholding the s a n c t i t y of p r i v a t e property. Not u n t i l 1972 was there any s e r i o u s i n t e r f e r e n c e w i t h land as p r i v a t e property. Before 1972 the only noteworthy attempts at land reform were the Paddy Lands Act of 1953 and the Paddy Lands Act of 1958, both of which had the l i m i t e d o b j e c t i v e s of the p r o v i s i o n of s e c u r i t y of tenure f o r the tenant farmers and the r e g u l -a t i o n of r e n t s . Thus the two major p r o v i s i o n s of the Paddy Lands Act of 1953 were an assured minimum p e r i o d of f i v e years of tenancy and a c e i l i n g of one quarter of the crop as rent. That the Act was conceived i n the c a p i t a l i s t l i b e r a l t r a d i t i o n i s evidenced by i t s adherence to c e r t a i n themes i n the l a t t e r . Those themes of the l i b e r a l i d e o l o g y , as H e r r i n g puts i t , are: 1. Incrementalism - the s t a t e s p r e r o g a t i v e s are viewed as l i m i t e d and r e g u l a t o r y r a t h e r than i n t e r v e n t i o n i s t and t r a n s f o r m a t i o n a l . The preference i s f o r m i t i g a t i o n r a t h e r than f o r a l t e r a t i o n . 2. The v b l u n t a r i s t i c - c o n t r a c t u a l view of s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s where the t e n a n t - l a n d l o r d r e l a t i o n i s seen as v o l u n t a r y -c o n t r a c t u a l r a t h e r than c o e r c i v e . Defects are remediable by changing the terms of the c o n t r a c t . 3. The presumption i n favour of property. Serious i n t e r f e r e n c e w i t h property r e l a t i o n s , a c r u c i a l question i n land reform, was r u l e d out not only because the r o l e of the s t a t e was n o n - i n t e r v e n t i o n i s t and s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s and s t r u c t u r e s are e s s e n t i a l l y sound, but a l s o because the r i g h t to property i s taken as n a t u r a l and i n a l i e n a b l e . 4. A normative preference f o r s o c i a l consensus over c o n f l i c t . Society i s at l e a s t n o n - c o n f l i c t u a l , i f not b a s i c a l l y consensual-harmonious. I n d i v i d u a l s agree to the s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s they enter i n t o , they do s,^ f r e e l y , so that there i s no b a s i s f o r sustained c o n f l i c t . 70 The Paddy Lands Act of 1958 d i d not d i f f e r s u b s t a n t i a l l y from the 1953 one. But i t , as conceived o r i g i n a l l y by the then M i n i s t e r of A g r i c u l t u r e , P h i l i p Gunewardena, described as the ' f a t h e r of Marxism i n Ceylon', contained c e r t a i n p r o v i s i o n s , such as that the e v i c t e d tenants be r e s t o r e d immediately before procedural i n q u i r i e s , and a new cooperative s t r u c t u r e to provide more c r e d i t , which were to remedy the loop-holes i n the e a r l i e r Act. Such p r o v i s i o n s , however, were considered too i n t e r v e n t i o n i s t by the m a j o r i t y of the members of the cabinet and other i n t e r e s t groups and consequently the f i n a l form i n which the Act came out was, i n i t s author's 23 phrase, a \" c a s t r a t e d \" v e r s i o n of the o r i g i n a l d r a f t . I t was the Land Reform Law of 1972 that made a s i g n i f i c a n t departure from the o l d norms i n t h a t , I t i s the f i r s t attempt to a l t e r the e x i s t i n g property s t r u c t u r e by the r e d i s t r i b u t i o n of s i z e a b l e areas of p r i v a t e l y owned l a n d , and i t does t h i s b y ^ e x p r o p r i a t i n g such land owned above a s p e c i f i e d c e i l i n g . This i s i n contrast to the p o l i c y h i t h e r t o , which has been confined to d i s t r i b u t i o n of Crown land under settlement schemes and marginal a c q u i s i t i o n s from estates f o r v i l l a g e expansion. The departure from the o l d p o l i c i e s was p r e c i p i t a t e d by changed p o l i t i c a l and economic circumstances not the l e a s t of which was the island-wide youth i n s u r r e c t i o n of A p r i l 1971. As Sandaratne p o i n t s out that the 1972 Land Reform, ...can be seen as a response to the need f o r change, d r a m a t i c a l l y induced by the insurgency. (In f a c t , the M i n i s t e r of A g r i c u l t u r e and Lands, Hector Kobbekaduwa, winding up a debate on the Land Reform B i l l f o r the government, s p e c i f i c a l l y s a i d that the prime reason f o r i t was the r e v o l t . He pointed out that n e i t h e r the United Front manifesto nor the statement of p o l i c y i n the Speech from the Throne of 1970 mentioned c e i l i n g s on land holdings.) 71 The Land Reform (Amendment) Law of 1975 went a step f u r t h e r from the 1972 Law by extending the c e i l i n g on ownership of land to company owned lands and by n a t i o n a l i z i n g a l l f o r e i g n owned lands. In the subsequent r e d i s t r i b u t i o n of lands acquired through the Land Reform Laws there have been a number of d i f f e r e n t arrangements. (See Chapter I , pp.17—18). Those under various cooperative schemes are noteworthy because they embody a new concept of land tenure namely, the c o l l e c t i v e ownership of l a n d , as opposed to the p r e v a l e n t , dominant concept of p r i v a t e or i n d i v i d u a l ownership. E a r l y e valuations of the performance of the cooperat-i v e ventures i n d i c a t e that they are f a r from s a t i s f a c t o r y . Among the reasons c i t e d f o r low performance are high drop-out r a t e s r e s u l t i n g from 2 6 la c k of s e c u r i t y and concern f o r the f u t u r e , whose roots could be traced to a l a c k of i d e o l o g i c a l commitment. The l a t t e r , i n t u r n , may be seen as a r i s i n g from commitment to a d i f f e r e n t ideology - the ideology of 1 land as property'. The p l a n t a t i o n mode of produ c t i o n , then,-brought i n c e r t a i n b a s i c changes i n the t r a d i t i o n a l economy - changes such as increased monetization and commercialization of a g r i c u l t u r e , changes i n the concepts r e l a t i n g to labour and land - which have pervaded through the whole economy and p e r s i s t e d to the present day. These changes are not without t h e i r i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r the t r a d i t i o n a l s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e . Some s a l i e n t changes i n the s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e accentuated by the p l a n t a t i o n mode of production are discussed below. 72 4. Changes i n the S o c i a l S t r u c t u r e The Sinhalese s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e of the p r e - B r i t i s h p e r i o d has been 27 compared to the feudal s t r u c t u r e of the p r e - C a p i t a l i s t B r i t a i n on the ba s i s that the former had some s i m i l a r i t i e s to the l a t t e r , such as a r i g i d l y s t r a t i f i e d s o c i e t y , a d e c e n t r a l i z e d p o l i t i c a l o r g a n i z a t i o n , a higher stratum of r o y a l o f f i c i a l s w i t h m i l i t a r y f u n c t i o n s and more important, an interconnected system of land tenure, s o c i a l s t a t u s and 28 s e r v i c e o b l i g a t i o n s . S i m i l a r l y the impact of the c a p i t a l i s t p l a n t a t i o n mode of production on the Sinhalese s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e may be compared to the impact of C a p i t a l i s m on the B r i t i s h f e u d a l s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e . P a r t i c u l a r l y noteworthy i n t h i s respect are the c r e a t i o n of a c l a s s of owners of the means of production and another c l a s s of wage l a b o u r e r s , and the extension of a cash nexus i n t o human r e l a t i o n s i n v o l v e d i n the process of production and d i s t r i b u t i o n . But Marx would go even f u r t h e r and deplore the s t u l t i f y i n g e f f e c t of C a p i t a l i s m on human p o t e n t i a l : ...the bourgeoise, wherever i t has got the upper hand, has put an end to a l l fe u d a l p a t r i a r c h a l , i d y l l i c r e l a t i o n s . I t has p i t i l e s s l y t o r n asunder the motely feud a l t i e s t h a t bound man to h i s \" n a t u r a l s u p e r i o r s \" , and has l e f t remaining no other nexus between man and man than naked s e l f - i n t e r e s t , than c a l l o u s \"cash payment\". I t has drowned the most heavenly e c s t a c i e s of r e l i g i o u s f e r v o u r , of c h i v a l r o u s enthusiasm, of p h i l i s t i n e sentimentalism, i n the i c y water of e g o i s t i c a l calculations. It.has r e s o l v e d personal worth i n t o exchange value... While not engaging i n a moral c r i t i q u e of C a p i t a l i s m or i n over-i d e a l i z i n g the o l d e r forms of s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s , i t i s p o s s i b l e to p o i n t out some s a l i e n t changes i n the t r a d i t i o n a l s o c i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n which were r e l a t e d to the new p l a n t a t i o n mode of production. 