New agreement boosts drive to more sustainable agriculture

Tuesday, 15 March 2016 00:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Ministry of Agriculture signs memorandum of understanding with IWMI to promote organic resources for sustainable agricultural intensification

A new agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture and the International Water Management Institute will help develop initiatives to improve waste-derived compost using nutrient enrichment and pelletizing technologies.

Signed at the Ministry on Thursday, 4 March, by B. Wijayaratne, Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Jeremy Bird, Director General of the International Water Management Institute, the new MoU offers an important opportunity for sustainable intensification of agriculture on the island.

IWMI has been actively experimenting in Asia and Africa with composting using multiple organic waste sources (co-composting) and 08-02 pelletising. IWMI has already initiated research in Sri Lanka converting the organic part of municipal waste and septage into safe fertilizer pellets for agriculture. The new MoU will expand this work with comprehensive crop trials in different areas of the island, including plantations.

IWMI will provide a pelletizing machine for the Ministry of Agriculture which will be used for experiments and train the farmers at the Regional Agricultural Research and Development Centre, Makandura.

“While crops need nutrients, soils need organic matter to store water and nutrients”, said the Head of IWMI’s Sri Lanka Program, Herath Manthrithilake. “The solutions we are supporting with research combine both elements which can save on expensive imported fertiliser and ultimately could create new jobs in the local compost industry.”

The Ministry of Agriculture and IWMI will collaboratively conduct the agronomic trials for the new product, targeting various climatic zones and local soil types. The research will hopefully provide the evidence needed to implement the approach more widely.

Sri Lanka was a signatory to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals agreed last year, which include a commitment to more sustainable food production.

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