Sajith pledges to constitutionalize rights of the poor

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka's Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has pledged to constitutionalize the rights of the poor.

Premadasa led several farmers' protests on Thursday (28) in Hasalaka, walking alongside farmers to support their demands for proper fertilizer.

"Every single transaction involving the government is a fraud. These involve our lands as well. At present the lives of the farmers and the sovereignty of the lands have been pawned to the overseas companies," he told a massive gathering of local farmers.

He said the Samagi Jana Balavegaya will ensure that the farmers have a right to challenge the sale of farmlands to overseas entities, as well as to challenge any attempt to undermine the agriculture sector of the country.

For months, Farmers across many areas in Sri Lanka have been protesting against the shortage of fertilizer in the country.

The ban on chemical fertilisers — widely used in the tea and rice industries — was opposed by farmers who staged protests after reporting failing vegetable crops as existing stocks began to run out within weeks.

The promulgated regulation restricting and banning the import of fertilizers and agrochemicals is leading to widespread concern among Sri Lanka’s farmer community, industry associations, practitioners, and agricultural professionals.

The Sri Lankan Government has also decided only to use organic fertilizer in the country and plans on importing organic fertilizer from overseas.

Sri Lankan soil scientists, however, are raising concerns about the negative impact that organic fertilizer imports could have on the country’s agricultural area, especially after the samples from China that tested for harmful bacteria.