The Sri Lanka Army is now involved in the country’s country’s organic fertiliser production drive on the directions of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to make Sri Lanka a ‘green’ country.
A ‘ Green Agriculture Operative Centre has been established to systematically and sustainably fulfill the priorities identified to achieve this objective with the assistance of the army.
This is being implemented under the direction of the Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army General Shavendra Silva.
The President instructed that this Operative Centre should give priority to a number of functions including the amalgamation of the Colombo Commercial Fertilizers Ltd and the Ceylon Fertilizers Company Limited as the National Organic Fertilizer and Distribution Company, encouragement of production of solid and liquid organic fertilisers.
Addressing a forum of coordinators both physically and virtually on Friday (11), the head of the Green Agriculture Operations Center (GAOC) and Army Commander Shavendra Silva assured that if any logistic need or difficulty such as transportation of those raw materials or produced organic fertilizer stocks prevail, the Army would address and help resolve those issues.
Specifying the Army’s role targeting the ‘Yala’ season in the national drive, he added that the coordination of many rounds of discussions on the subject had already been conducted and such consultations would continue in close liaison with District Secretariats, Agrarian experts, farming communities and state officials while noting their concerns.
Citing the President’s instructions, General Silva noted that sustained education sessions covering ground level contributors would benefit the objective of the project, which the Army is ready to support.
Those representatives are thus facilitated at the district level to coordinate with ‘Lak Pohora’ Fertilizer Company, Fertilizer Secretariat, and others. ” Our coordination and observer roles would continue, ” General Shavendra Silva added.
Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr D.M.L.D Bandaranayake stated that the Ministry of Agriculture, State Ministry and the Green Agriculture Operations Center (GAOC) jointly launch the organic fertilizer production and distribution programme at the national level and policy decisions have been taken to avoid practical issues that would erupt during ‘Maha’ season.
State Minister of Agriculture Shashindra Rajapaksa stated that the production and distribution of Carbonic fertilizer is implemented at the district level with the involvement of each District Secretariat under the close supervision and guidance of the Green Agriculture Operations Centre.
