Commander assures Army Cooperation to Farming Communities in the North

COLOMBO (News 1st);  A representative group of farmers of different farming associations in both Kilinochchi and Mullaittivu districts met with Commander of the Army, General Shavendra Silva on Sunday (17) to seek solutions to some of their pressing agricultural issues. Those farming representatives, including Chairmen/Secretaries of those organizations, gave their observations and discussed matters related to the use of carbonic fertilizer and urged possibilities be made to use both carbonic and chemical fertilizer varieties together, to begin with since the soil is not yet conducive to the sole use of carbonic fertilizer. Those representatives appealed to the visiting Army Chief to bring this need to the attention of the President since they believe that the use of carbonic fertilizers is certainly the best option for human health. They also sought the Army's support for the cultivation of unattended state lands and requested General Shavendra Silva to see how more and more such lands can be allocated for them to start cultivations. General Shavendra Silva explained to them the vision of the President in implementing carbonic fertilizer policy and the moves afoot to popularize those methods as of now. He also assured the Army cooperation for their cultivation projects and promised to explore possibilities of getting state lands for cultivation purposes on lease or through some other agreements across respective District Secretaries after their recommendations and consultations. General Shavendra Silva requested those farming representatives to directly contact both Kilinochchi 1 Corps and Mullaittivu Commanders every month and take up their pending issues if any in order to bring such needs to the attention of relevant authorities to find solutions. Those representative farming communities were also requested on the spot to jot down their questions and issues affecting them. Major General Harendra Ranasinghe, 1 Corps Commander at Kilinochchi, Major General Sisira Pilapitiya, Commander, Security Forces, Mullaittivu, and a few Senior Officers were associated with the discussion."