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Agriculture Minister observes urea fertilizer distribution
Sun, Jul 17, 2022, 11:57 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
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July 17, Colombo: Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation Mahinda Amaraweera says that the fertilizer required for the next Maha season has already been ordered.
The stock of urea fertilizer provided by the Indian government is currently being distributed among the farmers for Yala Season cultivation.
Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera went on an observation tour today (17) to find out how the two government-owned fertilizer companies Lanka Fertilizer Company and Commercial Fertilizer Company carry out the distributions.
Out of the 65,000 metric tons of fertilizer to be delivered from India, the first batch of 44,000 metric tons reached Sri Lanka recently. The Minister said the second batch of 21,000 metric tons is scheduled to arrive in the country in the next two weeks.
The Minister instructed the officials to provide the money to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation to get the necessary fuel for the distribution of fertilizers. Fertilizer distribution is being done covering all the districts.
Also, Ceylon Fertilizer Company has started the work on the preparation of mixed fertilizers for vegetable cultivation using the fertilizers provided from India. Accordingly, in the future, it will be possible to obtain the necessary fertilizers for vegetables within the country.
World Bank and the World Food and Agriculture Organization have arranged to provide urea fertilizer for the next season, the Minister said.
Arrangements have been made to write off the crop loans which have had a great impact on the farmers, the Minister said adding that 30 billion rupees worth of loans taken by one million farmers from four state banks have been written off.
