Local farmers and agriculture activists in Sri Lanka have slammed World Bank intervention in the agricultural sector, saying it has caused the eradication of small-scale cultivation and resulted in high food prices, in particular rice and wheat. The Movement for National Agriculture and Land Reform (MONLAR) held a gathering for concerned parties to discuss possible solutions to the problem. Former minister Indika Gunewardena stated that tenant farmers will never be able to rise out of poverty as long the government retains ownership of the land they work on. Small-scale farmers state that the Bank has been encouraging companies to invest only in large-scale farms.