Rs. 12,000mn to be given to farmers for fertilizer purchases – Minister

The Ministry of Agriculture has allocated a sum of Rs. 12,000 million for farmers to purchase fertilizers for the upcoming cultivation season.

Issuing a release in this regard, the Ministry explained that Rs. 15,000 will be given per hectare, for the purchase of either organic or chemical fertilizer.

Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera on Wednesday (20 Sep.) had a discussion with the farming community, with representatives from national farming organisations in all 25 districts, focusing on issues faced by farmers, during which measures taken by the government to resolve the said issues were also discussed.

The Minister further assured that as of now, the government possesses sufficient amounts of both urea and Muriate of Potash (MOP) commonly known as ‘Bandi’ fertilizer, while the private sector is set to supply Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) fertilizer, also known as ‘mud’ fertilizer.

He further stated that urea fertilizer will be provided at a price of Rs. 9,000 from both the public and private sectors.

Meanwhile, the farming community stressed that they do not need fertilizer subsidies, and instead demanded that they be given a higher price for the sale of paddy.