A special discussion related to the field of fertilizer was held under the patronage of Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation K.D. Lalkantha.
A special discussion related to the fertilizer sector, held under the patronage of Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation K.D. Lalkantha, took place yesterday (08th) at the National Information and Communication Center in Gannoruwa.
The following matters were taken up at this occasion: submission of the national fertilizer requirement in accordance with fertilizer recommendations; fertilizer requirements for the government seed farms of the Department of Agriculture and other institutions; obtaining a more productive harvest through the use of minimum inputs; submission of information on fertilizer imports and currently available fertilizer stocks; and the discussion of proposals from the Provincial Departments of Agriculture, proposals from the Mahaweli Authority, and future steps to be taken.
Subsequent to this discussion, a further discussion was held with the participation of officials and representatives of fertilizer companies. The clarification of the fertilizer registration and regulatory mechanism, along with related matters such as fertilizer testing and the process of issuing recommendations, were discussed at length. The presentation of progress on fertilizer variety trials and research, clarification of the use of next-generation fertilizers and their future prospects, and the gathering of views and proposals from all participants also took place on this occasion.
Participating in this event, the Minister expressed the following views.
Taking into consideration both the situation that has arisen within the country and the situation prevailing in the world, today we held a broad discussion on fertilizer use during the Maha season, based on the need to safeguard the country’s food security, as well as to uplift the lives and livelihoods of the farming community, and to produce the harvest we require in the necessary quantity and to the required standard.
The fertilizer relevant to the Yala season is currently available within the country. At this point, it is being distributed through the Agrarian Service Centers. The private sector had suspended distribution in recent days, at our request. We have now made a decision to activate fertilizer distribution through the private sector as usual. In view of that, there will be no fertilizer-related problem for any crop during the Yala season anywhere in the country. There are distribution delays in certain areas and those matters were also discussed. A programme has been put in place to ensure that the problems related to those distributions are completely resolved going forward without any issues.
We wish to convey this message to the farming community. The fertilizer required for the Yala season is currently available within the country. Our discussion now is built around the fertilizer required for the Maha season. The Cabinet of Ministers has already granted approval for the interventions related to importing fertilizer for the Maha season. Accordingly, our fertilizer companies have already intervened in that regard. The involvement of the private sector is also being activated.
A discussion was held on the subject of fertilizer use. Various parties had discussed with us over the past period about the need to advance the use of third and fourth generation fertilizers in Sri Lanka in order to obtain greater fertilizer productivity through those fertilizers, and to reduce certain types of fertilizers. Some of these are currently present in the soil, having been continuously added to the soil over a long period of time. Therefore, today, a decision was made to further expand the practice of mandatory soil testing before applying fertilizer. Accordingly, we believe that today’s discussion was an important one, and through that discussion we have arrived at a decision aimed at both ensuring our food security and uplifting the lives and livelihoods of the farming community. We make a request to the farming community that everyone connected to agriculture engage with confidence and without hesitation to carry out agricultural activities well.”