73 The changes as s o c i a t e d w i t h the p l a n t a t i o n mode of produ c t i o n , such as the spread of a market economy, the metamorphosis i n the concepts of land and labour, or the general a d m i n i s t r a t i v e measures of the C o l o n i a l government d i d not destroy completely the ol d e r s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e . The B r i t i s h pursued a p o l i c y of r u l i n g through the t r a d i t i o n a l power h i e r a r c h y . This b u t t r e s s e d r a t h e r than undermine the o l d e r s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e , except on those not too rare occasions where the e v a l u a t i o n of the B r i t i s h of a S r i Lankan's wealth, f a m i l y and s o c i a l s t a t u s d i f f e r e d markedly from that of the l o c a l s . S i m i l a r l y the new o p p o r t u n i t i e s associated w i t h the p l a n t a t i o n mode of production were not e x c l u s i v e to any p a r t i c u l a r l o c a l group and therefore i t may be expected that the new opportunity s t r u c t u r e was not e n t i r e l y i n c o n s i s t e n t w i t h the o l d one. Yet i t cannot be denied that the new changes introduced a c e r t a i n f l u i d i t y i n the t r a d i t i o n a l s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e whereby i t was p o s s i b l e f o r i n d i v i d u a l s or whole groups to move up or down the s o c i a l h i e r a r c h y . This was the r e s u l t of the breaking down of c e r t a i n e x c l u s i v e p r i v i l e g e s i n the o l d system and the c r e a t i o n of new o p p o r t u n i t i e s to wealth, s t a t u s and power. Those r e l a t e d to land are a case i n p o i n t : Peebles, i n a study of e l i t e formation i n the 19th century Ceylon, suggests that as a consequence of B r i t i s h land a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i n the 19th century; f i r s t l y , a l o c a l market was created that brought a great deal of land under c u l t i v a t i o n by Ceylonese land owners; secondly, the d i s t r i b u t i o n of the extent of c u l t i v a t e d land tended towards a greater i n e q u a l i t y of land ownership; and t h i r d l y , the a c q u i s i s t i o n of land became a channel of upward s o c i a l m o b i l i t y f o r the Ceylonese e l i t e . These 74 changes, as to be expected, were more pronounced i n the p l a n t a t i o n lands and i n p l a n t a t i o n regions, but by no means confined to them. One f i n d s today even i n the most remote v i l l a g e s , such as those i n the Dry Zone, some f a m i l i e s which, had b e t t e r access to land purchasing channels c o n t r o l l i n g 31 d i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e l y l a r g e extents of land. Such land a c q u i s i t i o n s by h i t h e r t o u n d e r p r i v i l e g e d f a m i l i e s i n the v i l l a g e s gave r i s e to c e r t a i n changes i n the v i l l a g e power s t r u c t u r e . I t a l s o paved the way f o r c e r t a i n i n d i v i d u a l s to r i s e up to the l e v e l of e l i t e s of a r e g i o n a l nature. However those lands r e l a t e d d i r e c t l y to the p l a n t a t i o n e n t e r p r i s e are of more conse-quence, i n that they gave r i s e to a new e l i t e of n a t i o n a l s t a t u r e . The new n a t i o n a l e l i t e was l a r g e l y made up of some prominant Goigama f a m i l i e s and a group of Karavas of Moratuva. The.new n a t i o n a l e l i t e , as Peebles p o i n t s out, acquired ten or more times the amount of land h e l d by 32 any Ceylonese before 1840. During the \" c o f f e e mania\" of the 1840's over 250,000 acres of lands were a l i e n a t e d most of which was bought by the B r i t i s h . Only a few Ceylonese entrepreneurs bought land during t h i s p e r i o d . But Crown land a l i e n a t i o n continued throughout the century and much of these lands were bought by the Ceylonese during t h i s time. According to Peeble's c a l c u l a t i o n s between 1860 and 1889 about 620,000 acres of Crown lands were s o l d under the Waste Lands Sales Scheme. Of these, the greatest number of l o t s s o l d were small grants to Ceylonese purchasers but the l a r g e s t grants went to Europeans. Table 21, based on a one percent sample, shows the p a t t e r n of d i s t r i b u t i o n of these purchases among Ceylonese and Europeans i n r e l a t i o n to s i z e of l o t s : 75 TABLE 21 SIZE OF CROWN GRANTS TO CEYLONESE AND EUROPEANS Acreage Ceylonese Europeans T o t a l % % 0.0 - 0.9 1.0 - 4.9 5.0 - 9.9 10.0 -49.9 50 - over 37.3 39.4 10.6 10.1 2.5 18.2 18.2 A. 5 34.1 25.0 36.0 38.0 10.2 11.8 4.0 Source: Peebles, o p . c i t . , Table 14, p. 244. As the t a b l e shows, a l a r g e percentage of Ceylonese purchases are i n smaller p l o t s of l e s s than 10 acres. Such small purchases are u n l i k e l y to provide f o r l a r g e s c a l e p l a n t a t i o n s . However a s u b s t a n t i a l number of Ceylonese have made purchases of l a r g e p l o t s which are more l i k e l y to have been p l a n t a t i o n investments. Using an a r b i t r a r y d e f i n i t i o n of 'large p l o t s ' as those s o l d f o r Rs. 500 or more, Peebles found that 1/3 of such p l o t s were purchased d i r e c t l y by Ceylonese i n v e s t o r s . These purchases c o n s t i t u t e d 1350 deeds t o t a l l i n g i n 83,700 acres of land. Of these lands, over 40% 33 was purchased by a few dozen Karava and Goigama f a m i l i e s . Peebles p o i n t s out that these purchases represent only a f r a c t i o n of the land a c q u i s i t i o n of the f a m i l i e s i n v o l v e d because, these f a m i l i e s purchased numerous smaller 34 p l o t s and lands other than the Waste Land. Peebles contends that t h i s new n a t i o n a l e l i t e , together w i t h the t r a d i t i o n a l Goigama e l i t e , the Mudaliyars, emerged as the new land owning n a t i o n a l e l i t e towards the end of the 19th century. He estimates that there were about 150 Sinhalese who i n v e s t e d s u b s t a n t i a l l y Cover Rs. 5000) i n waste lands and he i d e n t i f i e s 32 of such i n h i s sample. Of these 32, fourteen were Karava arrack renters from Moratuwa or members of t h e i r families and one a Goigama arrack renter. Eight were Mudaliyars,two them Karavas. The remainder represented a v a r i e t y of careers, such Juanis de S i l v a , secretary of the P r o v i n c i a l Roads Committee of the Western Province and Tudugalage Don P h i l i p , a prominent Goigama 35 entrepreneur. The most prominent of the investors and t h e i r land purchases are shown i n Table 22. TABLE 22 LEADING SINHALESE PURCHASERS OF WASTE LAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY Name 1'. CH. de Soysa 2. Mutantrige Simon Fernando 3. Richard Stuart P i e r i s 4. Warusahennedige Harmanis de Soysa 5. Susew de Soysa 6. J e r o n i s P i e r i s 7. V. Johannes de Mel 8. Hanwedige Andris P i e r i s 9. J.P. Obeysekere 10. M u t t u t a n t r i g e Joseph 11. V. Jacob de Mel 12. S.C. Obeysekere 13. Solomon Dias Bandaranaike I d e n t i f i c a t i o n Rupees Acres Son of J e r o n i s de Soysa 270,605 7522 Moratuva Karava businessman 113,980 -: 4438 Son of J e r o n i s P i e r i s 89,732 3949 Nephew of J e r o n i s de Soysa 83,543 681 Brother of Jero n i s de Soysa 79,056 4696 Brother-in-law of Susew de Soysa 78,831 3797 Moratuva Karava arrack r e n t e r 48,991 1236 Moratuva Karava arrack renter 47,570 2471 Lawyer, son-in-law of D.C.H. 33,348 2271 Dias Bandaranaike (and nephew) ? 31,988 765 Lawyer, brother of no. 7 30,377 655 Lawyer, brother of no. 9 23,951 1242 son-in-law of James Alwis Mudaliyar, son of D.C.H. Dias 20,389 1105 Bandaranaike Note: Two Karava p a r t n e r s h i p a l s o purchased over Rs. 20,000 waste land: Lindamulage David and John C l o v i s de S i l v a and C.W. de Mel (Rs. 22,899, 1773 acres) and Mahawaduge N i c h o l a s , Andris and Mattes Perera and Liyanage David Perera (Rs. 24,923, 876 acres). Source: P. Peebles, o p . c i t . , pp. 255-256. 78 Peebles argues t h a t f i r s t l y , the group of i n d i v i d u a l s i d e n t i f i e d by Crown land purchases as l a r g e land holders i s approximately the same group i d e n t i f i e d by other measures; secondly, w i t h i n t h i s group the two sets of f a m i l i e s , Goigama Mudaliyars of the Western Province and the Karava e n t r e -36 preneurs of Moratuva predominate. To the question whether there was a u n i t a r y Sinhalese e l i t e towards the end of the 19th century; Peebles* answer i s \"yes\". He contends, A high p r o p o r t i o n of l a r g e land owners, lea d i n g f a m i l i e s , p r o f e s s i o n a l s and appointed Mudaliyars appear to have been r e c r u i t e d from the^same pool of Goigama Mudaliyars and Moratuva Karavas. Landed property r e l a t e d to the p l a n t a t i o n economy provided the most important avenue to n a t i o n a l e l i t e s t a t u s , but i t was, by no means, the only one. There were a host of other e n t r e p r e n e u r i a l avenues to wealth and e l i t e 38 status t h a t opened up i n the new c a p i t a l i s t economy. Some of these, such as t r a n s p o r t , timber c o n t r a c t i n g , and arrack and t o l l r e n t i n g , were d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d to the p l a n t a t i o n e n t e r p r i s e . Some, such as gemming and graphite mining were not. Of those e n t r e p r e n e u r i a l avenues which are d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d to the p l a n t a t i o n e n t e r p r i s e , arrack r e n t i n g i s p a r t i c u l a r l y important i n that i t was l a r g e l y responsible f o r the dramatic r i s e of the Moratuva Karava n a t i o n a l e l i t e . The p l a n t a t i o n e n t e r p r i s e gave the impetus to the arrack d i s t i l l i n g i n d u s t r y by p r o v i d i n g a wide market through the e s t a t e workers 39 and through improved t r a n s p o r t a t i o n . When the arrack trade became an important i n d u s t r y the C o l o n i a l government regulated the production and d i s t r i b u t i o n of arrack by s e l l i n g e x c l u s i v e r i g h t s to a few entrepreneurs i n r e t u r n f o r a s u b s t a n t i a l amount of down payment of \" r e n t \" . Peebles 79 estimates the t o a l turnover i n arrack trade f o r the year 1896 - 97 to 40 be about 9 m i l l i o n rupees. This l e f t about f i v e m i l l i o n rupees, a f t e r reductions f o r cost of production (about one m i l l i o n ) and rents to the government (about three m i l l i o n ) , to be shared by the renters and others i n v o l v e d i n the trade. The greater share of t h i s sum was shared by about 60 l a r g e s c a l e r e n t e r s , of whome about 50 have been i d e n t i f i e d as Karavas 41 from Moratuva. I t should be noted th a t . t h e r e were c e r t a i n e n t r e p r e n e u r i a l avenues to e l i t e s t a t us which were not d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d