By Maheesha Mudugamuwa The Moragahakanda-Kaluganga Mahaweli “F” Zone has been declared a sustainable development area, made through organic agricultural products, by Mahaweli, Agriculture, Irrigation, and Rural Development Minister Chamal Rajapaksa by issuing an extraordinary gazette. The Minister, as per the powers vested in him under Section 3 of the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka Act (No. 23 of 1979), has declared the Mahaweli F Zone an ecozone with the objectives to promote organic vegetable crops, fruit crops, and other field crops in this area as a green organic zone, free from the use of agrochemicals and pesticides; to ensure sustainable usage of soil through soil conservation methods of setting stone bunds and biological hedges, etc.; and to promote water conservation in farming for the preservation of irrigated water and its efficient use. It is also expected to manufacture the required organic fertiliser within this zone. Farmers will be provided with the necessary fertiliser by the Government to implement the programmes under the public and private partnership in order to supply the direct and value-added certified organic products to the local and foreign markets from this zone. A total of 3,600 hectares is to be converted into an ecozone.