Minister of Plantations K.V. Samantha Vidyarathna announced plans to provide fertiliser subsidies to coconut plantation owners as a measure to resolve the prevailing coconut shortage.
Speaking on the matter, he revealed that out of the 55,000 metric tonnes (MT) of fertiliser recently imported, a total of 27,500 MT will be allocated for coconut cultivation.
“The Ministry’s coconut plantations, spanning tens of thousands of acres, have not been fertilised for five years, resulting in reduced harvests. The general public was also unable to fertilise trees. Following a recent shipment of fertiliser, we decided in a Cabinet of Ministers discussion to allocate half of it for coconut cultivation,” he explained. He expressed optimism that this initiative would help resolve the crisis by the coming year (2025).