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Farmers to be sold fertiliser bag at Rs. 10,000 for Maha season

20 May 2022

  • Spl Fertiliser Comm. notes farmers quitting agriculture 
BY Buddhika Samaraweera The Special Committee on Fertiliser appointed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has decided to take necessary steps to provide farmers with fertiliser at a price of around Rs. 10,000 per bag at least by the coming Maha cultivating season. Speaking to The Morning, the Committee’s Head, former Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said: “Fertiliser prices have risen sharply due to the current shortage of fertiliser and the sharp depreciation of the Sri Lankan Rupee against the United States Dollar. In this situation, farmers find it extremely difficult to buy fertiliser. Accordingly, we have decided to take necessary steps to provide fertilisers to farmers at a price of around Rs. 10,000 per bag by the Maha season.” He said that due to the sharp rise in fertiliser prices and the shortage of fertiliser in the market, a large number of farmers are shifting away from agriculture to other livelihoods, which could have a number of adverse effects.  “As farmers move away from agriculture, food production in the country declines, which in turn leads to food shortages in the country. When there is a shortage of food, it is expensive to import food from other countries and a country like Sri Lanka cannot afford to do so given the prevailing economic crisis. Therefore, we should focus on developing local agriculture and increasing local food production rather than relying on food imports,” added Kariyawasam. Meanwhile, a discussion was held on Tuesday (17) between the said Committee and the officials of the relevant Ministries regarding the provision of fertilisers and agrochemicals to farmers for cultivation during the Yala cultivating season. Kariyawasam said on that day that the discussion focused on importing organic and chemical fertilisers and other agrochemicals required by the farmers as soon as possible and managing the stocks of fertilisers that would be received. “The main focus was on what fertilisers are required for all crops and how to import them. It was proposed to initiate discussions with several countries regarding the purchase of fertilisers under a Government to Government programme or under a long term credit facility. Especially considering the existing fertiliser shortage, we will be working to provide the required fertiliser to the farmers as soon as possible,” he said. He also said that in addition to importing fertiliser, steps to be taken to manage the stock of fertiliser that would be received, were also discussed during the said meeting. “It is also important to manage the amount of fertiliser that the country receives. We discussed short term and long term measures that could be taken in that regard. One of the steps that was suggested was to provide fertiliser to farmers under a voucher scheme. Under it, farmers can give the relevant voucher to the fertiliser trader and buy organic or chemical fertiliser as per their wishes.” He said that officials representing the Agriculture Ministry and the Plantations Ministry and their affiliates were present at the discussion and that the report prepared on the basis of the discussion would be handed over to Premier Wickremesinghe in the next few days.


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