UNP Chairman predicts plantation sector will take years to recover from blow dealt by fertiliser ban

By Piyasena Dissanayake

Tea, rubber and coconut industries would not be able to recover from the damage done to them by the ban on chemical fertiliser for years to come, UNP Chairman and former minister Wajira Abeywardena said yesterday.

Speaking to journalists after attending a religious ceremony to mark the birth anniversaries of former President JR Jayewardene and Anagarika Dharmapala at the Parama Dhamma Chethiya Privena, Ratmalana, the former minister said the chemical fertiliser ban introduced to promote organic farming practices had dealt a severe blow to the agriculture and plantation sectors.

 “The tea industry took a hit, alongside the rubber industry, followed by the coconut industry.  Over 90 percent of farmers use chemical fertiliser. There are reports that 89 percent of those involved in the cultivation of tea, rubber and coconut cry for chemical fertilisers seeing the inevitable collapse of their industries. The damage inflicted on the three industries will not be erased for many years to come,” Abeywardena said.

He said that tea accounted for 10 percent of the country’s export income, and producers expressed fears that they might lose up to 50 percent of their crop production.

Asked to comment on the government’s decision to permit only two companies to import chemical fertilisers, Abeywardena said the government should withdraw that restriction and permit the free import of them. “Even if the government lifts the ban now to permit chemical fertiliser imports, the plantations have suffered losses that would remain for at least one and a half years to two years.”

He said that the government should not be ashamed to reverse its decision. “Such mistakes happen. The best option before the government is to step down from its arrogance to withdraw its ban,” Abeywardena said.

Associated with the UNP Chairman were party’s Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene, former MP Saman Ratnapriya, Chairman of the UNP Buddhist Committee and UNP Maharagama organiser Attorney-at-Law Sudath Jayasundara, Secretary of the Ratmalana UNP Bala Mandalaya former Municipal Council Member Akila Rajapkshe, Secretary of the Buddhist Committee Maharagama Municipal Council member Renuka Senaratne and party supporters.