Highlights:
• India will supply 65000 MT of urea to Sri Lanka
• Sri Lanka thanked for supplying urea required for cultivation season
• 70% of people engaged in agriculture
India assured Sri Lanka to supply 65,000 metric tonnes of urea to avoid any disruption in paddy cultivation, as it faces the worst economic crisis.
Sri Lanka requested to supply urea immediately
Sri Lankan High commissioner Milinda Moragoda met with the Secretary of the Department of Fertilizers Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi in New Delhi on 12 May to discuss the issue. Sri Lanka thanked India for supplying 65,000 metric tonne of urea required for the current Yala cultivation season in Sri Lanka. The Government of India has decided to supply this quantity of urea immediately to Sri Lanka at the request of the Government of Sri Lanka, despite a ban on export of urea from India, said Sri Lankan High Commission.
Also discussed to ensure the continuous supply of chemical fertilizer
The High Commissioner and the Secretary also discussed ways and means to ensure the continuous supply of chemical fertilizer from India to Sri Lanka under the existing credit line and beyond. India has committed more than USD 3 billion to debt-ridden Sri Lanka in loans, credit lines and credit swaps since January this year.
Yala, paddy cultivation of Sri Lanka
Yala is the season of paddy cultivation in Sri Lanka that lasts between May and August. Sri Lanka wanted to boost its agriculture sector to avoid any disruption in the agriculture market following the drop in the paddy cultivation in the Maha session.
Ended ban of chemical fertilizers for some crops
The Sri Lankan government banned chemical fertilizers last year to promote organic agriculture but the dearth of adequate supplies of organic fertilizers affected agricultural output, especially rice and tea, so the government recently ended the ban on several key crops.
Sri Lanka’s annual fertilizer imports cost USD 400 million. Farmers across Sri Lanka have intensified their protests due to the lack of fertilizer and being compelled to abandon their farmlands.
Maximum people engaged in Agriculture
70 per cent of Sri Lankan people are directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture. One of the reasons of economic crisis in Sri Lanka is the lack of foreign currency because of which country cannot afford to pay for imports of staple foods and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices.
