Chemical-free crop cultivation targets 400,000 home gardens

An accelerated program has been launched to broad-base the manufacture of organic fertilizer in the 10 Mahaweli Zones as an alternative to chemical fertilizer use in the country, Director- General of the Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority, Keerthi B. Kotagama says.

The import of chemical fertilizer was suspended by the government recently.

The demand for organic fertilizer by the Mahaweli farmer community in the 10 zones is expected to be met under this program, he said. The program has been launched under the guidance of the Irrigation Minister Chamal Rajapaksa and Mahaweli Zone Canals and Common Settlement Infrastructure Development State Minister, Siripala Gamlath.

Fertilizer produced under the initiative is expected to be used for cultivation in the upcoming Maha season.

Eleven metric tons of organic fertilizer is usually required to grow 110,000 hectares of Mahaweli paddy lands, Mahaweli Agriculture Director, Neville Rajapakse noted.

It has been identified that a minimum of 10 metric tons of organic fertilizer are required to grow one hectare of paddy. Although manufacturing of the entire requirement is a challenge, every effort is being made to achieve the set target, he said.

Components from Eppawala Phosphate deposits are to be used in the manufacturing process of organic fertilizer in Mahaweli zones.

Organic fertilizer will also be used for home gardens in the Mahaweli settlements under the program, which will involve 400,000 farmer families. Each family will raise a quarter-acre home garden, Rajapakse further said.

The owner of each home garden should manufacture his organic fertilizer requirement and the technical know-how will be provided to them by the Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority. Prospective markets in Colombo and its suburbs will be introduced for the crops of these home gardens, he added.

The government spends Rs. 400 million for the fertilizer subsidy to farmers within a single crop season. Manufacturing organic fertilizer in the country will help save valuable foreign exchange, while also ensuring chemical-free food crops that prevent non-communicable diseases.