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President’s Office says shift to organic fertiliser moving ahead
View(s):The entire Rs 50bn that the Government spends on agrochemicals will now be diverted to organic and bio-fertiliser use and to support those manufacturers, Presidential Secretary P.B. Jayasundera said.
“Efforts to shift from agrochemicals to organic fertliser are moving forward. In fact, the shift to organic fertiliser will be one big agro-industrialisation activity that will raise the GDP through waste being transformed into a material production base,” Mr Jayasundera , a former Treasury Secretary, said. On Tuesday, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa met organic fertiliser manufacturers who presented their plans in alignment with the Government’s move to ban agrochemicals in Sri Lanka’s agricultural sector. The following day, a meeting was held with the Agriculture Minister to work out supply, distribution and logistics for the Maha season starting in September.
“It’s coming up well,” he said. “Even the identified transitional requirement of chemical fertliser is a reflection of a substantial reduction of chemical fertiliser. The great thing is that mindset is changing. Soil, fertiliser, water, plant and nutrition must all be done logically.”