• Claim local eco-friendly hybrid fertilisers manufacture/production has collapsed 

Farmer groups urged the Government to streamline and strengthen the regulation of fertiliser import, sale and use, noting that the lack of regulations has affected the agriculture sector.

Noting that Sri Lanka spends close to $ 300 million a year to import chemical fertilisers including urea, the National Agrarian Unity organisation’s President Anuradha Thennakoon opined that such imports have continued for a long time despite the country’s potential to develop the local fertilisers manufacturing sector to the extent that fertiliser imports could be significantly reduced. 

Speaking to The Daily Morning, he explained that even though local fertiliser manufacturers started producing eco-friendly, hybrid fertilisers, those projects have collapsed due to several reasons including the lack of support and regulation.

Thennakoon alleged that Sri Lanka has allowed private, large-scale fertiliser importers to create a monopoly in the country. He opined that this leeway and the lack of regulations concerning the importation and sale of fertilisers have exacerbated the fertiliser-related challenges faced by farmers. Noting that Sri Lanka has had high levels of chemical fertiliser use, sometimes above regional averages, he further said that the lack of regulation regarding fertiliser use is also a concern.