to the p l a n t a t i o n e n t r e p r i s e . Gemming and gem trade, f o r example, provided the foundations f o r the r i s e 42 of a Moor e l i t e . S i m i l a r l y , the mining and export of graphite provided another avenue f o r the r i s e of a few f a m i l i e s to e l i t e s t a t u s . I t should a l s o be noted that q u i t e apart from the e n t r e p r e n e u r i a l avenues there were others connected to the aquirement of education, p a r t i c u l a r l y through the medium of E n g l i s h , which a l s o provided f o r upward s o c i a l m o b i l i t y . Thus, there were a s i g n i f i c a n t p o r t i o n of the n a t i o n a l e l i t e who had made t h e i r way up through the a d m i n i s t r a t i v e s e r v i c e and through the ' l i b e r a l ' 44 p r o f e s s i o n s . Therefore, i n the s o c i a l s t r u c t u r a l changes and i n the r i s e of a n a t i o n a l e l i t e , the p l a n t a t i o n e n t e r p r i s e was only one of the f a c t o r s although the important one. However, i t may be noted that although there were d i f f e r e n t avenues to e l i t e s t a t u s they were e v e n t u a l l y i n t e r t w i n e d . As Roberts p o i n t s out, Once achieved; the n a t i o n a l e l i t e c o n s o l i d a t e d t h e i r p o s i t i o n s by various means. A great many of these s u c c e s s f u l f a m i l i e s took care to spread t h e i r \"investments\". The p r i n c i p l e Ceylonese cash crop p l a n t e r s had mixed investments i n a number of cash crops as w e l l as urban property. S u c c e s s f u l merchants and businessmen as w e l l as those a d m i n i s t r a t o r - p r o f e s s i o n a l occupations g e n e r a l l y purchased p l a n t a t i o n property. Marriages l i n k e d and bu t t r e s s e d such investments. 80 Consequently, . . . d i f f e r e n t p a r t s of the n a t i o n a l e l i t e were l i n k e d by important common denominators. They d i d not query the existence of p r i v a t e property or of p r i v a t e e n t e r p r i s e . Their existence as an e l i t e r e s t e d ( i n part) on these p i l l a r s , whatever t h e i r o r i g i n s , once they have c o n s o l i d a t e d t h e i r p o s i t i o n as members of the n a t i o n a l e l i t e , they became members of the same c l a s s -i n the Marxian sense of a shared p o s i t i o n i n the o r g a n i z a t i o n of production and cacjhesiveness a r i s i n g from a consciousness of a shared p o s i t i o n . I t was mostly from among t h i s new n a t i o n a l e l i t e that the p o l i t i c a l 46 leaders of independent S r i Lanka were r e c r u i t e d . Consequently, the la r g e m a j o r i t y of the p o l i t i c a l leaders of independent S r i Lanka had a shared background that was steeped i n the c a p i t a l i s t l i b e r a l t r a d i t i o n of the West. This shared background of the leaders provided f o r a c e r t a i n common o r i e n t a t i o n towards governing the country. This i s i n s p i t e of the d i f f e r e n t p o l i t i c a l and i d e o l o g i c a l commitments declared by the d i f f e r e n t p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s . As Obeyesekera p o i n t s out, One could view the major p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s s o c i o l o g i c a l l y as f a c t i o n s of a r u l i n g e l i t e . Take the major p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s moving from r i g h t to l e f t : the United N a t i o n a l P a r t y , the S r i Lanka Freedom P a r t y , the Lanka Sama Samaja Party ( T r o t s k y i t e s ) and the Communist Pa r t y . P a r t y manifestos and i d e o l o g i e s might be r a d i c a l l y d i f f e r e n t from one end of the spectrum to the other but the lea d e r s h i p of a l l these p a r t i e s came from e l i t e ranks almost without exception. They came from the same schools, went to the same c l u b s , spoke E n g l i s h and marriage a l l i a n c e s cut across p o l i t i c a l d i f f e r e n c e s . Such an e l i t e background among the p o l i t i c a l leaders was not without i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r government p o l i c y . In the formulat i o n of p o l i c y r e l a t i n g the development of land and a g r i c u l t u r e , as pointed out e a r l i e r (pp. 70-71) the leaders tended to operate w i t h i n c e r t a i n parameters set by t h e i r c a p i t -a l i s t l i b e r a l background. In s e t t i n g these parameters a dominant p l a n t a t i o n mode of production has co n t r i b u t e d i n no small measure. 81 However, departures have been made from the e s t a b l i s h e d norms of government p o l i c y . These were, o f t e n , n e c e s s i t a t e d by changing p o l i t i c a l and economic circumstances. The f o l l o w i n g chapter discusses the circum-stances and changes i n p o l i c y as r e f l e c t e d i n the development of peasant a g r i c u l t u r e . 82 CHAPTER I I I NOTES AND REFERENCES 1. H. Cleaver, \"The O r i g i n s of the Green R e v o l u t i o n \" , Ph.D. d i s s e r t a t i o n , Stanford U n i v e r s i t y , 1974, pp. 21-22. 2. E. L a c l a u , \"Feudalism and C a p i t a l i s m i n L a t i n America\", New L e f t Review 67 (May 1971), p. 33. 3. K. Marx, i n Marx on Economics ed. R. Freedman (New York: Harvest Books, 1961), pp. 6-7. 4. See, f o r example, M.H. Dobb, Studies i n the Development of C a p i t a l i s m (London: Routledge & Kegan P a u l , 1946). 5. J . Ferguson (1893), p. 54. 6. S r i Lanka, Department of Census & S t a t i s t i c s , Census o f A g r i c u l t u r e 1952, P a r t I I I , Coconut P l a n t a t i o n s , p. 7. 7. I b i d . , Part I , Tea, p. 7. 8. M. Roberts, i n H i s t o r y of Ceylon, p. 268. 9. Ibid.., p. 105. 10. See, f o r example, G. Obeyesekere, Land Tenure i n V i l l a g e Ceylon (Cambridge:. Cambridge U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1967), p. 8; als o R. Knox, An H i s t o r i c a l R e l a t i o n of Ceylon (London: Richard C h i s w e l l , 1911), p. 17. 11. Census df A g r i c u l t u r e 1952, p a r t IV, o p . c i t . , p. 14. 12. E.K. Hunt, Property and Prophets: The E v o l u t i o n of Economic I n s t i t u t i o n s and Ideologies (New York: Harper and Row, 1972), p. 23; see al s o The Report of the Kandyan Peasantry Commission, o p . c i t . , p. 73; R. P i e r i s , Sinhalese S o c i a l O r g a n i z a t i o n : The Kandyan P e r i o d (Colombo: Ceylon U n i v e r s i t y Press Board, 1956), pp. 82-86. 13. Van Den Driesen, \"Land Sales P o l i c y and Some Aspects of the Problem of Tenure 1836-1886\", The U n i v e r s i t y of Ceylon Review XV, pp.36-52. 14. Kandyan Peasantry Commission, p. 91. 15. B.H.Farmer, Pioneer Peasant C o l o n i z a t i o n i n Ceylon (London: Oxford U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1957), p. 91. 16. Kandyan Peasantry Commission, p. 71. 83 17. See, f o r example, M.H. Dobb, Development of C a p i t a l i s m . 18. C.B. Macpherson, Property (Toronto: U n i v e r s i t y of Toronto P r e s s , 1978), p. 10. 19. P i e r i s , pp. 169-179. 20. Farmer, pp. 108-115. 21. I b i d . , pp. 146-157. 22. R.H. H e r r i n g , \"The Forgotten 1953 Paddy Lands Act i n Ceylon\", Modern Ceylon Studies, V o l . 3 , No.2 ( J u l y 1972), p. 23. I b i d . , p. 24. N. Sandaratne, \" S r i Lanka's New Land Reform\", South A s i a n Review, 6:1 (Oct.1972), p. 7. 25. I b i d . , p. 8. See a l s o , P o l i t i c u s \"The A p r i l Revolt i n Ceylon\", Asian Survey, XII:3 (March 1972), pp. 259-274. 26. A. Ellman and D. de S. Ratneweera, New Settlement Schemes i n S r i Lanka (Colombo.: Agrarian Research and T r a i n i n g I n s t i t u t e , 1974). 27. See, f o r example, B. Ryan, Caste i n Modern Ceylon (New Brunswick,NJ: Rutgers U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1953), pp. 45-50. 28. Peebles, pp. 26-38. 29. K. Marx and F. Angels, \"The Communist Manifesto\" i n E s s e n t i a l Works of Marxism, ed. A.P. Mandel (New York: Bentham, 1965), p. 15. 30. Peebles, p. 225. 31. For example, E.R. Leach, P u l E l i y a - A V i l l a g e i n Ceylon: A Study of Land Tenure and K i n s h i p (Cambridge: Cambridge U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1961); M. Robinson, P o l i t i c a l S t r u c t u r e i n a Changing Sinhalese V i l l a g e ' . (Cambridge: Cambridge U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1975); Agrarian Research and T r a i n i n g I n s t i t u t e , Peoples P a r t i c i p a t i o n and the Role of Groups i n Rural S r i Lanka, Three case Studies (Colombo: ARTI, 1977). 32. Peebles, p. 230. 33. I b i d . , pp. 245-254. 34. I b i d . , p. 245. 35. I b i d . , p. 264. 84 36. I b i d . , p. 266. 37. I b i d . , p. 268. 38. Roberts, i n H i s t o r y of Ceylon, pp. 268-271. 39. I b i d . , p. 270; Peebles, pp. 164-215. 40. I b i d . , p. 195. 41. I b i d . , pp. 201-213. 42. Roberts, i n H i s t o r y of Ceylon, p. 270. 43. I b i d . , p. 271. 44. I b i d . , pp. 271-273. 45. I b i d . , pp. 274 and 283. 46. See, f o r example, M. Singer, The Emerging E l i t e : A Study of P o l i t i c a l Leadership i n Ceylon (Cambridge: The MIT P r e s s , 1964); T. \"Fernando, \" E l i t e P o l i t i c s i n the New S t a t e s : The Case of Pos t -Independence S r i Lanka\", P a c i f i c A f f a i r s 46:3 ( F a l l 1973), pp. 361-383. 47. Obeyesekera (1974), p. 380. 