Govt. encourages use of chemical ingredients for tea cultivation

COLOMBO (News 1st); Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Plantation Industries says that the President has instructed to take action to provide certain essential ingredients for tea cultivation. Pointing out that the President has drawn attention to the difficulties faced by farmers due to nitrogen deficiency and deficiency of some essential nutrients, Dr. Ramesh Pathirana said that the Government is taking steps to fulfill that responsibility, with emphasis on the difficulties faced by the tea cultivation sector. Moreover, the Minister of Wildlife and Forest Conservation, C.B. Rathnayake said that not only chemical fertilizers but also chemical drugs can be provided as required. He further stated that temporary solutions are needed for certain plant diseases, such as blight on potatoes, which does not have an organic cure. Meanwhile, Lal Premanath, the National Organizer of the National Tea Smallholders' Federation said that the Government, which initially told farmers to not to use any chemical fertilizers, are now requesting them to use such fertilizers. "This explains that the Govenment does not take decisions scientifically. They do not care about the people, but only about the industry and its value. They are scared that their voter base will decrease," he said. The Government is being hypocritical with its policies, Namal Karunaratne the National Organizer of the All Ceylon Agrarian Federation said citing the Government's policies to bring chemical fertilizer, liquid fertilizer and the reassurances about no shortage of fertilizer.