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Vegetable, fruit shortage looms: Farmers

04 Jun 2021

By Dinitha Rathnayake   According to the farmers’ trade unions, Sri Lanka would face a fruit and vegetable shortage in the coming days if the chemical fertilisers issue is not resolved soon, The Morning learnt. Speaking to The Morning, All Ceylon Peasants Federation National Organiser Namal Karunaratne said that certain black market traders issued these fertilisers for a higher price. “Having the advantage of the import ban, they are trying to show a shortage of chemical fertilisers. Some of the black market sellers sell a 50 kilo (kg) chemical fertiliser pack for Rs.10,000. The normal price of a 50 kg pack is Rs. 1,000-Rs. 1,500 but due to the negligence of the Government, the price has hit the ceiling. Even though most farmers have no option but to buy them since they are afraid of facing a shortage, most of them are not willing to engage in farming any longer. The Government has failed to give solutions for these matters,” he claimed. The purchase of seeds too has declined due to the high prices of chemical fertilisers in the market, he further claimed. The Cabinet of Ministers has approved Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s proposal as the Finance Minister to submit Import and Export (Control) Regulations to implement the proposed ban on the import of chemical fertilisers, and agrochemicals including pesticides and herbicides/weedicides declared so under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, No. 01 of 1969, to the Parliament. Cabinet Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said that the Cabinet had on 27 April, decided to ban importing chemical fertilisers and agrochemicals including pesticides and herbicides/weedicides, with the intention of promoting organic fertilisers. Speaking at this week’s Cabinet media briefing, he said that Sri Lanka spends about $ 500 million annually to import chemical fertilisers. “Excessive usage of chemical fertilisers and agrochemicals including pesticides and herbicides/weedicides has badly affected the people and the environment. Considering these facts, the Government has taken this decision as the first step of limiting the use of chemicals in agriculture.” He added that the Government has decided to import organic fertilisers required for the upcoming Maha Season. Considering the fact that there is a possibility of harmful weeds being sent along with organic fertilisers by competitive agricultural countries, the Government has taken measures to implement a testing mechanism via three research institutes to test the samples of the imported organic fertilisers. “This is not a popular decision at this moment. But if the Government fails to do this, no one else can do this. There will be criticism, various arguments, and ideologies. Sometimes people will blame the Government considering the short term outcome of this decision. But this is a powerful and complicated decision taken by the President and the Government for the betterment of the country,” said Rambukwella. The Sri Lanka Agricultural Economics Association (SAEA) has also expressed concerns on the appropriateness of the newly introduced regulation, where the professional body has predicted massive economic losses due to potential yield losses in the absence of proper substitutes for chemical fertilisers and agrochemicals after the implementation of the import ban. Meanwhile, the State Minister of the Production and Supply of Fertiliser and the Regulation of Chemical Fertiliser and Insecticide Use Mohan Priyadarshana De Silva, speaking to The Morning, said that the Government has imported the necessary chemical fertilisers for the Yala season. He however added that with the import ban, fertiliser traders are attempting to misuse the situation. “We've been informed about these black market prices and there have been several occasions where we took action against them with the help of the Consumer Affairs Authority, but the fact of the matter is that most of the people don’t want to reveal as to who does this. I urge them to call 119 or my number related to these black market issues,” said De Silva.  


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