85 CHAPTER IV DEVELOPMENTS IN PEASANT AGRICULTURE The preceding chapter discussed c e r t a i n changes i n the economic and s o c i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n , brought about by the advent of p l a n t a t i o n s . I t was noted that changes, such as increased monetization and commercialization of a g r i c u l t u r e ; changes r e l a t i n g to the i n s t i t u t i o n s of land and labour; and changes i n the s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e were f e l t not only i n the p l a n t a t i o n i n d u s t r y or the p l a n t i n g regions but i n the r e s t of the economy and s o c i e t y as w e l l . This chapter attempts to o u t l i n e more s p e c i f i c a l l y the impact of the p l a n t a t i o n s and other developments i n peasant (or domestic) a g r i c u l t u r e . In o u t l i n i n g the developments i n peasant a g r i c u l t u r e one may i d e n t i f y two broad time pe r i o d s . The f i r s t i s the B r i t i s h p e r i o d , or more s p e c i f i c a l l y , from the r i s e of the p l a n t a t i o n s to dominance i n the 1840's to the r i s e of p o l i t i c a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of S r i Lankans i n the 1930's. The other i s the post-independence p e r i o d . The B r i t i s h p e r i o d i s c h a r a c t e r i z e d by a r e l a t i v e neglect of peasant a g r i c u l t u r e due to the dominant and favoured p o s i t i o n of the p l a n t a t i o n i n d u s t r y . In c o n t r a s t , the post-independence p e r i o d i s marked by an increased concern over peasant a g r i c u l t u r e and a gradual d e c l i n e of the p l a n t a t i o n i n d u s t r y from i t s dominant p o s i t i o n . 1. The B r i t i s h P e r i o d The developments i n peasant a g r i c u l t u r e during the B r i t i s h p e r i o d i s to be viewed i n the context of the p l a n t a t i o n s as the dominant mode of production. The impact of the p l a n t a t i o n s on peasant a g r i c u l t u r e was f e l t i n two ways. One i s the d i r e c t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s , such as an increased monetization and market o r i e n t a t i o n , changes i n the i n s t i t u t i o n s r e l a t i n g to land and labour, and changes i n the s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e , discussed i n the preceding chapter, as w e l l as c e r t a i n c o n t r a i n t s r e s u l t i n g from competing uses of land and other resources. The other i s the i n d i r e c t e f f e c t of r e l a t i v e neglect of peasant a g r i c u l t u r e , a r i s i n g from the dominant and favoured p o s i t i o n of the p l a n t a t i o n i n d u s t r y . As f o r the d i r e c t impact, c e r t a i n r e g i o n a l v a r i a t i o n s have to be recognized. The d i r e c t e f f e c t s were more pronounced i n the wet-zone because the p l a n t a t i o n s were l a r g e l y a wet-zone phenomenon. However, i n the long run, due to increased communication, i n t e r r e g i o n a l flows of people and resources, and u n i f y i n g a d m i n i s t r a t i v e measures, one may f i n d a greater u n i f o r m i t y i n such impact i n the whole country.\"\" In the wet-zone the d i r e c t p l a n t a t i o n impact i n c l u d e s not only the increased commercialization, and changes r e l a t i n g to f a c t o r s of production but a l s o l i m i t a t i o n s on land and income earnings r e s u l t i n g from p l a n t a t i o n expansion and a p p r o p r i a t i o n of peasant land. \"Farmer, r e f e r r i n g to the wet-zone r u r a l s e c t o r , w r i t e s i n 1957 t h a t , Today the wet-zone has an economy which, w h i l e r e t a i n i n g many recognizable features of the o l d order, has c l e a r l y been very much modified; and, above a l l , from the p o i n t of view of t h i s study, a crowded r u r a l population,^tending to s u f f e r from landlessness and economic d i s t r e s s . The KanHyan Peasantry Commission contends that severe l i m i t a t i o n s on land a v a i l a b l e f o r peasant c u l t i v a t i o n were brought i n by the p l a n t a t i o n expansion and the a p p r o p r i a t i o n of chena lands and as a r e s u l t , In p r a c t i c a l l y the whole of the coffee p l a n t i n g areas of the Ce n t r a l and Uva Pro v i n c e s , a century of B r i t i s h a d m i n i s t r a t i o n has l e f t behind hundreds of p l a n t a t i o n locked v i l l a g e s r i g o r o u s l y r e s t r i c t e d to t h e i r paddy lands. 87 An o f f - s h o o t of such peasant land r e s t r i c t i o n , i t has been argued, was 4 the d e t e r i o r a t i o n of the c a t t l e p o p u l a t i o n . Roberts paraphrases the argument as f o l l o w s : The p l a n t a t i o n s l e d to l i m i t a t i o n i n pasture lands and the l i m i t a t i o n of pasture land i n turn l e d to the d e t e r i o r a t i o n i n the c o n d i t i o n s and number of l o c a l draught animals. C a t t l e murrain ( r i n d e r pest) added i t s quota of d i s a s t e r to the trend. As a r e s u l t paddy c u l t i v a t i o n was s e r i o u s l y a f f e c t e d through l o s s of manure and animal power. In the meantime popu l a t i o n and paddy land continued to increase. The s c a r c i t y of draught animals generated by the trends r a i s e d h i r e charges. A l l these f a c t o r s created a s p i r a l l i n g tendency f o r the peasantry to r e l y on manpower r a t h e r than animal power i n preparing the f i e l d . Technology had taken a large step backward. Roberts disputes the c l a i m that the c a t t l e were v i t a l to the Kandyan peasant c u l t i v a t i o n and that the spread of p l a n t a t i o n s l e d to t h e i r d e t e r i o r a t i o n . However, he concedes that I t could be argued that p r i v a t e a l i e n a t i o n of v i l l a g e land to p l a n t e r s and the expansion of highland small-holdings on the one hand combined w i t h the growth of p o p u l a t i o n and such a l i e n a t i o n of v i l l a g e land by the crown as occurred on the other hand circumscribed the pasture land a v a i l a b l e to the v i l l a g e . Whatever the d e t a i l s may be - whether or not there was d i r e c t a p p r o p r i a t i o n of peasant land and any immediate c i r c u m s c r i b i n g of peasant v i l l a g e s and pasture land - one may conclude that the spread of the p l a n t a t i o n s , at l e a s t i n the long run, posed l i m i t a t i o n s on the l a n d a v a i l a b l e f o r peasant c u l t i v a t i o n . Apart from such l i m i t a t i o n s i t i s a l s o evident that the c a r e l e s s land-use by the p l a n t a t i o n s caused c e r t a i n disturbances i n the e c o l o g i c a l balance and that a f f e c t e d peasant c u l t i v a t i o n as w e l l . The A g r i c u l t u r a l Census of 1962 reports that i n the process of mass land c l e a r i n g s that were ushered i n during the p l a n t a t i o n expansion the 88 ...upper slopes of catchments were deprived of f o r e s t cover, r i v e r banks were denuded of f o r e s t r i g h t up to the water edge and steep land l e f t unprotected without any regards to c r u c i a l angles of slope. I n e f f i c i e n t drainage was added to the d e s t r u c t i v e a c t i v i t i e s and caused unprecedented s i l t i n g and floods.....Rubber and coconut p l a n t a t i o n s though confined to the lower h i l l s and c o a s t a l p l a i n s have themselves c o n t r i b u t e d to the d e t e r i o r a t i o n and erosion of vast q u a n t i t i e s of s o i l . The other aspect of the p l a n t a t i o n impact, namely the r e l a t i v e neglect of peasant a g r i c u l t u r e was f e l t more i n the Dry Zone. In f a c t , t h i s n e g l e c t pre-dates the p l a n t a t i o n s or the B r i t i s h p e r i o d . The thousands of tanks, r e s e r v o i r s , and canals, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the Dry-Zone, provide evidence to a w e l l developed peasant a g r i c u l t u r a l system i n the ancient g S r i Lanka. Such a system was maintained w i t h the patronage of the ancient r u l e r s and an elaborate system of i n s t i t u t i o n s of the people. With the appearance of the Western powers i n the 16th century, the s t a t e patronage and the i n s t i t u t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e had begun to break down. The Portuguese and the Dutch were busy i n commercial p u r s u i t s . The B r i t i s h came to be pre-occupied w i t h the p l a n t a t i o n e n t e r p r i s e . By v i r t u e of the dominant and favoured p o s i t i o n of the p l a n t a t i o n e n t e r p r i s e , there was an imbalance i n favour of the p l a n t a t i o n i n d u s t r y i n the a l l o c a t i o n of p u b l i c resources and i n the build-up of i n s t i t u t i o n a l and p h y s i c a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e . As f o r the a l l o c a t i o n of government resources, Governor Gregory i s reported to have commented i n h i s report of 1894 on famine c o n d i t i o n s i n the North C e n t r a l Province t h a t , The previous Governors do not seem to have been aware of t h e i r d u t i e s , f o r they were not j u s t i f i e d i n expending l a r g e sums f o r the b e n e f i t of the p l a n t e r s i n the more prosperous d i s t r i c t s w h i l e l a r g e p o r t i o n s of the i s l a n d were t o t a l l y neglected. But even such concerned Governors could not do much f o r the peasants, f o r the resources of the government were needed to maintain and expand the p l a n t a t i o n e n t e r p r i s e . P r e c i s e data are not a v a i l a b l e as to what p o r t i o n of the government expenditure went i n t o the p l a n t a t i o n s and what p o r t i o n to the other s e c t o r s . But i t may be noted that Snodgrass, i n presenting a f u n c t i o n a l breakdown of the government expenditure f o r the year 1928 -29, adds the remark t h a t , Aside from the f a i r l y heavy burden of a d m i n i s t r a t i v e cost and the l i g h t defence burden which i t bore, the government confined i t s a c t i v i t i e s to p r o v i d i n g s e r v i c e s Y^i°h w e r e of d i r e c t and i n d i r e c t b e n e f i t to the e s t a t e s . The n e g l e c t of the peasant s e c t o r may be n o t i c e d a l s o i n the p h y s i c a l and i n s t i t u t i o n a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e b u i l t during the B r i t i s h p e r i o d . In the development of a communication network, i t was noted (Chapter I I , pp. 40 -42) the p l a n t a t i o n s were the main concern. The Kandyan Peasantry Commission, i n r e f e r r i n g to the communication system, comments, The a l l i a n c e between the