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Long-standing issues yet unresolved

28 Aug 2022

By Maneesha Dullewe   Farmers are still waiting for the required stocks of urea and other fertiliser to be distributed in a timely manner, The Sunday Morning learns. Karuna, a farmer from the Matale Waalawela area, said that this would likely be the last season he would be able to engage in cultivation due to fertiliser and other issues. “I will only be cultivating for this Maha season; next year I will abandon the field. It is not possible to continue in this manner as we are operating at a loss.” “We are not receiving any fertiliser for vegetables. We have to buy urea at Rs. 40,000 from the shops since it is no longer provided by the Government. We can’t even think of buying fertiliser at that price, let alone do anything else. The harvest has now shrunk drastically. We have no option but to eventually abandon cultivating,” he explained. Karuna noted that the lack of pesticides and other agrochemicals had rendered it impossible to continue cultivation, adding that as a result the harvest was very small this year. He also criticised the distribution mechanism for fertiliser, claiming that bureaucratic inefficiencies and corruption were preventing farmers from receiving their portion of fertiliser.  “Despite farmers repeatedly telling the politicians and the authorities of our concerns, it has been for naught. They got my signature for fertiliser last year, but I didn’t receive any. The Agriculture officials are secretly selling these to the shops at a higher price instead and the fertiliser that was supposed to be given at Rs. 1,500 is being sold at Rs. 40,000 now. Farmers like us are simply helpless.” However, he now faces further issues with securing the fertiliser necessary for his crop: “I only managed to buy a 50 kg bag of NPK fertiliser for Rs. 35,000 with the greatest difficulty.” With the necessary quantities of urea not being available for purchase to cultivate his cucumber crop, he had been forced to settle for 10 kg of urea. “Ten kilos of urea is not enough – at least one bag (50 kg) is needed. Back then, a bag was around Rs. 1,500, but now it is Rs. 40,000, which means we will have to sell a kilo of cucumber for at least Rs. 3,000. There is no way we can make a profit from our harvest in this way.”   Fertiliser needs   NPK fertiliser is a combination of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and is applied after the tilling of the field, to provide nutrients necessary for the plants to grow. Urea is applied after planting the seeds and at present costs Rs. 40,000 per 50 kg bag.  About a month before the paddy bears seeds, farmers apply TDM fertiliser, which costs about Rs. 18,000. To cultivate half an acre, a farmer will require 50 kg of NPK, 50 kg of urea (which is applied in two stages), and 50 kg of TDM.  Accordingly, the paddy requires all these fertilisers in order to bear a successful harvest. However, farmers who spoke to The Sunday Morning explained that the Government tended to focus only on urea, thereby neglecting the provision of other essential fertilisers. Approximately 150 kg of fertiliser is required to cultivate half an acre of land. In addition to fertiliser, farmers also have to spend on machines to cut and thresh the paddy, while ensuring that the fields are tended with the required pesticides and weedicides.   The implementation of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ill-fated policy decision to ban synthetic fertiliser and pesticide imports practically overnight, forcing Sri Lankan farming communities to go organic, has proved to have far-reaching repercussions, accelerating an already-ongoing economic crisis by causing a measurable drop in production.  This situation has drawn protest from farmers, who claim that the Government’s lack of concern for farmers meant that there was a lack of regulation in the agriculture sector, permitting opportunistic traders to unreasonably increase prices of farming inputs such as fertiliser, seeds, and agrochemicals.  Gunadasa, another farmer from the Matale Waalawela area, said that the Agrarian Service only provided insufficient quantities of fertiliser such as urea and organic fertiliser, while TDM and NPK fertiliser were not provided.    “We are only given 20 kg of urea per acre, in addition to organic fertiliser. That’s all that is given. There’s no TDM and NPK fertiliser. Even when these fertilisers are available, they’re too expensive – it is not possible for us to use this for cultivation.” Fertiliser that used to be provided for free for farmers now costs Rs. 200 per kilo, which was unaffordable for most, he explained. However, since the same kilo is sold for Rs. 800 by traders, farmers were compelled to purchase at Rs. 200. “It’s almost paddy harvesting season, so there’s no point now since the fertiliser was provided too late for it to be used. The authorities do not supply the necessary fertiliser at the required time, so the time to apply these fertilisers has expired.” He further expressed doubts that farmers would be provided with the necessary fertiliser for the upcoming cultivation season as well.    Distribution flaws   Similarly, All Island Farmers’ Federation Convenor Namal Karunaratne noted that the flaws in the fertiliser distribution mechanism would manifest in the upcoming Maha season, claiming that despite the Government’s statements to the contrary it was not sufficiently prepared to provide fertiliser.  He too noted that farmers had no faith that the Government would manage to sort out the issues related to fertiliser for the upcoming season given its previous actions.   “The authorities promised fertiliser during the Yala season so the farmers planted their crops, but they did not receive any fertiliser. The Government has deceived the farmers, so farmers don’t have any faith that they will receive fertiliser for the Maha season.” As the Maha season will commence on 15 September, the farmers should receive fertiliser before this, Karunaratne noted, adding that however, the Government had failed to inspire any confidence in its capabilities to supply fertiliser for future harvesting seasons.  Karunaratne also noted that the fertiliser which had been freely supplied previously was being sold at high prices, while promised compensation for previous cultivation seasons was yet to be paid, despite poor harvests.  Meanwhile, when contacted by The Sunday Morning, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera denied the possibility of any shortages. “Everyone has been supplied with fertiliser. Shortages are not a possibility, since all paddy farmers were given Rs. 10,000 worth of fertiliser. If shortages still persist, it must be due to some misstep made by certain officials and in such instances we will conduct investigations into the matter,” he asserted.    


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