15 May 2021 12:00 am
By Ranjith Rajapaksa
Minister of Agriculture Mahindananda Aluthgamage said adequate stocks of fertilizer for Yala season paddy cultivation had been stored by fertilizer importers and that 385,000 metric tons of fertilizer issued to the Agrarian Centres all over the country.
He told the media in Nawalapitiya that the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) had already arrested several profiteers who attempted to create a shortage of fertilizer taking advantage of the government’s decision to suspend the import of chemical fertilizer and agrochemicals.
The minister pointed out that the government had taken that decision in pursuance of its development plan enunciated by the election manifesto. He said the use of chemical fertilizer and agrochemicals had caused extensive environmental damage, destroyed soil fertility and several non-communicable diseases claiming thousands of lives and with this view the government had decided to boost organic agriculture.