Govt. to abolish Colombo Commercial Fertiliser Co., and form Organic Fertiliser Authority

By Ifham Nizam

The Cabinet has endorsed a proposal by Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage to dissolve the Colombo Commercial Fertilizer Company and establish an Organic Fertilizer Authority.

Minister Aluthgamage said his goal was to 70% of fertilisers used in the country would be organic.

Aluthgamage said that only one per cent of the country’s fertiliser requirement was currently produced locally, and that Rs. 16.5 million would be obtained from the Treasury and the money would be repaid with interest.

Preliminary work was being carried out in this regard and the work of the new authority would commence soon, the Minister said.

Aluthgamage said he believed that local farmers and consumers were facing serious health issues due to the misuse of chemical fertilisers and as a proper sustainable solution, a programme to increase the production of organic fertiliser and popularise the same among the farming community should be implemented rapidly.

He said a number of steps would be taken to tackle the health issues as well as environmental problems caused by the misuse of chemical fertilizers.