Chemical and organic fertilizers needed for high paddy yield – Experts

Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said that farmers should be given a clear definition of the use of chemical and organic fertilizers in order to obtain high yields in paddy cultivation, but currently there is a problem that there is no clear opinion among the farmers.

The Minister said this in a discussion held Thursday (26) with a group of scholars who are interested in paddy cultivation.

Agriculture in this country faced the threat of destruction due to 100 percent organic fertilizer being made mandatory for the 2021 Maha Season. Due to the decrease in paddy harvest, rice had to be imported from abroad throughout the year 2022. Accordingly, eight lakhs metric tons of rice was imported and the country had to spend more than US$ 300 million for that.

It is also problematic to promote the use of 100 percent chemical fertilizers at present. Applying chemical fertilizers alone will not increase yields. Therefore, the Minister said that a clear definition should be presented regarding the use of organic fertilizers and chemical fertilizers in paddy cultivation.

According to the research, in order to get the maximum paddy yield, both chemical fertilizers and organic fertilizers should be applied in a certain ratio, and the ratio should be decided taking into account the soil and climate conditions (rain, light) in the respective areas, scholars emphasized.

There are high potential areas in our country, especially Mahaweli H area; Ampara, Hambantota, Udawalawa, Polonnaruwa, etc. Also, because there are only marginal paddies in the wet zone, the yield of paddy is at a minimum level, and the wet zone has also been identified as an area where high yields cannot be obtained from paddy cultivation.

However, in order to get a high yield in paddy cultivation, it is necessary to use organic and chemical fertilizers as well as new technical methods of cultivation. Especially by using the parachute technology, there is a possibility to get high yield.

Our country is producing the highest paddy yield in the South Asian region. They also said that 100 percent of the paddy varieties cultivated in the country are local varieties and hybrid paddy varieties are not used in our country.

However, the Minister also said that steps should be taken to introduce paddy varieties suitable for the promotion of rice production by increasing the paddy yield in the country as well as targeting export.

Agriculture Secretary Gunadasa Samarasinghe as well as officials of the Agriculture Department and members of the Farmers’ Union who grow traditional paddy varieties also participated.

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