• Question unrealistic eligibility criteria
• Plantation Ministry to consider concession  

The National Tea Planters’ Association (NTPA) said the recent fertiliser subsidy recommended by the Government for smallholder tea planters is not being distributed efficiently, adding that what planters truly need is not a subsidy but a reduction in fertiliser prices.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (16), the Association’s President Saman Geeganage said that even the fertiliser subsidy provided previously had not reached some Tea smallholders and planters, nor is it offered to them when it is most needed. “We have to add fertiliser four times a year, and an acre needs at least 150 kg of fertiliser. The Government releases the fertiliser once every six months or so, even though we should provide it every three months. Furthermore, to avail of this subsidy, growers need to prove that they have plucked an average of 150 kg a month. Sometimes, because it is hard to find labour, we cannot achieve this target,” he said. “What we need is not a subsidy. If the Government can reduce the tax on fertiliser for tea, we can buy fertiliser ourselves when the plants need it. Now, a 50 kg fertiliser bag is Rs. 12,000, and this is found to be unbearable by the planters,” he lamented. Previously, a 50 kg bag of tea fertiliser cost Rs. 9,500, but, tensions in the Middle East have triggered an abrupt Rs. 2,500 price increase. In this context, the Government has announced an additional subsidy of Rs. 5,000 per 50 kg fertiliser bundle for small tea estate owners, to be provided once this year under the quick response code-based distribution system.

When contacted by The Daily Morning, the Deputy Plantation Minister Sundaralingam Pradeep said this concern had not been raised earlier, and that he would be suggesting a concession for planters at the meeting taking place with the Plantation Ministry today (17).