Notice to farmers on use of fertilizers in ‘Yala’ season

The Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Gunadasa Samarasinghe emphasizes that the government has not made it mandatory to purchase any type of fertilizer from the vouchers issued for the purchase of fertilizers for paddy cultivation in the ‘Yala’ season.

Samarasinghe refuted the comments made to the media by some groups of farmers in two districts in recent days that it has been made compulsory to use 30% organic fertilizers and 70% chemical fertilizers for cultivation, and that certain types of fertilizer have been made mandatory.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Agriculture mentioned that the farmers can buy chemical or organic fertilizers from the vouchers provided by the government as subsidies for purchasing fertilizers in this ‘Yala season’, based on their interest.

Meanwhile, the ministry has not recommended to use 70% chemical fertilizers and 30% organic fertilizers for cultivation in the ‘Yala’ season, he noted.

Accordingly, the farmers have the opportunity to obtain fertilizers based on their interests, the Agricultural Ministry added.

Furthermore, farmers have been allowed to purchase the chemical or organic fertilizers supplied by the two state fertilizer companies from the Farmers Service Offices and also from the private sector according to their interest.