President Gotabaya Rajapaksa says he will take up the challenge of making Sri Lanka the first country in the world to eliminate the use of chemical fertilizers, without taking a step back on the decision to end the use of chemical fertilizers in the country. The President said the fact that no country in the world has abandoned the use of chemical fertilizers is not an obstacle to achieve this goal. The use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides pollutes rivers and streams and poses a serious challenge to quality drinking water supply. Farmers may assume that giving up on chemical fertilizers will reduce the yield.” If it does, the President guaranteed that the Rs. 50 billion spent annually on chemical fertilizers will be used to recover their loss.

Source: The Nation April 29, 2021 18:06 UTC