Ministerial staff of Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage are also against the import of organic fertiliser, The Morning learns. While speaking to The Morning, Aluthgamage said that this is because the children of his staff work for chemical fertiliser companies. He also added that fertiliser issues have been instigated by Government constituent parties due to the fact that their conflicting views on the same have not been taken into account. “People within the Government have made up stories, so now the farmers have started to believe these lies. Because of this, the farmers are reluctant to use new products," Aluthgamage stated. When queried about the revelations made by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Leader Sajith Premadasa in Parliament yesterday (21), Aluthgamage laughed and questioned the depth of Premadasa’s agriculture knowledge. "I quoted research from 25 universities in India during my speech in Parliament yesterday, whereas Sajith Premadasa quoted only 2 local universities. Mind you, the chemists he quoted are also directors at local fertiliser companies. This nano-nitrogen fertiliser has been tested by 11,000 farmers in India on over 3.2 million hectares of land. So why are our local farmers scared?" asked Aluthgamage. He also expressed that providing fertilizer for arable land in Sri Lanka is “nothing”, and added that the problem at hand is the corrupt figures in the chemical fertiliser industry who are placing obstacles to stop the progression from chemical to organic fertiliser.