Six months after the ban was lifted - no agrochemicals yet

Agriculture authorities have not even asked for funds from the Central Bank

Famine cannot be prevented without commercial cultivation

Issue dollars to the Agrochemical Institute to protect the harvest

 (Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon)

Seven months ago, in November 2021 the ban on agrochemicals was lifted. To date the agrochemicals needed to protect the crop have not been imported to Sri Lanka. The reason for this is that the Agriculture authorities have not acted to obtain the required funds from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka for the importation of these agro chemicals.

None of the crops, including paddy, maize, potatoes, vegetables, fruits and tea, will produce a good harvest without fungicides and pesticides. Yields of paddy, tea and other crops are declining due to lack of herbicides and paddy yields have become "rotten paddy and straw" due to lack of pesticides.

No vegetable or fruit crop can be protected without fungicides during this rainy season. Sprouts, flowers, fruits, roots and trees are destroyed. Lack of agrochemicals can cause the same or even worse damage to the crop as fertilizers.

For the past six months, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture or any other institution have not made a formal request to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to issue foreign currency for the importation of agrochemicals. Even their bankers have not been able to supply the required dollars to any agrochemical retailer in the country since the ban.

To date, agricultural committees and other committees appointed by the current government have not set up a mechanism to obtain dollars to buy agrochemicals. At least no discussions have been held in this regard. Neither the new Finance Minister nor the Secretary has so far made a dollar request for agrochemicals.

Only $ 80 million is required to import agrochemicals for a year. $ 7 million a month. That amount is very small compared to the 600 million needed for fertilizer. But, the devastation is immense.

Commercial agroforestry cannot be done without the importation of agrochemicals. Q famine cannot be prevented without commercial cultivation. The government should now focus on releasing at least a part of the dollars required for the import of agrochemicals.