Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera yesterday urged all farmers to go to the fields at least by June 10 and contribute to a programme that will provide them with food as well as food for the country.
He was speaking at a media briefing held at the Government Information Department yesterday.
Minister Amaraweera said that discussions were held with a number of relevant stakeholders on how the country is preparing to face the global food crisis.
The Minister said that all necessary steps will be taken to purchase and distribute organic fertilizer to farmers and despite the shortcomings and problems they may have, steps will be taken to provide organic fertilizer to the farming community by minimizing them.
Minister Amaraweera said that there is a huge demand for chemical fertilizers among the farmers and that high-level discussions have been held in this regard and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have also held discussions with foreign countries in this regard.
The Minister recalled that the countries that supply fertilizer to Sri Lanka and other countries have banned the export of fertilizer and he has requested the ambassadors of seven countries to provide fertilizer for Sri Lanka.
Minister Amaraweera said that discussions have been initiated to import 65,000 metric tons of fertilizer from India and that Ambassador Milinda Moragoda is also working towards this matter.
The Minister urged farmers to start cultivating in the belief that they will get the fertilizer without having to wait until the fertilizer is received.
Add new comment