Director General of Agriculture WMW Weerakoon states that the government decided to suspend the import of organic fertilizer due to the risk of microbial infestation in the country and several other factors.
June 01 Cabinet decision states that the government approved the import of organic fertilizer and natural mineral requirements, through government fertilizer companies, for paddy cultivation in 5 million hectares during the 2021 and 2021 Maha seasons.
It was also stated that it had been decided to import the required organic fertilizer for about 600,000 hectares of other crops and distribute it to the farmers by the companies licensed to import in accordance with the recommendations of the research institutes related to those crops.
However, after the Leader of the JVP Anura Dissanayake stressed that the importation of organic fertilizer into the country could lead to the spread of various diseases along with various foreign micro-organisms entering the environment, Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage stated that action would be taken to import sterilized organic fertilizer free of micro-organisms.
