Farmers continue protests against fertilizer crisis in Sri Lanka. Over the past few days, farmers are protesting across Sri Lanka demanding either organic or chemical fertilizer. Protests took place across Sri Lanka including Badulla, Welikanda, Ampara, Akuressa, Minneriya, Anuradhapura, Rajanganaya, Elahera, Welimada and Galle areas.
Protesting farmers says there is a shortage organic fertilizer and they dont have much time to shift to organic fertilizer as the Maha Agriculture Season commence this month.
About 30,000 metric tonnes of Organic Fertilizer required for the Maha Season arrived from Lithuania to the Colombo Port recently and started dispatching.
Sri Lanka bans the use and import of chemical fertilizers promote the use of organic fertilizers. Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa stressed that he will take up the challenge of making Sri Lanka the first country in the world to eliminate the use of chemical fertilizers, without taking a step back on the decision to end the use of chemical fertilizers in the country.
Although the government has taken steps to produce local organic fertilizer, it has been hampered by the prevailing situation. As a result, to fill the gap, government decided to import standard organic fertilizer. Earlier. government officials said that the mechanism to provide organic fertilizer to farmers for the agricultural “Maha Season” without a shortage has been completed, but still organic fertilizer has not reached to farmers.
Sri Lankan farmers are protesting against the shortage of both organic and chemical fertilizer in the country.
