Govt. expedites organic fertiliser production
The Government is accelerating the production of organic fertiliser, deploying two state-owned companies and 27 locally registered manufacturers to meet the requirement of farmers during this Maha season.
In a separate development, Agriculture Minister Mahindandanada Aluthgamage told the Business Times that, on a directive issued by the President, a sum of Rs.12,500 is being distributed among 2.5 million farmers and interested parties to each hectare to produce manure/organic fertiser inputs.
Meanwhile action is being taken to convert the Commercial Fertilizer Company into an entity producing, supplying and distributing organic fertiliser in association with local government institutions, with Cabinet approval.
In addition arrangements are being made to establish a chemical fertiliser company jointly with the Lanka Phosphate Company operating under the Ministry of Industries to produce Triple Super Phosphate TSP, according to an Agriculture Ministry memorandum.
It has also been planned to manufacture Single Super Phosphate (SSP) as a substitute to TSP by using Apatite of Eppawala deposit to mix with manure as a nutrient, it added. The Ministry of Agriculture is to produce 50,000 metric tons of organic fertiliser using the Eppawala phosphate deposit for the first time.
The demand for phosphorus in the country is between 125,000 and 175,000 metric tons and the Ministry of Agriculture is confident that this requirement can be met gradually using the Eppawala deposit. The production of SSP will replace the importing of TSP which costs around US$57 million annually. An initial investment of around Rs. 37.4 million is to be made with a recovery period of six years. As an option of plan B in the event of any failure in local manure production, the ministry will import 56,667 metric tons of organic fertiliser and natural minerals with the involvement of importers as well, officials said.
All imported materials should be in conformity with the specification guidelines issued by the Sri Lanka Standard Institution for organic solid sterilised fertiliser, Pottasium Chloride and liquid organic fertilisers
The present uncertainty and the unavailability of organic fertiliser production data and quality standard issues and the delay in the importation procedure amidst bureaucratic bungling could trigger a fertiliser crisis soon hurting government’s efforts of expediting local production, several agriculture experts said.
Minister Aluthgamage assured that there won’t be any crisis in agriculture production as necessary action is being taken to meet the fertiliser requirement of farmers. At present a new economy has emerged based on organic farming, he said adding that the initiative of distributing billions of rupees earned by four companies from the import of chemical fertiliser among over two million farmers is progressing successfully.