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Organic liquid fertiliser: Probe on crop damage claims

18 Dec 2021

  • Fertiliser secretariat begins re-testing from A’pura
By Yoshitha Perera The State Ministry of Organic Fertiliser Production is awaiting a detailed report from the Agriculture Department to ascertain what caused the recent cases of rupturing organic liquid fertiliser containers, The Sunday Morning learnt.    The report is expected to shed light on the cause of crop damage, which farmers allege occurred following the use of organic liquid fertiliser.  Speaking to The Sunday Morning, State Ministry of Organic Fertiliser Production Secretary M.N. Ranasinghe said the ministry had requested the Agriculture Department Director General to submit a detailed report pertaining to the standards and field reaction of organic liquid fertiliser. “At the time, the Agriculture Department was continuing its investigation. We need to figure out whether the crop damage was caused by a change in fertiliser reaction or by a problem with the application process,” Ranasinghe said. In response to a question about the report’s expected timeline, Ranasinghe said that at the moment, farmers are continuing the fertiliser application process, and the department is continuing the assessment. “We had already directed the registered fertiliser companies to provide necessary fertiliser stocks to regional Agrarian Service Centres. We have a sufficient amount of stocks available to continue the cultivation,” he assured. Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Agriculture Department Director General Dr. Ajantha De Silva said they had formed a team to look into the troubles surrounding locally-made liquid fertiliser. “The relevant teams were given instructions to report on the scenarios that arose in farmlands as a result of the use of a locally-produced organic liquid fertiliser,” he said. Meanwhile, speaking to The Sunday Morning, National Fertiliser Secretariat – Anuradhapura District Assistant Director Bandula Kumara said the Fertiliser Secretariat has already commenced re-testing of liquid fertiliser samples. “Samples have been obtained from the relevant Agrarian Service Centres in Anuradhapura and the concerns have been raised regarding the 7,000 litres of liquid fertiliser distributed among farmers in Anuradhapura District,” he said.  Meanwhile, Fertiliser Secretariat Director Chandana Lokuhewa last week said that around six million litres of locally-manufactured liquid fertiliser were distributed among farmers. According to liquid fertiliser manufacturers, the use of defective plastic cans or bottles for packaging could be the main reason for the bursting of fertiliser liquid cans. Meanwhile, Global Biosystems Engineer Chandana Seneviratne said last week that incorrect storage of the organic liquid fertiliser could have caused a rupture.  Farmers across the country are still continuing protests and seeking solutions to the massive fertiliser shortage that has affected their families and sole income generation source.  Farmers said that they had visited Agrarian Services Centres in recent weeks, but that there was no fertiliser available there.  “Ministers say there is fertiliser available at the Agrarian Service Centres, then where is it? We have been visiting these centres for the past few weeks but no fertiliser stocks were available,” Gune, a vegetable farmer from Kekirawa claimed. He emphasised that the government is conducting experiments by changing the entire agriculture sector to organic and again into chemical, and the people are being used as lab rats.   “A small number of vegetable farmers in the area are still trying to harvest their lands using previous chemical fertiliser stocks. We cannot apply low-quality liquid fertiliser. The crops have already been damaged due to the lack of fertiliser,” he claimed.


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