government and the p l a n t a t i o n s produced a road system, which e n t i r e l y ignored the v i l l a g e p o p u l a t i o n . In the p l a n t i n g areas there i s a network of ^ roads but t h i s road system l i t e r a l l y ends w i t h the p l a n t a t i o n s . S i m i l a r l y , i n the development of f i n a n c i a l and c r e d i t i n s t i t u t i o n s , f o r example, the p l a n t a t i o n s appear to have been the e x c l u s i v e t a r g e t . The banking system that developed w i t h the p l a n t a t i o n economy was, ...almost e x c l u s i v e l y i n B r i t i s h hands...and l e n t almost e x c l u s -i v e l y to the p l a n t e r s and the export import trade. As f o r the monetary system i n general, that p r e v a i l e d i n the country during t h i s p e r i o d , Gunesekere, a d i s t i n g u i s h e d S r i Lankan economist has' t h i s to say, 90 The e n t i r e monetary system of Ceylon was an adjunct to her export economy. Since banking p o l i c y was attuned to the export economy i t f o l l o w s that the monetary arrangements were condusive to i t s development on the same l i n e s . The r e s u l t of such skewed development i n f i n a n c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n s , i t may be surmised, was the absence of i n s t i t u t i o n a l c r e d i t f o r the peasant farmer. The advent of a dominant c a p i t a l i s t p l a n t a t i o n economy l e d to an increase i n monetization and commercialization i n peasant a g r i c u l t u r e , but not to commensurate developments i n f i n a n c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n s . Consequently, as the IBRD Commission r e p o r t s , the peasants' only recourse was, ...the v i l l a g e t r ader and money lender who advanced funds at exhorbitant r a t e s of i n t e r e s t . With a good crop the peasant would normally pay o f f h i s loan at harvest time. But i f the crop f a i l e d or were poor, he might have to extend the loan and add to i t , w i t h the frequent r e s u l t that he became permanently indebted to the money lender and i n the worst circumstances ^ l o s t h i s property through i n a b i l i t y to meet h i s o b l i g a t i o n s . While i t i s t r u e that the government s e r v i c e s during the B r i t i s h p e r i o d was skewed i n favour of the p l a n t a t i o n i n d u s t r y , i t would not be true to say that the government d i d not concern i t s e l f at a l l w i t h peasant a g r i c u l t u r e . Some u s e f u l work d i d take place during t h i s p e r i o d . P a r t i c u l a r l y noteworthy i s the work done w i t h respect to i r r i g a t i o n . Farmer notes that between 1870 and 1914 s e v e r a l p r o j e c t s were undertaken by the Government i n the r e s t o r a t i o n and c o n s t r u c t i o n of i r r i g a t i o n works. Mostly these were small v i l l a g e tanks but there were a l s o some major r e s e r v o i r s such as Kalawewa, K a n t a l a i , Minneriya, G i r i t a l e and Parakrama Samudra which were re s t o r e d from t h e i r ancient r u i n s . ^ A more a c t i v e p e r i o d of concern i n the peasant f o l l o w s the World War I years. During the war and the f o l l o w i n g years s e r i o u s food shortages i n the country brought awareness of hardship of peasantry and the l o p -sidedness of the economy which depended h e a v i l y on a few primary exports. Added to the problem was the r a p i d l y i n c r e a s i n g p o p u l a t i o n p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the wet zone which accentuated the problem of land fragmentation, the government i n the development of peasant a g r i c u l t u r e . I n c r e a s i n g l y the communication and i r r i g a t i o n f a c i l i t i e s i n the Dry Zone have been 17 given some importance. As a r e s u l t of such developments, not withstanding a s t a t e of r e l a t i v e n e g l e c t , the peasant a g r i c u l t u r e has experienced some growth. As shown i n Table 23 the acreage under paddy has increased from 544,000 to 913,000 acres from 1871 to 1946. The acreage under other peasant crops has a l s o increased from 58,000 to 305,000 during the same pe r i o d . However, these increases appear to be i n s i g n i f i c a n t compared to the growth recorded by the export crops which was from 766,000 acres to 2,284,000 acres during the same pe r i o d . landlessness arid unemployment. 16 As a r e s u l t there was more e f f o r t by TABLE 23 ACREAGE UNDER PADDY AND OTHER NON-EXPORT CROPS, 1871 - 1946 ( i n thousand acres) Year Paddy Other non-Export Crops Export Crops 1871 1881 1891 1901 1911 1921 1931 1946 544 549 563 670 645 727 811 913 58 169 186 150 199 215 190 305 766 823 1076 1261 1672 1834 2145 2284 Source: Snodgrass, o p . c i t . , p. 49. Such growth as took place i n peasant a g r i c u l t u r e during t h i s period appears to be p r i m a r i l y due to the increase i n peasant population, which ( i . e . r u r a l population) has increased from 1.8 m i l l i o n to 7.3 m i l l i o n 18 between 1871 and 1946. Other contributory factors include the extension of communication and the d i f f u s i o n of a market economy and the resultant 19 income earning opportunities. The l a t t e r gave more people the means to bring new land under c u l t i v a t i o n . In conclusion i t may be noted that growth i n the production of peasant crops during the B r i t i s h period was mainly a r e s u l t of expansion of the area under c u l t i v a t i o n and not due to increases i n p r o d u c t i v i t y . The p r o d u c t i v i t y i n peasant a g r i c u l t u r e appears to have remained r e l a t i v e l y stagnant during . - i . . . 20 thxs period. 2. The Post-Independence Period In discussing the developments i n peasant a g r i c u l t u r e the d i v i s i o n of a time period at independence i s rather a r b i t r a r y . A marked s h i f t i n govern-ment p o l i c y and serious e f f o r t s towards the development of peasant a g r i -culture i s noticeable as early as the 1 9 3 0 's. This change i n a t t i t u d e and e f f o r t s i n the 1 9 3 0 's was ushered i n by a serie s of circumstances. The important of them, as pointed out e a r l i e r (chap. I l l p.68.'. ), were the world depression of the 1 9 3 0 's which brought to the fore the basic weaknesses of a primary exports economy and the need for d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n of the economy more along s e l f - r e l i a n t l i n e s through the development of domestic a g r i c u l t u r e ! the implementation of the Donoughmore Constitution i n 1931 whose p o l i t i c a l changes, such as granting of universal franchise and a State Council with S r i Lankans as elected representatives, c a l l e d for a government which i s 93 more responsive to the l a r g e r segment of the p o p u l a t i o n ; and the need to r e l i e v e the growing p o p u l a t i o n pressure i n the Wet-Zone. Under such circumstances the development of peasant a g r i c u l t u r e gained increased importance. The main focus of the new e f f o r t , championed by D.S. Senanayake, the then M i n i s t e r of A g r i c u l t u r e , was the C o l o n i z a t i o n Schemes i n the Dry Zone. In opening up new land f o r peasant c u l t i v a t i o n the government took greater r e s p o n s i b i l i t y by p r o v i d i n g land and b a s i c f a c i l i t i e s , such as i r r i g a t i o n , communication, housing and c r e d i t . Between the years 1931 and 1953, 31 new co l o n i e s were e s t a b l i s h e d , some of them very l a r g e . As a r e s u l t , the c u l t i v a t e d acreage under major i r r i g a t i o n schemes increased from 162,797 i n 1920 to 217,766 i n 1951. 2 1 However, a more comprehensive approach and the emergence of the small farmer to prominence i n S r i Lanka i s a phenomenon of the post-independence p e r i o d . The new phenomenon was brought i n by a s e r i e s of circumstances among which are: the d e t e r i o r a t i n g terms of trade and the r e s u l t a n t d e p l e t i o n of e x t e r n a l resources; the growing p o p u l a t i o n and the r e s u l t a n t need to provide more food and employment; and the developments i n the parliamentary p o l i t i c a l system which has tended to weight i n favour of the r u r a l small-farmer. These f a c t o r s are discussed below. During the post-independence p e r i o d , as Table 24 i n d i c a t e s , the p r i c e of S r i Lanka's exports continued to f a l l i n r e l a t i o n to the p r i c e of her imports. Further the t o a l imports, which were h e a v i l y consumption o r i e n t a t e d , kept r i s i n g up w i t h the i n c r e a s i n g p o p u l a t i o n . These trends r e s u l t e d i n i n c r e a s i n g balance of payments d i f f i c u l t i e s and the dwindling of e x t e r n a l resources, which were very c l e a r by the mid 1960's. 94 TABLE 24 TRADE INDICES SELECTED YEARS ( P r i c e Index: 1967 = 100) 1948 1960 1970 Tea 89 120 110 Rubber 73 169 128 Major Coconut Products 96 102 150 A l l Exports 85 122 118 A l l Imports 57 83 140 * Terms of Trade 149 148 84 * Export P r i c e Index A _L (JU Import P r i c e Index Source: C e n t r a l Bank of Ceylon, Annual Reports (Colombo: Ce n t r a l Bank of Ceylon), s e r i e s . In the meantime the p o p u l a t i o n of the country has doubled, r i s i n g from 6.6 m i l l i o n i n 1946 to 12.7 m i l l i o n i n 1971. The r e s u l t has been a greater pressure on land and other a v a i l a b l e resources. The pressure on land was p a r t i c u l a r l y apparent i n the already densely populated Wet^zone. Table 25 shows the growth of p o p u l a t i o n and the i n c r e a s i n g d e n s i t y of r u r a l p o p u l a t i o n per acre of a g r i c u l t u r a l land between 1946 and 1976. 