LNP – President orders to provide organic fertilizer for ’Maha’ Season

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa instructed the relevant officials to take actions to provide organic fertilizer required for the ‘Maha’ Season to farmers without any shortage.

While addressing the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and the organic fertilizer manufacturers at the Presidential Secretariat, emphasized the importance of implementing a comprehensive mechanism to transform the entire agricultural sector of the country to use organic fertilizers.

He pointed out the need to achieve this goal, which aims for the benefit of the future generations, without causing any hindrance to the farmers. Therefore, the production capacity of organic fertilizers has to be increased, the President said.

The President instructed the officials to import the required quantity of high-quality organic fertilizer if the quantity of fertilizer produced locally is not sufficient.

The fertilizer manufacturers said that the total amount of organic fertilizer required for agriculture could be produced locally within a few seasons.

“The government spends enormous funds annually to import chemical fertilizers. The President said this funds could be used to encourage the production of organic fertilizer. Plans have been drawn to educate the Agricultural Instructors and Agricultural Research Officers at district level on the use of organic fertilizers,” the President said.

The Ministers in charge of the subject pointed out that the mechanism required to purchase organic fertilizer produced in all parts of the country by the National Fertilizer Secretariat and to distribute the fertilizer based on the type of crops including paddy has been formulated.

The President instructed the officials to inspect the soil at the rural level before the ‘Maha’ Season and obtain a report on the volume of fertilizer to be applied.