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| Sunday, 02 April 2006 |
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Govt eyes on maintaining fertiliser subsidy by Afreeha Jawad The planned reduction on chemical fertilizer imports through the adoption of increased organic manure usage will help maintain a significant portion of the government's rupees 6.2 billion per annum fertiliser subsidy. Accordingly, mixed fertiliser comprising both organic and inorganic manure will be used in paddy cultivation following an agriculture ministerial directive. The island's paddy land covers a total 720,000 hectares. K. M. C. Bandara senior agricultural research officer at Bathalagoda Rice Research Development Institute in an interview with this staffer, said currently government spends Rs. 350 on a 50 Kg fertiliser bag. Though reduced fertiliser imports will help in many ways it is also not without its constraints-particularly the twin problems of meeting the national organic fertiliser requirement and the fulfilment of national yields to feed the country's teeming million whose staple food is rice. The present four tons per hectare average yield is sure to decline if total switch over from inorganic to organic was to come about. Nowhere in the world does this happen," added Bandara. Agro history records reveal the progressive and compelling need for chemical fertilizer usage for greater food production to feed the world's ever increasing numbers, which was not a problem in ancient times. "Organic manure based food was sufficient to feed the lean populace of those times, said Bandara. While Bathalagoda RRDI's efforts in carrying out research towards near self sufficiency is rice is commendable. It is now moving towards government's objective of reducing dependency on wheat flour - a reduction of 50 percent over five years and the export of specialty rices in the year to come. Already the market is in full supply of improved grain varieties in addition to high milling quality.
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