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On the sidelines of the national program to manufacture organic fertiliser under the directive of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a manufacturing centre in the Mahaweli L Zone was officially launched at Weli Oya last week.
The centre was opened under the patronage of State Minister of Mahaweli Zone Canals and Common Settlement Infrastructure Development Siripala Gamalath. The organic fertiliser requirement of the farmers in the Mahaweli L Zone is expected to be produced in this centre at Helambawewa in Weli Oya. Sri Lanka Army and Civil Defence Force are assisting the centre.
It is expected to manufacture 1.4 million metric tons of organic fertiliser in the organic fertiliser manufacturing centres to be set up soon at Mahaweli Zonal level.
Addressing the official launch of the Mahaweli L Zone Organic Fertiliser Manufacturing Centre at Helambawewa, Siripala Gamalath said a broaden program is afoot to give maximum support to achieve the goal of manufacturing organic fertiliser of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Prolonged use of chemical fertiliser has destroyed the natural richness of our soil. That has forced our people to eat poisonous food thereby creating an ailing society, State Minister Gamalath said. He also pointed out that the country lost a huge sum of foreign exchange due to the import of chemical fertiliser. Therefore, preparing farmers to use organic fertiliser would secure the country economically as well as hygienically, he said.
In addition, the State Minister said that organic home garden programs have been already started in Mahaweli Zones to enable Mahaweli farmers to produce their requirement of organic fertiliser within their farmstead and, Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority has taken steps to guide them towards the program.
Vanni District MP and District Coordinating Committee Chairman Cadar Mastan, former Deputy Minister Premarathna Sumathipala, Director of Agriculture of the Mahaweli Authority Neville Rajapaksha, Director of the Institutional Development Division Mahendra Abeywardana, Director of the Mahaweli Livestock Resources Development Thamara Priyadarshani, Residential Enterprise Manager of the Mahaweli L Zone Kumararathna Herath, several Mahaweli Authority officials, officials of the Sri Lanka Army and the Civil Defence Force and the area farmer organisation representatives participated.
