The Ministry of Agriculture says 27,000 metric tons (MT) out of the 36,000 MT of Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) fertilizer (‘Mada Pohora’) donated by the USAID have been distributed to all agrarian service centres in the country over the past four days.
The chairperson of the Colombo Commercial Fertilizers Ltd., Jagath Perera mentioned this while handing over the daily report on fertilizer distribution to Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera this morning.
Funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), a shipment of 36,000 metric tons of TSP fertilizer reached the island on March 16 following a hiatus of three cultivation seasons. The consignment was officially handed over to the Agriculture Ministry by the US Embassy in Colombo on Sunday (March 19).
The TSP fertilizer shipment, procured by the Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to be distributed free of charge to farmers, was delivered on a promise made by USAID Administrator Samantha Power last September in response to Sri Lanka’s food security challenges.
Colombo Commercial Colombo Commercial Fertilizers Ltd. is overseeing the distribution of 15,000 MT of TSP fertilizer. The company is expected to wind up the distribution process by tomorrow (March 25) as it has already distributed 14,000 MT of fertilizer.
In the meantime, Ceylon Fertilizer Company Ltd. is expected to conclude the distribution of the remaining 21,000 MT of TSP fertilizer by next Wednesday (March 29).
The Agrarian Development Department is planning to distribute this entire stock of TSP fertilizer to all farmers in the country by April 10.
As of yesterday, 82,519 farmers in total across all 25 districts had received 2,419 MT of TSP fertilizer from agrarian service centres.
Meanwhile, TSP fertilizer for farmers in Hambantota district will be distributed through the agrarian service centre in Bandagiriya today under the patronage of the Agriculture Minister.
The first batch of 11,537 MT of TSP fertilizer was distributed to all the districts in the Northern and Eastern provinces from Monday (March 20).
Later, 1,244 MT of TSP fertilizer was provided to the Mannar district, 821 MT to the Vavuniya district, 820 MT to the Kilinochchi district, 694 MT to the Mullaitivu, 297 MT to the Jaffna district, 1,824 MT to the Batticaloa district, 4,066 MT to the Ampara district and 1,746 MT to the Trincomalee district.
