Thursday, 11 July 2013 02:30
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By Ashwin Hemmathagama Our Lobby Correspondent
The fertiliser shortage in Sri Lanka has crippled the harvest in most areas, specifically the short-lived perennial crops, including paddy and vegetables, Opposition legislator DNA MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake informed Parliament on Tuesday, finding fault with the Government and its bureaucratic officials.
“Fertiliser imports are limited based on the wrong statistics and curtailing of subsidies. According to the National Fertiliser Secretariat 24,000MT of urea were required by April 2013. This is followed by 24,000MT of TSP and 36,000MT of urea in May. In June it was required to import 12,000MT of TSP, 18,000MT of MOP and 12,000MT of urea. Although the tenders were called and suppliers are elected, the approval to open letters of credit was deliberately delayed by the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry of Agriculture has reduced the urea requirement by 30%, TSP by 21% and MOP by 31% this Yala season compared to Yala 2012. Now the stock will reach here in June three months after the Yala season has started. These fertilisers are no longer required especially for paddy since the required stage has passed already,” said MP Dissanayake.
He called on the Government to reveal the details of the last time the fertiliser plans were revised, reasons to reduce the fertiliser imports as recommended by Ministries, reasons to approve the letters of credit, action taken to import required fertiliser for the remainder of the 2013, solutions recommended to shoulder the increasing fertiliser prices in the world market and how the Government would take the responsibility for the reduced harvest and the loss incurred by the farmers.
