Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera today (15 Feb.) announced plans to provide Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) fertilizer (‘Mada Pohora’) to farmers at a lower price than the current retail price.
Accordingly, the decision was taken in view of the upcoming Yala harvest season, and will be implemented by way of a gazette notification.
The discussion, which was held at the Presidential Secretariat this morning, focused on a multitude of agricultural issues, including fertilization strategies, paddy marketing issues, and the prevention of yellowing in paddy cultivation.
The Department of Agriculture revealed that the reduction in the use of TSP is the main cause of yellowing in paddy cultivation, adding that in order to prevent this disease in the upcoming Yala season, measures will be taken to increase the use of TSP.
Amaraweera also acknowledged that although several challenges were face by Sri Lanka’s farming community in recent times, they were able to produce a better paddy harvest in the last Yala and Maha seasons in line with market requirements.
Meanwhile, the possibility of selling old rice in warehouses as animal feed was also discussed, with the potential to increase the price of rice and decrease the prices of eggs and chicken in the market.
