The government authorities have focused special attention in promoting and streamlining fertilizer production at the Eppawala phosphate deposit, spurred by the fertilizer experts and university intelligentsia in the field of agriculture, soil preservation and geology.
The Eppawala phosphate deposit situated in the Anuradhapura district about 240km from Colombo and 140km from the Trincomalee Harbour was first detected in April 1971 by the then Geological Survey Department.
The Eppawala phosphate deposit has got 60 million metric tons of phosphate which has been classified as high grade deposit since it contains about 33 to 40 percent of phosphate and is also one of the richest and unique types of apatite deposits in the world.
The production of phosphate fertilizer officially began in 1974 and since then only around three percent of the total reserves have been consumed, having been continuously confined to the production of rock phosphate powder amounting to nearly 60,000 MT annually being sold to several fertilizer processing companies engaged in supplying processed fertilizer to tea, rubber and coconut plantations, at huge profits.
Fertilizer scientists have now proposed to the government to commence the production of value added phosphate fertilizer varieties such as single super phosphate, triple super phosphate, etc. which are highly suitable for paddy and additional food crops, thus saving a huge amount of foreign exchange being spent for the import of chemical fertilizer.
The National Science Foundation, the premier national institution mandated for to promote science and technology for the socioeconomic development of the country, has emphasized to the relevant government sectors and authorities that Sri Lanka is endowed with valuable resources such as graphite, ilmenite, rutile, zircon, clay, garnet, mica, calcite and dolamite including apatite now found in bulk at the Eppawala phosphate deposit are exported as raw material with hardly any value addition or used locally in the same manner thereby causing the country to lose a great opportunity to both earn and save considerable amounts of foreign exchange.
Professor Ranjith Senaratne at present heads the National Science Foundation while Dr. Sepalika Sudasinghe acts as the Director General of the foundation.
Fertilizer experts and agriculture scientists point out that at present the most valuable Eppawala rock phosphate (ERP and HERP) is used for perennial crops and out of the production, 85 percent is being used by around 12 private companies which re-mixing the material with nitrogen potassium and other sources whereas the same process could be executed easily by the Lanka Phosphate Company, the authorized owner of the Eppawala phosphate deposit.
They urge the Agriculture Ministry to look into the lapse since this is right time for such innovation, when the country is placed in a critical economic crisis.
According to the scientists, since the ERP market in Sri Lanka completely depends on the government’s fertilizer policies, there will be some positive outcome created by the government towards the phosphate company management to use its discretion in promoting, developing and streamlining the present stagnating fertilizer production techniques for achieving the country’s chemical fertilizer requirements.
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