95 TABLE 25 THE GROWTH OF POPULATION AND THE RURAL DENSITY PER ACRE OF AGRICULTURAL LAND 1946 1953 1963 1971 T o t a l P o p u l a t i o n ( m i l l i o n s ) 6.6 8.1 10.1 12.7 Rural P o p u l a t i o n ( m i l l i o n s ) 5.6 6.9 8.6 9.9 Rural P o p u l a t i o n Density per acre of A g r i c u l t u r a l l a n d : A l l I s l a n d 8.0 9.5 11.2 12.2 Wet-Zone D i s t r i c t s * 9.7 11.6 13.8 15.2 Other D i s t r i c t s 5.9 7.8 8.6 9.6 Only those d i s t r i c t s which are f u l l y w i t h i n the wet-zone - namely Colombo, K a l u t a r a , G a l l e , Matara, Kandy, Nuwara E l i y a and K e g a l l e - are i n c l u d e d i n the category 'wet zone d i s t r i c t s ' . In the category 'other d i s t r i c t s ' the remaining d i s t r i c t s except J a f f n a are included. J a f f n a i s a s p e c i a l case of densely populated land scare d i s t r i c t i n the dry-zone. Source: S r i Lanka, Department of Census & S t a t i s t i c s , Computed from t a b l e s i n ESCAP, Comparative Study of P o p u l a t i o n , pp. 75-76. The p o l i t i c a l trends r e s u l t i n g from the f u n c t i o n i n g of a parliamentary democracy i n S r i Lanka has been a greater responsiveness towards the needs of the m a j o r i t y of v o t e r s . The country being predominantly r u r a l and a g r i c u l t u r a l , the contending p a r t i e s have devised t h e i r p o l i c i e s and programs more and more to win the r u r a l vote. The successive d e l i m i t a t i o n s of constituences have provided f o r greater r e p r e s e n t a t i o n f o r r u r a l areas i n general and more s p e c i f i c a l l y i n such areas as the C e n t r a l Province where 22 the small farmers form the bulk of the v o t i n g p o p u l a t i o n . The cumulative e f f e c t of a l l these changes during the post-independence p e r i o d has been a wide range of p u b l i c p o l i c y programs d i r e c t e d at developing the production and p r o d u c t i v i t y of domestic a g r i c u l t u r e . These 96 programs, envisaged i n the successive development p l a n s , which i n c l u d e the Ten Year P l a n of 1958; the A g r i c u l t u r a l Development Proposals of 1966; the Five Year Plan of 1972, have r e s u l t e d i n the gradual b u i l d -up of a comprehensive i n s t i t u t i o n a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e and advances i n the techniques of production. These i n turn have been r e s p o n s i b l e f o r considerable growth i n domestic a g r i c u l t u r e . The production of paddy and other food crops has grown considerably.: P a r t i c u l a r l y noteworthy i s the progress made i n the production of s u b s i d i a r y food crops which have n e a r l y caught-up w i t h paddy i n t h e i r c o n t r i b u t i o n to the G.N.P. by 1975. This was mainly a r e s u l t of the import s u b s t i t u t i o n p o l i c y of the government from the mid 1960's. With the impetus provided by the p r i c e i n c e n t i v e s and supportive s e r v i c e s by the government, subsequent to import r e s t r i c t i o n s , the acreage under these crops has grown considerably. As Table 26 i n d i c a t e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y noteworthy i s the progress made i n the production of c h i l l i e s , potatoes, manioc and sweet potatoes. TABLE 26 ACREAGE OF PRINCIPAL FOOD CROPS 1965 1970 1976 Paddy 1,323,317 1,775,897 1,788,891 Kurakkan 64,635 52,078 97,630 Maize 29,408 50,730 94,592 C h i l l i e s 48,603 58,990 134,873 Red Onions 14,559 16,660 23,892 Potatoes 1,662 8,188 7,693 Manioc 130,492. 147,036 373,575 Sweet Potatoes 34,418 39,150 112,548 Source: S r i Lanka, Department of Census and S t a t i s t i c s , c i t e d i n Economic Review 3:10 (Jan 1978), p. 14. 97 However paddy remains the s i n g l e most important crop i n S r i Lankan a g r i c u l t u r e i n terms of the area under c u l t i v a t i o n , employment ca p a c i t y and i t s c o n t r i b u t i o n to the n a t i o n a l income. Therefore the developments i n the production of paddy merits c l o s e r a t t e n t i o n . The production, acreage and average y i e l d per acre of paddy r e l a t i n g to the p e r i o d 1951/52 to 1975/76 are shown i n Table 27. The general trend during the p e r i o d has been towards a steady increase on a l l these i n d i c a t o r s , except f o r the f i r s t h a l f of the 1970s which recorded d e c l i n e s i n acreage 23 and p r o d u c t i v i t y , which are a t t r i b u t a b l e to poor weather c o n d i t i o n s . TABLE 27 PRODUCTION, AREA AND YIELD OF PADDY Year Production m i l l i o n bushels Net Harvested acreage i n '000 Average Y i e l d per acre 1951/52 28.90 936.62 30.80 1956/57 31.28 967.56 32.35 1961/62 48.00 1,268.46 37.90 1966/67 54.90 1,331.95 41.27 1971/72 62.90 1,342.07 46.32 1975/76 60.05 1,360.82 44.13 Source: S r i Lanka, Department of Census and S t a t i s t i c s , i n Economic Review 3:10 (Jan. 1978), p. 6. Co n t r i b u t i n g to the progress i n the production and p r o d u c t i v i t y of paddy are a f a i r l y comprehensive supportive s e r v i c e s s t r u c t u r e and advances made i n the c u l t u r a l p r a c t i c e s . The supportive s e r v i c e s s t r u c t u r e i n c l u d e research and extension; a g r i c u l t u r a l c r e d i t , crop insurance and p r i c e i n c e n t i v e s ; 98 a network of input supply s t a t i o n s and farmer o r g a n i z a t i o n s ; and t e n u r i a l reforms. Important among the changes i n c u l t u r a l p r a c t i c e s are the use of high y i e l d i n g seed v a r i e t i e s ; the use of f e r t i l i z e r , p e s t i c i d e s and weedcides; and mechanized draught power. Each of these f a c t o r s are d i s -cussed b r i e f l y i n the f o l l o w i n g paragraphs. As f o r research and extension, vast s t r i d e s have been made i n the recent times. Although a Department of A g r i c u l t u r e was e s t a b l i s h e d as e a r l y as 1921, i t appears to have remained, l a r g e l y , a preserve of the p l a n t i n g community f o r a long time. But, w i t h the p o l i t i c a l changes f o l l o w -i n g independence and the growing need to produce more food, the Department has come to pay more and more a t t e n t i o n to the development of peasant a g r i c u l t u r e . A number of research s t a t i o n s have been e s t a b l i s h e d i n the d i f f e r e n t a g r o - e c o l o g i c a l zones, to carry out research on paddy and other s u b s i d i a r y food crops. P a r t i c u l a r l y noteworthy are the achievements made i n the h y b r i d i z a t i o n of paddy. The H4 v a r i e t y , known as the o l d improved v a r i e t y , released i n 1958, and the BG l i n e s , known as the new improved v a r i e t y released i n 1968, have helped boost paddy y i e l d s considerably i n recent times. As Table 28 shows, these high y i e l d i n g v a r i e t i e s were f a i r l y widespread i n the country by the e a r l y 1970s., TABLE 28 ADOPTION RATES OF IMPROVED VARIETIES OF SEED PADDY - MAHA 1973/74 % of Farmers Newly Improved 42.0 Old Improved 33.3 T r a d i t i o n a l 24.7 Source: Crop C u t t i n g Survey, c i t e d i n Economic Review, 3:10 (Jan 1978), p. 9. 99 Along w i t h the development of research e f f o r t s was the development, i n the more recent times, of a network of l o c a l l e v e l farmer i n s t i t u t i o n s which were meant to f a c i l i t a t e extension as w e l l as development planning at the 'grass-roots' l e v e l . Important i n t h i s respect are the i s l a n d -wide establishment of the A g r i c u l t u r a l P r o d u c t i v i t y Committees w i t h the 24 f u n c t i o n of \"promotion c o o r d i n a t i o n and development of a g r i c u l t u r e \" , and t h e i r v i l l a g e level.branches known as the C u l t i v a t i o n Committees. Although the performance of these and other s i m i l a r v i l l a g e l e v e l organ-25 i z a t i o n s have l e f t much to be d e s i r e d , these i n s t i t u t i o n s mark e f f o r t s i n the r i g h t d i r e c t i o n of b u i l d i n g up a comprehensive o r g a n i z a t i o n a l net-work which could f a c i l i t a t e the 'two-way' flow of i d e a s , goods and s e r v i c e s . Also as a p a r t of the supportive s t r u c t u r e are the a g r i c u l t u r a l c r e d i t , marketing, and the crop insurance schemes. Although some government c r e d i t schemes have been i n existence from as f a r back as 1947 t h e i r c o n t r i b u t i o n i n meeting the c r e d i t needs of the small farmer has been minimal. A major development i n t h i s area was the launching of the New A g r i c u l t u r a l C r e d i t Scheme i n 1967, under which the Peoples Bank channelled c r e d i t to the farmers through the island-wide network of Multi-Purpose Cooperative S o c i e t i e s . A more comprehensive c r e d i t scheme, through the Cooperative Rural Banks and the Bank of Ceylon branches housed i n A g r i c u l t u r a l S ervice Centres, was introduced i n 1973. As Table 29 shows, s u b s t a n t i a l amounts of c r e d i t have been disbursed through these schemes. However, high d e f a u l t rates and the consequent n o n - e l i g i b i l i t y have posed l i m i t a t i o n s on the e f f e c t i v e n e s s of these schemes. Consequently, the n o n - i n s t i t u t i o n a l channels 26 of c r e d i t s t i l l remain an important phenomenon i n peasant a g r i c u l t u r e . iOO TABLE 29 PADDY LOANS AND RECOVERIES (Rs. M i l l i o n ) T o t a l loans Granted T o t a l Repayment % of Repayment 1967/68 - 1969/70 180.09 127.96 71.0 1970/71 - 1976/77 444.18 223.20 50.2 Source: Peoples Bank, Economic Review 3:10 (Jan. 1978),p. 11. A crop insurance scheme, aimed at counteracting the r i s k and u n c e r t a i n t y i n v o l v e d i n the adoption of new methods of c u l t i v a t i o n , has been i n existence s i n c e 1958. The scope of t h i s scheme was f u r t h e r broadened by the A g r i c u l t u r a l Insurance Law of 1973, which introduced compulsory insurence f o r paddy. However, the e f f e c t i v e n e s s of the scheme has been 27 found to be l e s s than s a t i s f a c t o r y . The p r i c e i n c e n t i v e s are another important component of the supportive s t r u c t u r e f o r domestic a g r i c u l t u r e . The Guaranteed P r i c e Scheme f o r paddy introduced i n 1948 