Agriculture Ministry Secy. given powers to allow import of weedicides and pesticides

 After considering the requirement of some agrochemicals such as weedicides and pesticides to control certain diseases, Agriculture Ministry Secretary Senior Prof. Udith K. Jayasinghe has been vested with powers to allow such imports, other than fertiliser, based on the requirements.

“There are certain weedicides and pesticides that need to be imported to control certain diseases. For the time being, the Agriculture Ministry Secretary has been vested with powers to import the required quantities when necessary,” Cabinet Co-Spokesperson and Plantation Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathriana said at the weekly Cabinet press briefing on Tuesday.

Agrochemicals remain critical in commercial agricultural crops such as tea.

Meanwhile, the minister expects to resolve the fertiliser shortage in the tea sector by the end of next month, with the government already placing orders for the importation of sulphate of ammonia as the source of nitrogenous fertiliser for tea plantations, following the reports on quality drops of green tea leafs.

Commenting on the current organic fertiliser shortage, following the policy decision to move into organic agriculture by banning the imports of chemical fertilisers and agrochemicals, Dr. Pathriana acknowledged the shortcomings in implementing the policy in short to medium term. However, he assured that the country would have sufficient domestically produced organic fertiliser within one year.