Fertiliser subsidy:

Shot in the arm for agricultural crops

The Government's decision to reduce the price of fertiliser to all crops has laid the foundation for an unprecedented era in export agriculture, said President, National Chamber of Exporters (NCE) Sarath de Silva.

The fertiliser subsidy to paddy farmers has guaranteed that our staple food is secured. It has made the farmer stronger and able to withstand the shocks of global warming, manifested in the form of extreme weather, he said. As exporters we feel that the whole nation must join in the production of agri based raw materials - the industry raw material that will enhance the export of value added Sri Lankan agri exports of spices, fruits , vegetables and pulses.

The long-felt need of a shot in the arm to activate agri raw material production has been achieved by the timely introduction of the fertiliser subsidy to all agricultural crops from May 7, said De Silva.

He appealed to the government to make provision for the proposed Agri Cooperatives in the North Central, North and the Eastern provinces. This will enable the use of the reduction in fertilizer prices to grow red chillies, big onions, green gram, black gram and kurakkan to substitute imports, saving billions of rupees for the economy.

It will also enable finding a solution to the problem of identifying large parcels of land that are required for the purpose of large scale high tech agriculture in Sri Lanka, he said.