Ministry ready to lift ban on Glyphosate herbicide | Daily News

Ministry ready to lift ban on Glyphosate herbicide

Agriculture, Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said on Tuesday that the Ministry of Agriculture is ready to lift the ban on Glyphosate herbicide that is currently in effect in Sri Lanka.

A discussion was held on Tuesday at the Ministry of Agriculture with the Sri Lanka Agricultural Entrepreneurs on the future plans and proposals to overcome a possible food crisis in the country.

The Minister inquired about the removal of the ban on Glyphosate herbicide and the use of that herbicide again in our country.

Agriculture entrepreneurs said that eventhough Glyphosate is banned, substandard Glyphosate powder and liquid are still being sold on the black market at high prices while Rs.1.5 billion worth of Glyphosate is being illegally imported into Sri Lanka.

Due to this, the Government loses a large amount of revenue annually and the environmental and health damage caused by the use of substandard Glyphosate cannot be calculated, they emphasized.

Commenting on Glyphosate herbicide, Dr. Ajanta de Silva emphasized that Glyphosate is an essential herbicide required for perennial crops like maize cultivation which are planned to be cultivated. He also pointed out that the Glyphosate ban should be removed as soon as possible.

Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera inquired from the agricultural entrepreneurs regarding the readiness to import Glyphosate herbicide after the ban was lifted.

Entrepreneurs also stated that they are ready to import Glyphosate at any time if the Department of Agriculture lifts the ban.

Minister Amaraweera said that the ban on Glyphosate, which is a powerful weed killer that has affected the yield of food crops including paddy and maize in our country, should no longer be maintained and that the ban will be lifted to allow the import of Glyphosate this Maha Season.


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