Cabinet nod to formulate new fertiliser distribution scheme

Cabinet this week gave permission for the Mahaweli, Agriculture, Irrigation and Rural Development Ministry to formulate a new scheme to distribute fertiliser to key crops excluding paddy, which will focus on reducing use of chemical fertiliser and increase supervision of fertiliser use. 

The Ministry has already implemented several programs, namely ‘Saubhagya Gewatta’ (Prosperous Home Garden) and the program to cultivate 16 field crops that have been identified within 88,000 hectares of land for promoting food security. 

Under the latest proposal, farmers will be encouraged to use organic fertiliser for small-scale agricultural crops while providing opportunity to buy less than 10 kg of chemical fertiliser from the market only if required.

Farmers will be provided 50% of the required amount of fertiliser ration approved for non-paddy crops from the open market while the other 50% is to be issued through the Agrarian Development Centres.

Chemical fertiliser subsidies required for the vegetable, fruit, and other agricultural cultivations will be provided under the supervision of the Department of Agriculture, Provincial Agriculture Departments, and Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority through the Agrarian Development Centres.

A methodology will also be prepared to issue fertiliser required for farmers from the open market using an invoice issued by an Agricultural Research and Production Assistant when there are no required stocks of fertiliser at the Agrarian Development Centres or when there are delays in the required stocks.