Green AGRO-GRO begins production of organic fertiliser for eco-friendly farming

Wednesday, 14 June 2017 00:48 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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Living with nature is a lifestyle that is healthy for us and the environment. What exactly is a healthy lifestyle? Simply put, living in a good natural environment, having a healthy diet, doing good deeds for the earth. Following an environmentally friendly lifestyle is mainly consuming organic foods cultivated without using chemicals such as inorganic fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides and insecticides that can destroy one’s health.

Eco-friendly farming is a process of cultivation without harming the environment using only natural sources to provide nutrients to plants. The organic concept is becoming popular among Lankans and many Government and voluntary organisations are working on promoting the green concept.

ICEI and Overseas are two Italian not-for-profit organisations that are working in Sri Lanka together with Ecowave, a local social enterprise. Both international organisations have been are in Sri Lanka since 2005 implementing projects in the fields of integrated rural development, focusing on food supply chains and community-based responsible tourism.

Thanks to funds from the Italian Cooperation and Cariplo Foundation, through the initiative ‘Feeding the Planet 2015’, a unit for producing a liquid biological fertiliser GREEN AGRO for paddy has been established and the production of organic fertiliser has recently started.

GREN AGRO is a consortium of friendly bacteria that helps to accelerate the microbial process in the soil allowing crop plants to absorb nutrients more easily, avoiding the use of chemical products.

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GREEN AGRO-GRO is produced by Green & Biofert Guarantee Ltd, established in Buttala in 2016 to support organic farming in Sri Lanka.

The company is a not-for-profit organisation and it reinvests all its earnings in research and development to identify new innovative organic solutions for agriculture.

“Feedback from the paddy farmers using the product is encouraging as well as the field trials conducted in the Monaragala and Ampara districts over the last four years, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture,” says the Managing Director of the company, “and for this reason we want to invest in the development of new products for other crops.”

A fertiliser for vegetables and one for fruits are currently being tested by the Sri Lankan Department of Agriculture.