envisaged not only a guaranteed minimum p r i c e f o r the product but al s o a network of purchasing o u t l e t s through the cooperative s o c i e t i e s . The o b j e c t i v e s of the scheme i n c l u d e the market stimulus f o r production and the e l i m i n a t i o n of the middleman as a purchasing agent. The p r i c e stimulus e f f e c t has undoubtedly c o n t r i b u t e d to the increase i n 28 production. The guaranteed p r i c e f o r paddy which stagnated at Rs. 12 per bushel has been r e v i s e d from 1966 i n stages to reach Rs. 40 i n 1978. Therefore the p r i c e i n c e n t i v e e f f e c t i s l i k e l y to be greater i n the recent years. As f o r purchasing, the middleman's r o l e has c e r t a i n l y d e c l i n e d \\ although he has not been eliminated t o t a l l y . I t i s s i g n i f i c a n t that, on the average, about 37% of the paddy produced i n the country i n the recent years has been purchased by the Paddy Marketing Board (see chapter I, p. 19 for d e t a i l s ) . Another area i n f l u e n c i n g the production and p r o d u c t i v i t y i n a g r i c u l t u r e i s the t e n u r i a l arrangements. Important i n t h i s respect are the s i z e of operational holdings and the various tenancy or share cropping arrangements. In terms of si z e of holdings, the domestic a g r i c u l t u r a l sector i s character-ized by the predominance of small holdings. As shown i n Table 30, about 38% of the paddy holdings are i n sizes of 1 acre or l e s s . Another 50% of the holdings range between 1 and 5 acres. Only 2% of the holdings are i n sizes of 10 acres or more. TABLE 30 THE DISTRIBUTION OF PADDY LAND BY SIZE OF HOLDINGS, 1962 Size Group Number of Percentage (acres) Holdings of Holdings Under h 30,983 5 \\ - \\ 72,968 13 \\ - 1 128,941 23 1 - 2h 189,540 33 2*s- 5 95,619 17 5 - 1 0 38,089 7 above 10 11,513 2 TOTAL 567,653 100% Source: S r i Lanka, Department of Census & S t a t i s t i c s , Census of Agriculture 1962, Vol. I l l , (Colombo: Department of Census & S t a t i s t i c s , 1965), Table IV. 102 The s i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n v a r i e s considerably among the d i f f e r e n t agro-e c o l o g i c a l zones. Generally i n the Wet-zone, due to the greater pressure 29 of population on land, the holdings are s m a l l e r . Although the optimum s i z e of a f a m i l y farm i s an u n s e t t l e d i s s u e , there i s general agreement that holdings below one acre do not provide s u f f i c i e n t income f o r the 30 average f a m i l y . In t h i s sense, a l a r g e p r o p o r t i o n of a g r i c u l t u r a l holdings i n the Wet-Zone would be below the optimum s i z e . In the Dry-Zone the holdings are considerably l a r g e r . With respect to those lands developed under government programs, c e r t a i n p r o v i s i o n s have been made to prevent the s u b - d i v i s i o n of holdings beyond economic s i z e s . T e n u r i a l arrangements are considered as an important f a c t o r i n the p r o d u c t i v i t y of a g r i c u l t u r e . According to the A g r i c u l t u r a l Census of 1946 about 45% of the paddy holdings i n S r i Lanka were under d i f f e r e n t forms of tenancy arrangements. Of t h i s , ande - t r a d i t i o n a l l y a 50-50 arrangement -31 was the dominant system. Table 31, obtained from a recent sample survey, presents the t e n u r i a l categories i n the c u l t i v a t i o n of paddy r e l a t i n g to f i v e major paddy producing d i s t r i c t s . 103 TABLE 31 SYSTEM OF TENURE IN PADDY IN FIVE SELECTED DISTRICTS (per centages) D i s t r i c t Owners Tenants Owner-Tenants Tenant-Owners Others T o t a l Polonnaruwa 68.2 - 10.4 3.2 18.2 100 Hambantota 20.5 49.4 10.3 14.1 5.8 100 Anuradhapura 54.2 4.5 8.0 5.0 28.4 100 Kandy 38.0 30.4 9.5 22.2 - 100 Colombo 43.7 27.1 - 12.5 16.7 100 Source: Agrarian Research & T r a i n i n g I n s t i t u t e , A g r arian S i t u a t i o n R e l a t i n g to Paddy C u l t i v a t i o n i n Five s e l e c t e d d i s t r i c t s of S r i Lanka, Part 6 - Comparative A n a l y s i s (Colombo: ARTI, 1975), p. 14. The d i s i n c e n t i v e s to p r o d u c t i v i t y , posed by u n f a i r tenancy arrangements have long been recognized by the government. Accordingly,.the Paddy Lands Act of 1953 envisaged the s e c u r i t y of tenure and the r e g u l a t i o n of rent as the major o b j e c t i v e s . However, the Act was confined to two d i s t r i c t s , B a t t i c a l o a and Hambantota, where the t e n u r i a l c o n d i t i o n s were considered 32 to be most onerous. The Paddy Lands Act of 1958 was more comprehensive i n that i t s scope was island-wide and i t s p r o v i s i o n s covered the loop-holes i n the e a r l i e r Act. However i n the implementation and i n t h e i r e f f e c -33 ti v e n e s s both these Acts l e f t much to be d e s i r e d . These Acts were superseded by the A g r i c u l t u r a l Lands Law of 1973 which extended the t e n u r i a l p r o v i s i o n s to a l l share cropped land i n the country. This A c t , coupled w i t h the A g r i c u l t u r a l P r o d u c t i v i t y Law of 1972, which provided f o r the establishment of A g r i c u l t u r a l P r o d u c t i v i t y Committees vested w i t h wide ranging powers to ensure the optimal use of a g r i c u l t u r a l l a n ds, provides scope f o r considerable i n s t i t u t i o n a l reforms i n t e n u r i a l r e l a t i o n s . The other area of developments i n peasant a g r i c u l t u r e during the post-independence p e r i o d r e l a t e s to changes i n the techniques of production. Important i n t h i s respect are the use of improved v a r i e t i e s of seed; f e r t i l i z e r a p p l i c a t i o n ; the methods of p e s t , disease and weed c o n t r o l ; and the use of mechanized draught power. The use of improved v a r i e t i e s of seed i s widespread i n the country. As has already been discussed (p. 9 8 ) , about 75% of the paddy acreage i s now under some improved v a r i e t y . Important f o r the use of new seed v a r i e t i e s i s the use of f e r t i l i z e r . U n t i l 1964 the supply of chemical f e r t i l i z e r was dependent on imports by the p r i v a t e s e c t o r . But, w i t h the establishment of the Ceylon F e r t i l i z e r Co-operation i n 1 9 6 4 , the government took over the import of f e r t i l i z e r . Since then, as shown i n Table 32, the import of f e r t i l i z e r has increased s u b s t a n t i a l l y , which was made a v a i l a b l e to the farmer through the co-operative net-work. However, from 1 9 7 4 , due to the increase i n the p r i c e of petroleum products i n the world market and the r e s u l t a n t shortages, there has been a d e c l i n e i n the imports and consequently i n i t s a v a i l a b i l i t y to the farmer. TABLE 32 FERTILIZER ISSUES FOR PADDY (000' tons) Year F e r t i l i z e r 1961 29.0 1963 47. 1 1965 42.0 1967 73.2 1969 83.5 1971 95.4 1973 125.5 1975 48.7 Issued Source: C e n t r a l Bank of Ceylon, Annual Report (Colombo: C e n t r a l Bank of Ceylon), S e r i e s . To o b t a i n the b e n e f i t s of improved v a r i e t i e s of seed i t i s necessary to use not only f e r t i l i z e r but a l s o a v a r i e t y of pe s t , disease and weed c o n t r o l methods. The a v a i l a b l e data - on these aspects are incomplete. However, as Table 33 shows, there has been a great increase i n weed contro TABLE 33 PADDY AREA UNDER PEST, DISEASE AND WEED CONTROL (per centage. of area shown) 1952 1962 1968 P e s t i c i d e s - n.a. 16 n.a. Fungicides - n.a. 3 n.a. Weed Control - 13 27 42 Source: A.P.A. Fernando, p. 138. The mechanization of a g r i c u l t u r e i s another important development the post-independence p e r i o d . Important i n t h i s respect i s the use o t r a c t o r s i n ploughing. As shown i n Table 34, the use of t r a c t o r s i n ploughing has increased from an i n s i g n i f i c a n t 0.5 to 47% of the area under paddy, between the years 1946 and 1968. However, the growing f o r e i g n exchange shortages and the i n c r e a s i n g cost of machinery has impeded the f u r t h e r spread of mechanization i n the recent years. TABLE 34 PADDY AREA TRACTOR PLOUGHED Year Acres As per centage of area sown 1946 4,196 0.5 1962 566,421 38 1968 823,664 47 Source: Census of A g r i c u l t u r e 1946 and 1962; D i r e c t o r of A g r i c u l t u r e , A d m i n i s t r a t i o n Report 1967/68. 107 In c o n c l u s i o n , i t may be noted that the developments i n domestic a g r i c u l t u r e during the post-independence p e r i o d i n c l u d e , changes i n the techniques of production (which c o n s t i t u t e the enigmatic \"Green R e v o l u t i o n \" ) ; s u b s t a n t i a l i n s t i t u t i o n a l reforms; and a gradual b u i l d -up of a comprehensive supportive i n f r a s t r u c t u r e . These developments have two important i m p l i c a t i o n s from the p o i n t of view of the present study. One i s that the new developments represent a marked s h i f t from the t r a d i t i o n a l subsistence o r i e n t e d peasant a g r i c u l t u r e described i n the ' d u a l i s t i c ' model. The other, r e l a t e d to the former, i s that the new developments s i g n i f y the emergence of a new mode of production to prominance i n the country. The s h i f t from the t r a d i t i o n a l p a t t e r n i s evident i n the process of pi -oduction and i n the d i s t r i b u t i o n of the product. In the process of production there i s the increased use of c a p i t a l i n the form of i n p u t s , which was n e c e s s i t a t e d by the use of new seed v a r i e t i e s , f e r t i l i z e r , agro-chemicals, and the changed c u l t u r a l p r a c t i c e s . There i s a l s o i n -creased use of h i r e d labour (according to a sample survey i n Maha 1972/73 the r a t i o of h i r e d labour to t o a l labour input i n the production of paddy 34 ranged from 56 to 78% i n s e l e c t e d d i s t r i c t s ). In the d i s t r i b u t i o n of the product there i s i n c r e a s i n g market o r i e n t a t