Claiming that Nano-Urea fertiliser is not an organic fertiliser, instead a cheaper fertiliser option, quoting research material written by Prof. Saman Dharmakeerthi, Professor in Soil Fertility and Nutrient management (Department of Soil Science ) at the University of Peradeniya, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Leader Sajith Premadasa made allegations against the Government of trying to con the farmers of Sri Lanka. He made this claim while addressing President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Parliament a short while ago today (21). "Nano-urea fertiliser is not an organic fertiliser, but a cheaper option to nitrogen and nutrient rich fertiliser. This has been researched by Prof. Saman Dharmakeerthi who is a scholar in this field of agriculture. The farmers in Sri Lanka do not know about this as they are not educated in these sciences, and they do not know that a large quantity of Nitrogen is required to harvest a decent crop. Nano fertiliser is not even SLS certified," said Premadasa. Premadasa went on to educate the Parliamentarians, based on the research material, that a large amount of Nitrogen is required based on the soil in Sri Lanka, and that the Nano-Urea fertiliser that was imported does not contain adequate Nitrogen for a healthy harvest, further stating that to administer the Nano-urea fertiliser, a drone spraying system is required. "I would also like to also quote research done by Chemistry Professor S D M Chinthaka at the Sri Jayawardenapura University, who has clearly mentioned in his thesis that Nano-Urea is not a fertiliser, but a Plant Growth Catalyst. He says that there is only 4% of Nitrogen in Nano-Urea, and this cannot be categorised as a fertiliser. With this amount of nitrogen, a healthy harvest cannot be produced," he added. Premadasa also alleged the Nano-urea is a relatively new product, and said that even in India where it is produced, only 2 months worth of trials have been done. "The nutrients of Nano-urea is not known even to the farmers in India,” he said. Additionally, Premadasa questioned whether the Nano-Urea which was imported form India would perform as efficiently as the chemical fertilisers that farmers in Sri Lanka have been using so far. Premadasa requested the President to look into the research done by Dr Dharmakeerthi and Dr Chinthaka, and if in case the research material proves to be true, the false claims by the Government needs to be revoked. Meanwhile, Premadasa also touched upon the pressures that the Medium and Small (SME) scale rice mill owners would face, forcing over 800 of such SME's to shut down, as the harvest would be directed at the larger entities, further questioning the Government as why such drastic decisions are taken which would inconvenience small and medium scale business owners.