As the Maha approaches…
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As the Maha paddy season gets into full swing in late September/early October, farmers are getting jittery with widespread reports that their fertiliser requirements cannot be met.While the government banned the import of chemical fertiliser midway during the Yala season and said only imports of organic fertiliser and bio-pesticides and weedicides would be permitted, hurried efforts are underway now by various government agencies to meet the fertiliser demand for the incoming season. The ban was enforced by the Government to encourage more organic fertiliser use and ensure a healthy nation.
As I was reviewing these thoughts, the phone rang. It was Pedris Appo (short for Appuhamy), a retired agriculture expert who does farming, on the line.
“Hello…hello, I was intrigued by the picture in last week’s Business Times on how farmers are preparing compost ahead of the season. Will they be able to produce enough organic fertiliser in the next few months?” he asked.
“Well… that’s a big question. Many agriculture experts, scientists and plantation specialists agree that the ban on chemical fertiliser imports should have been phased out instead of a one-shot ban,” I said.
“I think there won’t be a problem as far as weedicides
and pesticides are concerned as local importers have enough stocks of chemical pesticides imported earlier which are sufficient for the Maha season,” he said.
“Yes the issue is only as per imports. If there are enough stocks in the country of chemical fertiliser and pesticides/weedicides then that can be used for the crop seasons,” I said.
According to the Central Bank 2020 report, fertiliser imports cost Rs. 48.2 billion in 2020, Rs. 39.5 billion in 2019 and Rs. 42.6 billion in 2018, which was sharply lower at Rs. 15.7 billion in 2017 and Rs. 19.9 billion in 2016. It was unclear why it rose sharply from 2018 onwards.
Paddy production using organic fertiliser during Maha is unlikely to reach previous levels and it remains to be seen by how much production will fall and adversely affect farmers’ incomes. Last year, paddy production rose by 11.5 percent to 5.1 million metric tons (MT) in 2020 compared to 2019. The Maha season accounts for over 60 percent of the total annual production.
While I was conversing with Pedris, I remembered a more detailed discussion with two experts in the field of
fertiliser imports.
According to them, Sri Lanka imports 1 million MT of chemical fertiliser annually with imports in the hands of five to six companies and two state agencies.
The requirement is made up of 400,000 MT each for Yala and Maha (totalling 800,000 MT) seasons and 200,000 MT for non-paddy needs like tea, rubber, coconut and other smaller crops. Of the total imports, the private sector imports roughly 550,000 MT, while the two state agencies account for the balance.
This year, even though the chemical fertiliser import ban came into force midway through the Yala season, there were enough stocks of chemical fertiliser which had been imported earlier for the season.
The Government recently ordered a consignment of 90,000 MT of organic fertiliser from China but according to some sources, this has been temporarily halted as impurities had been found in samples from this consignment in tests done by Sri Lankan agencies.
Fertiliser is made up of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium as soil nutrients. While chemical fertiliser has a 50 percent concentration of nitrogen, organic fertiliser has only between 0 to 10 percent which means that five times more nitrogen is required from organic fertiliser.
In recent months, the Government has been discussing with about 45 local manufacturers of organic fertiliser to increase their supply. Farmers have also been given an incentive of Rs. 12,500 to produce their own compost fertiliser. Whether these measures would lead to even half the required production of fertiliser for the Maha season, remains to be seen.
As I took a breather, ending the conversation with Pedris, and midway through writing my column, I saw the trio having a ‘chat’ under the margosa tree. Elsewhere down the lane, the strains of a popular Sunil Perera tune ‘Meka comedy country ekak (This is a comedy country)’ could be heard from a neighbour’s radio.
This ironically was the subject of discussion of the trio. “Meka vihiluvak. Aanduwa yata-andum gena eka nawaththala thiyenawa. Welenda Amathi Bandula Gunawardane vihiluvak wela, sathosa yata-andum pradeshiyawa hadai kiyala. Evath ahara ekkada vikunanna yanne (This is a joke. The Government has restricted the import of underwear. Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardane has become a joke by saying Sathosa will produce local underwear. Are they going to sell it with the foodstuffs?),” asked .
“Thavath podu-jana manthree-kenek kiyala thiyenawa api lasthi wenna oney kiyala aahara wel thunak neme dekak ganna. Eyata pissuda. Eyath eh parithyagaya karaida? Eh athara thure, virudda paksha nayakaya chandayak illanawa. Chandayak thiyanne kohomada, mae COVID-19 kaale? Sunil aiyya kivwa wage meka komedy ratak (Another SLPP MP says we should be prepared to have only 2 meals a day instead of 3 meals. Is he mad? Will he make that sacrifice? In the meantime, the opposition leader has called for an election. How can they hold an election with the COVID-19 situation? As Sunil Aiyya says, this is a comedy country),” noted Serapina.
“Mama hiththanne, yata andum genwanne ne kiyala kiwwe, apiwa maga arinna. Etha-kota api rata muna-dena wenath vishala prashna gena katha karanne nae-ne. (I think the restrictions on imported underwear may be to divert our attention from the bigger issues the country is facing. We should be cautious),” said Mabel Rasthiyadu.
In the meantime, for those who are interested, here is the link to the ‘Comedy country’ song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsQ21aCpJz4&ab_channel=DillinaHerath
In other developments this week, the Central Bank has got a new governor, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, who would be serving a record third term in this hot seat. He promises to sort out the problems in policy direction, particularly the diktat imposed on commercial banks to sell dollars at the Central Bank rate of Rs. 202-203, which has caused havoc in the markets.
Before winding up my column, I walked into the kitchen to prepare my second mug of tea (Kussi Amma Sera was in earnest conversation still under the margosa tree), reflecting on the numerous problems the Government is facing and bracing for more protests from farmers when the Maha season begins.