i o n . As shown e a r l i e r , i n the recent years about 40% of the paddy produced has been s o l d to the Paddy Marketing Board. This i s i n a d d i t i o n to s a l e s to p r i v a t e t r a d e r s . There i s a l s o a greater degree of market o r i e n t a t i o n i n s i b s i d i a r y food crops l i k e c h i l l i e s , onions and potatoes and other cash crops l i k e tobacco and cotton. These changes i n the process of production and d i s t r i b u t i o n r e l a t e to c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a t t r i b u t e d to the 'moder s e c t o r ' i n the d u a l i s t i c model. In other words the ' t r a d i t i o n a l ' s e c t o r has become i n c r e a s i n g l y a 'modern' sector. The other i m p l i c a t i o n , namely the emergence of a new mode of production to prominance i s evidenced by s e v e r a l developments discussed i n the pre-ceding pages. F i r s t l y , there are the government p o l i c i e s and programs more and more o r i e n t e d to the needs of the small-farmer; secondly, a r i s i n g out of the f i r s t , there i s a comprehensive supportive s t r u c t u r e c o n s i s t i n g of research and extens i o n , a s e r i e s of schemes and a network of i n s t i t u t i o n s f o r c r e d i t and other i n p u t s , crop insurance, marketing, and l o c a l l e v e l planning and p a r t i c i p a t i o n ; t h i r d l y , there was a s e r i e s of t e n u r i a l and land reforms aimed at b e n e f i t t i n g the small-farmer; and f o u r t h l y , the p h y s i c a l growth of domestic a g r i c u l t u r e i t s e l f . The growth of domestic a g r i c u l t u r e i n the recent years has been such that i t i s i n the process of r e p l a c i n g the p l a n t a t i o n s as the dominant phenomenon i n the S r i Lankan economy. This s h i f t from the dominance of the p l a n t a t i o n s towards a dominance of a commercialized small-holder form of a g r i c u l t u r e may be i l l u s t r a t e d w i t h data r e l a t i n g to the G.N.P., acreage under crops, and employment i n a g r i c u l t u r e : As f o r the c o n t r i b u t i o n to the G.N.P., the share of domestic a g r i -c u l t u r e has more than doubled w i t h i n a pe r i o d of 15 years, whereas that of export crops has recorded only marginal increases during the same p e r i o d . In terms of per centages, the c o n t r i b u t i o n of domestic a g r i c u l t u r e to the G.N.P. has r i s e n from 19% i n 1960 to 28% i n 1975. whereas that of the export crops has d e c l i n e d from 55% to 42% during the same p e r i o d . Table 35 shows the changing p a t t e r n w i t h i n a g r i c u l t u r e i n r e l a t i o n to the G.N.P. TABLE 35 G.N.P. AND THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR (1959 constant p r i c e s ) 3 year moving averages (Rs. mn) 1960 1965 1970 1975 1. Paddy 350.0 377.4 597.1 549.6 •2. S u b s i d i a r y food crops 105.1 116.5 240.8 501.3 3. Major export crops 1,337.0 1,547.4 1,524.7 1,449.1 4. Minor export crops 21.3 22.0 24.9 59.4 T o t a l A g r i c u l t u r e and F i s h i n g 2,450.5 2,846.6 3,332.8 3,576.2 T o t a l G.N.P. 6,202.2 7,577.4 9,570.8 11,096.0 Source: C e n t r a l Bank of Ceylon, Annual Reports, c i t e d i n Economic Review 3:10 (Jan. 1978), p. 4. In terms of the area under c u l t i v a t i o n , the growth i n paddy has f a r o u t s t r i p p e d a l l other p l a n t a t i o n crops. As Table 36 shows, the area under paddy has doubled between the years 1946 and 1970. Whereas the area under tea and coconut recorded only marginal increases during the p e r i o d , and that of rubber has, i n f a c t , d e c l i n e d i n absolute terms. 110 TABLE 36 CHANGE IN AREA UNDER CULTIVATION, PADDY AND MAJOR PLANTATION CROPS (000' hectare) 1946 1952 1962 1970 T o t a l Under A g r i c u l t u r e -of which: 1,727 1,789 1,888 1,993 Tea 224 230 239 242 Rubber 257 265 226 239 Coconut 373 446 466 467 Paddy 370 424 632 726 Source: Department of Census & S t a t i s t i c s , i n ESCAP, Comparative Study of P o p u l a t i o n , pp. 72 - 73. In terms of employment, as shown i n Table 37, the share of the major p l a n t a t i o n crops, as a per centage of a l l employment i n a g r i c u l t u r e , has d e c l i n e d from 55% i n 1946 to 40% i n 1971. In c o n t r a s t , the employment share of paddy and other a g r i c u l t u r e , as a per centage of t o t a l employ-ment i n a g r i c u l t u r e , has increased from 45% to 60% during the same pe r i o d . I l l TABLE 37 THE CHANGE IN EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE -PLANTATION CROPS AND OTHER CROPS (per centages) 1946 1953 1963 1971 Tea, Rubber, and Coconut 55.2 54.0 46.8 39.9 Paddy 21.1 23.9 37.1 43.1 Other A g r i c u l t u r e 23.7 22. 1 16.1 17.0 T o t a l A g r i c u l t u r e 100.0 100-.0 100.0 100.0 T o t a l Number 1,343,438 1,584,141 1, 681,937 1,823,952 Source: ESCAP, Comparative Study of P o p u l a t i o n , p . 90. The i m p l i c a t i o n s of these changes namely, the 'modernization' of domestic a g r i c u l t u r e and the emergence of a commercialized small-holder form of a g r i c u l t u r e to prominance, are that the development p o l i c y i n S r i Lanka w i l l be guided not by a d u a l i s t i c model based on a 'modern se c t o r ' and a ' t r a d i t i o n a l s e c t o r ' f o r , there i s no ' t r a d i t i o n a l s e c t o r ' . Nor by a model based on the strength and predominance of a p l a n t a t i o n s e c t o r f o r , the p l a n t a t i o n s e c t o r i s l o s i n g i t s dominant p o s i t i o n . Rather, the model w i l l be one where there i s a form of h i g h l y c a p i t a l i z e d and commercialized form of a g r i c u l t u r e which ranges from small-holder food crop production to l a r g e s c a l e export crop production. 112 CHAPTER IV NOTES AND REFERENCES 1. See, f o r example, I.H. Van den Driensen, \"Some Trends i n the Economic H i s t o r y of Ceylon i n the Modern P e r i o d \" Ceylon J o u r n a l of H i s t o r i c a l and S o c i a l Studies 3:1 (Jan-Jun 1960), pp. 1-17; Snodgrass, pp. 59-71. 2. Farmer, pp. 80-81. 3. Kandyan Peasantry Commission, p. 71. 4. B. Hewavitarana, \"Factors i n the Planning and Execution of the Economic Development of Ceylon\", Ph.D. Th e s i s , London U n i v e r s i t y 1964; S.B.D. de S i l v a , \"Investment and Economic Growth i n Ceylon\", Ph.D. Thesis, U n i v e r s i t y o f — 5. M. Roberts, \"The Impact of the Waste Lands L e g i s l a t i o n and the Growth of the P l a n t a t i o n s on the Technique of Paddy C u l t i v a t i o n i n the B r i t i s h Ceylon - A C r i t i q u e \" Modern Ceylon S t u d i e s , V o l . 3 , No.21, 1970, p. 181. 6. I b i d . , p. 181. 7. S r i Lanka, Ceylon Census of A g r i c u l t u r e 1962, V ol I I . (Colombo: Department of Census and S t a t i s t i c s , 1966), p. 28. 8. See, f o r example, E.F.C. Ludowyk, The Modern H i s t o r y of Ceylon (New York: Praeger P u b l i s h e r s , 1966), pp. 77-78; Farmer, pp. 14-18. 9. Ludowyk, pp. 77-78. 10. Snodgrass, p. 63. 11. Kandyan Peasantry Commission, p. 12. Snodgrass, p. 13. Gunesekere, p. 229. 14. IBRD, The Economic Development of Ceylon (London: The John Hopkins Press, 1956), p. 198. 15. Farmer, pp. 101-115. 16. I b i d . , pp. 117-119. 17. I b i d . , pp. 128-139. 113 18. Snodgrass, p. 48. 19. M. Roberts, i n H i s t o r y of Ceylon, p..156. 20. I b i d . , p. 156; Snodgrass, p. 64-71. 21. Farmer, pp. 146-157. 22. B.M. Morrison, paper presented at the Seminar on South A s i a at U.C.L.A. 1979; see al s o N.W. M o r r i s , \"Patterns of E l e c t o r a l P o l i t i c s i n Ceylon\", Ph.D. d i s s e r t a t i o n , U n i v e r s i t y of I l l i n o i s , 1971. 23. C e n t r a l Bank of Ceylon, Annual Report 1974, pp. 37-40. 24. Government of S r i Lanka, A g r i c u l t u r a l P r o d u c t i v i t y Law, no. 2,1972, (Colombo: Government P r i n t i n g , 1972), p. 11. 25. See, f o r example, Agrarian Research and T r a i n i n g I n s t i t u t e . The Role of Rural Organizations i n Rural Development i n S r i Lanka, Part I and I I (Colombo: ARTI, 1977). 26. Peoples Bank, Economic Review 3:10 (Jan 1978), p. 11; A.A. Kahn, Small Farmer C r e d i t (Colombo: ARTI, 1974), p. 2; see al s o C e n t r a l Bank of Ceylon, Survey of Rural C r e d i t and Indebtedness 1969 (Colombo: C e n t r a l Bank of Ceylon, 1969). 27. I b i d . , p. 11; N. Sandaratne, \" A g r i c u l t u r a l Insurence i n Peasant A g r i c u l t u r e \" , Ceylon Studies Seminar (1974). 28. B a n s i l , pp. 82-97; Economic Review 3:10 (Jan 1978), p. 13. 29. Ceylon Census of A g r i c u l t u r e 1962, v o l . I l l , t a b l e 2. 30. Economic Review, 3:10 (Jan 1978), p. 10. 31. S r i Lanka, Department of Census and S t a t i s t i c s , Census of A g r i c u l t u r e 1946, V o l 1, part I I (Colombo: Department of Census and S t a t i s t i c s , 1946), Table 69. 32. H e r r i n g , p. l i O . 33. I b i d . , p. 116; ARTI (1975). 34. ARTI, Agrarian S i t u a t i o n P a r t 6, p. 18. 114 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Agrarian Research and Training I n s t i t u t e . 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(January - June, 1960). pp. 1 - 17. Wrickramaratne, L.A. \"The Development of Tra n s p o r t a t i o n i n Ceylon,\" i n H i s t o r y of Ceylon, pp. 303 - 316. Wriggins, Howard. Ceylon: Dilemmas of a New Nation. P r i n c e t o n : P r i n c e t o n U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1966. "@en ; edm:hasType "Thesis/Dissertation"@en ; edm:isShownAt "10.14288/1.0100254"@en ; dcterms:language "eng"@en ; ns0:degreeDiscipline "Anthropology"@en ; edm:provider "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en ; dcterms:publisher "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:rights "For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use."@en ; ns0:scholarLevel "Graduate"@en ; dcterms:title "Plantations in the development of the Sri Lankan economy : an evaluation of the dual economy approach"@en ; dcterms:type "Text"@en ; ns0:identifierURI "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/22006"@en .