Hope more countries will be inspired by Sri Lanka’s bold approach to organic agriculture – President
Posted on July 27th, 2021

Courtesy Adaderana

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa expressed the hope that more countries would be inspired by Sri Lanka’s bold approach to sustainably transform its agricultural system to organic agriculture in order to ensure food security and nutrition for future generations.

The President made these remakes addressing the virtual session of the Pre-Summit of the UN Food System Summit, yesterday (July 26). In partnership with the Government of Italy, the Pre-Summit takes place in Rome from 26 – 28 July 2021.

Leaders from a number of countries are taking part in the three-day summit, which is chaired by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

The conference will discuss the impact of food systems on achieving the desired sustainable development goals by 2030.  Representatives from a wide range of fields, including young people, farmers, indigenous people, civil society activists, and researchers, are joining the conference with a new approach.

The Right to Food is a fundamental human right, the President said and added that though the governments act individually to safeguard this right for their people, they must broaden their understanding of the complexities of the global food system.

Sri Lanka in inherent with agriculture deeply entwined with a long-lasting, ancient, and yet highly advanced irrigation system. Therefore, sustainable organic agriculture is not new to this country. The President said measures will be taken to revitalize historic practices with new scientific advances and management techniques.

Transformation of the food system is an essential part of the adaptations that governments must execute for the survival of mankind and the planet. The COVID-19 pandemic was a wake-up call that made us realize we are all sharing a world that is deeply interconnected.

Although mankind is socially, politically, and economically diverse, the challenges they face are universal. Addressing the summit, President Rajapaksa said that these challenges could not be faced alone and that collective action was needed to overcome them.

The Heads of State who addressed the conference yesterday (26) focused on food security, mitigation of climate change, strengthening of environmental protection, and prevention of biodiversity loss.

The full text of the President’s address to the Food Systems Summit:

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s address to the UN Food Systems Summit 2021 by Adaderana Online on Scribd

One Response to “Hope more countries will be inspired by Sri Lanka’s bold approach to organic agriculture – President”

  1. NeelaMahaYoda Says:

    Dear Mr. President
    You have been grossly overestimating yourself and your actions. Either you are trying to hoodwink the whole agricultural population in Sri Lanka by giving false hope for a revolutionary organic agriculture or you are not aware of what is organic agriculture at all. You have asked people to produce compost from plant rejects and domestic waste and use them as organic fertilizer. In the developed world the organic fertilizers are manufactured an entirely different way. Here are the typical organic fertilizers available in the British market.
    The Major plant nutrients or Macronutrients found in fertilizer are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium(K) – that’s NPK and each fertilizer has a ratio of these nutrients mentioned on the labels.
    This NPK ratio is very important to decide what you want to achieve from your plants. NPK of standard chemical fertilizer mixture has a value of 24:8:16 . In contrast, please notice the NTP classification of the following types of organic fertilizers.

    1. Cow dung manure
    How to make cow due manure?
    • Fresh cow dung and urine should be mixed well with 10 parts of water in the barrel and allowed to ferment for a day.
    • Add one kg of jaggery for the next day along with decomposed fruits, vegetables or practically any vegetative matter available on the farm.

    • Generally, It has an NPK ratio of 2:1:1 +/-0.5 and this has a decent amount of all three major nutrients, as well as many essential nutrients such as Ca, Mg, S, Zn, B, Cu, Mn etc.

    2. Vermicompost: This is nothing but earthworm poop or earthworm castings.
    • Generally, It has an NPK ratio of 2:1:1 +/-0.5 and can be used in place of cow dung manure or a mixture of both.
    3. Blood meal
    How to make a blood meal?
    • In order to make a blood meal using the solar method, blood should be collected from abattoirs.
    • It is then boiled while stirring constantly, and when moisture has considerably reduced to between 10 per cent and 12 percent, it should be spread on a clean surface and allowed to sun-dry or oven-dry.

    • Generally, This has an NPK ration of 12:1.5:0.5. This means it is high in nitrogen and low in other elements.

    4. Fish Meal Organic Manure
    • Fishmeal is made by cooking, pressing, drying, and grinding fish or fish waste into a solid.
    • Most of the water and some or all of the oil is removed. Four or five tonnes of fish are needed to manufacture one tonne of dry fishmeal.
    • Generally, It has an NPK ratio of 5:2:2 or may be different depending on the company label.

    5. Chicken or Poultry Manure
    How to make chicken manure?
    Step 1: Collect Materials – Think of bedding material, such as rice hulls and wood shavings, and put it in a composting bin.
    You’re aiming for approximately 25 per cent manure and 75 per cent other materials, which can include the aforementioned bedding material, leaves, plant material or kitchen scraps, and lawn clippings.
    Chicken or Poultry Manure nutrients content-
    • This generally has an NPK of 4:3:3 +/-1 and has more nitrogen content than cow dung. This is also fast-acting and hence overdose can burn your plants. Use very little dosage, similar to a blood meal.

    6. Bone Meal
    This is made from powdered animal bones which is available either as fine steamed bone meal powder or coarse powder for slower release, which’s for the entire growth cycle of a plant.
    Bone meal nutrient content-
    • This generally has an NPK of 4:20:0.

    7. Rock Phosphate
    Rock phosphate nutrient content-
    • Rock Phosphate: This is a vegan alternative to a bone meal with high phosphorous content with NPK of about 0:20:0.
    8. Seaweed
    Seaweed organic fertilizer nutrient content-
    • This fast-acting fertilizer is available for free along most coastlines. Its NPK is about 2:1:4. It’s high in potassium as well. It also has plenty of micronutrients like zinc and iron. Seaweed is considered highly beneficial to plants that need high levels of potassium.

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