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Fertiliser crisis: Order to remove sub-standard liquid fertiliser

18 Dec 2021

  • Fertiliser Secretariat awaiting sample test results
  • Portion of organic liquid fertiliser issued to market
  • Farmers complain of lack of fertiliser, sub-standard products
By Yoshitha Perera The Fertiliser Secretariat has launched an investigation into the alleged phenomenon of numerous bottles of locally-manufactured liquid organic fertiliser, delivered to farmers in the Anuradhapura District, bursting, The Sunday Morning learnt. Authorities have also instructed non-standard batches of the liquid fertiliser to be removed from sales outlets and for them to be replaced with ones that meet established standards.  Speaking to The Sunday Morning, National Fertiliser Secretariat Anuradhapura District Assistant Director Bandula Kumara said that samples were collected from Agrarian Service Centres in Anuradhapura and delivered to relevant Government-authorised laboratories for analysis, and that they were waiting for the reports.  “In the market, liquid fertilisers are usually packaged in bottles ranging from one to 10 litres. We had already instructed the relevant local liquid organic fertiliser supplier to remove the non-standard batch of liquid fertiliser bottles and replace them with liquid fertilisers that comply with applicable standards,” he explained.  Kumara said that, as of last Thursday (16) concerns have only been raised regarding 7,000 litres of liquid fertiliser distributed among farmers. He said that five out of 50 bottles stored at the Padaviya Agrarian Services Centre, and three out of 30 bottles kept at a house in Padaviya, have cracked, causing the content to leak.    “Accordingly, nearly 1.2 million litres of liquid fertilisers should be supplied to the Anuradhapura District. We have so far distributed over 600,000 litres. There are recommended quantities of fertilisers according to the area of land cultivated by the farmers. We distribute these organic fertilisers by calculating according to those quantities,” he explained.  Kumara added that the above-mentioned quantity of fertilisers varies according to the farmer organisations in each Agrarian Service Division, and that the National Fertiliser Secretariat makes the recommendation for fertilisers according to the size of the land under cultivation.  He further explained that activation of micro-organisms inside the bottles may have also caused the cracking and subsequent leakage. Responding to a query, he noted that there are three local fertiliser companies in the Anuradhapura District that handle the manufacturing of liquid fertilisers, adding that there are different fertiliser companies for other districts.   “Large-scale organic fertiliser companies are registered under the Ministry of Agriculture. We have allowed these companies to distribute fertiliser to the relevant provinces according to the amount of fertiliser they produce. Accordingly, there are three companies that manufacture and distribute fertiliser in the Anuradhapura District,” he said.  Growing number of incidents  Kumara mentioned another incident involving solid organic fertilisers provided by one of the three firms, stating that the company had distributed a stock of fertiliser that contained stones, and that the Fertiliser Secretariat had ordered the company to inspect the stock promptly.  “Another organic fertiliser company delivered solid organic fertiliser for paddy planting in numerous divisions of the Horowpothana Divisional Secretariat Division last week. Farmers in the vicinity said that a form of stone was discovered in the fertiliser and that the fertiliser was subpar,” he added.  He stated that in the Anuradhapura District, there are 43 Agrarian Service Centres, but that this firm only manages one. “As a result, about 1,170 bundles containing 40 kilogrammes of this fertiliser were identified and removed,” he said.  Last week, the Gallewa Agrarian Service division between Elahera and Bakamuna, as well as Galenbindunuwewa, reported many occurrences of organic liquid fertiliser containers rupturing.  Minister of Agriculture Mahindanada Aluthgamage told The Sunday Morning that a report on the explosions has been requested, and that if an issue with the liquid fertiliser containers arises, he is prepared to offer alternate fertilisers to the farmers.  “Four or five farmers received liquid fertiliser cans that burst due to elevated nitrogen activity, and we will investigate. However, it is hardly fair to discuss the bursting of cans given to four or five farms while over 800,000 farmers have received good grade fertilisers,” he said.  Farmers also claimed that the leaking liquid fertiliser had a horrible odour, and appeared to have been made with fish faeces.   Minister Aluthgamage responded to the claims by saying that the liquid fertiliser was prepared using fish ingredients, and that there was nothing wrong with that because the fish ingredients were high in nitrogen. Farmers voice discontent over neglect   Farmers around the country are claiming that the fertiliser issue has affected their productivity, and that the Government authorities have turned a blind eye towards their struggles.  Several farmers’ organisations stated that they have been cultivating paddy in their lands for nearly a month with no progress in their crops, as they are unable to apply fertilisers provided through the Agrarian Service Centres.   All Ceylon Farmers’ Federation (ACFF) National Organiser Namal Karunaratne told The Sunday Morning that an impartial investigation into the cracking of multiple plastic containers of liquid fertiliser should be undertaken by the Government.  “Several organic liquid fertiliser cans issued by the Department of Agriculture have burst, according to reports. Farmers claim that keeping liquid fertiliser cans at home is impossible in the current situation. They indicated that more liquid fertiliser cans placed nearby are also on the verge of rupturing,” he said.  Meanwhile, farmers told the media last week that no one has answered the phone numbers indicated on the liquid fertiliser bottle packaging. Farmers have refused liquid fertiliser containers as a result of these circumstances, alleging that there is no fertiliser to apply to the crops anymore.  


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