The National Agrarian Unity (NAU)organisation alleged the fertiliser distribution process through Agrarian Service Centres has failed, claiming the system forces farmers to pay the full cost of the entire season’s fertiliser requirement in a single instalment. The organisation also charged the Government’s fertiliser subsidy remains inadequate.
Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (1 April), the organisation’s President, Anuradha Tennakoon, said that under the previous system, farmers were able to purchase fertiliser from town-based vendors based on their financial capacity or through credit arrangements to be settled after the harvest.
He noted that the new system requires a one-time payment of approximately Rs. 75,000 for a complete fertiliser package. “Farmers do not usually purchase fertiliser for all three stages at once. They simply do not have that kind of money. When the first stage is missed due to a lack of fertiliser, crop growth is weakened and the harvest is affected,” he said.
Fertiliser in paddy cultivation is typically applied in three stages: the first dose at 14 days after seeding, the second at 28 days, and the third between 35 and 37 days. In some cases, a fourth application is made around 42 days to further enhance growth.
According to Tennakoon, the required inputs for an acre—five bags of Urea, one bag of Muriate of Potash, and one bag of Triple Super Phosphate—cost around Rs. 75,000, a figure he said is beyond the reach of most farmers.
He further pointed out that cultivation costs have also increased significantly, with tractor ploughing charges ranging between Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 30,000 per acre. He questioned how farmers, who typically settle such payments after harvest, could afford to make upfront payments for fertiliser.
Tennakoon also noted that farmers are now required to arrange transport for fertiliser, adding that vendors under the previous system did not charge for transport.
Commenting on the subsidy, he said it remains at Rs. 25,000 per hectare, or approximately Rs. 10,000 per acre, which he claimed is insufficient. According to him, the subsidy amount is only enough to purchase around 45 kgs of Urea, whereas an acre requires approximately 100 kgs per season.
These concerns follow recent measures introduced by the Agriculture Department. Commissioner General of Agrarian Development Dhammika Ranatunga announced on Monday (30) that unmixed Urea fertiliser for the 2026 Yala season would be distributed exclusively through Agrarian Service Centres for paddy cultivation.
The Department has instructed Agrarian Development Officers island-wide to issue fertiliser strictly in line with the extent of land cultivated by each farmer, stating that the move is aimed at preventing the stockpiling of excess fertiliser.
Attempts to contact Deputy Agriculture Minister Namal Karunarathne for comment were unsuccessful.