Organic fertiliser will be produced in 10 Mahaweli Zones, Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority Director General B. Kotagama said.
The demand for organic fertiliser by the farmers in Mahaveli Zones will be met with carbonic manure produced in the zones, he said. Irrigation Minister Chamal Rajapaksa and Mahaweli Zone Canals and Common Settlement Infrastructure Development State Minister Siripala Gamlath will initiate the programme, Kotagama said.
Eleven metric tonnes of organic fertiliser are required to grow 10,100 hectares of the Mahaweli paddy lands, Mahaweli Agriculture Director Neville Rajapakse said.
A minimum of 10 metric tonnes of organic fertiliser are needed to grow one hectare of paddy. Although manufacturing of the entire requirement is a challenge, a great effort has been made to achieve the set target, he said.
He said that components from the Eppawala Phosphate Deposit will be used in manufacturing organic fertiliser in the Mahaweli Zones.
Organic fertiliser to be used for home gardens in the Mahaweli settlements and 4,000 farmer families will be involved in the programme. Each family would raise a quarter-acre home garden under the programme, Neville Rajapakse said. The owner of each home garden should manufacture organic fertiliser and the technical knowhow will be provided by the Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority.
The Government spends Rs.400 million to provide the fertiliser subsidy in a single crop season. Manufacturing organic fertiliser would save valuable foreign exchange. The use of organic fertiliser would also help produce chemical-free food crops thereby saving people from Non-Communicable Diseases, he said.
