The Committee appointed by the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to look into the fertilizer issue has proposed that a sack of chemical fertilizer should be provided to farmers at a cost of Rs. 10,000.
The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have agreed to provide a US$ 110 million loan to purchase fertilizer for the Maha Season. According to the report prepared by the committee, steps have been taken to import 65,000 metric tons of urea fertilizer under the Indian credit line by the end of this month to prevent future food shortages and to protect the farming community.
The committee, headed by UNP Deputy Leader Akila Viraj Kariyawasam had identified the problems faced by those in the agricultural sector and submitted their report to the Prime Minister yesterday (19).
Steps are being taken expeditiously to provide farmers with the seeds they need to cultivate this year, the report also said.
The report states that special arrangements are being made for the import of fertilizers required for agriculture through diplomatic channels and that arrangements are being made to submit in writing to the Ambassadors of the countries where the fertilizers can be supplied through the Prime Minister and the necessary arrangements are being made to obtain the MOP fertilizers required for paddy cultivation from Vietnam.
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