Colombo, Nov 5 (IANS) Amidst mounting island-wide protests by farmers demanding fertiliser following the government’s sudden decision to go fully organic and ban chemical fertiliser usage, two Indian Air Force planes have airlifted a consignment of nano nitrogen fertiliser to help Sri Lanka.
“On the request of the Government of Sri Lanka, the two IAF C-17 Globemaster aircraft
arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport with 100,000 kg of nano nitrogen. The
deployment was essentially to support the Government of Sri Lanka’s initiative towards
organic farming and to expedite availability of nano nitrogen fertiliser to the Sri Lankan farmers,” the Indian High Commission in Colombo said in a statement.
“The Government of India has continued to support Sri Lanka in times of critical requirement as part of its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and has repeatedly demonstrated its capacity and role as the ‘First Responder’ in the region,” it said.
The High Commission added that the C17 aAircraft operations were coordinated in close
liaison with Sri Lanka Air Force and the quick deployment of IAF aircraft and expeditious disembarkation overnight was indicative of close coordination between the two services.
Sri Lanka Air Force’s Chief of Staff, AVM Prasanna Payoe, who received the aircraft
crews, had thanked the IAF for their prompt response and continued support in essential
matters.
Since June thousands of famers are on streets on daily basis demanding that fertiliser be provided for paddy cultivation during the North-East Monsoon season or Maha season, the major paddy cultivation period starting from September/October in the island nation.
The protests came following President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s sudden decision in April to ban import of chemical fertiliser claiming that agrochemical has severe health hazards, including a mysterious kidney disease causing thousands of deaths every year.
However, the opposition claimed that the real reason for the fertiliser ban was due to the ongoing financial crisis due to lack of foreign reserves and drop in foreign currency. The country’s annual expenditure for fertiliser import is $400 million.
Sri Lanka is facing one of the biggest financial blows in her history following the Easter Sunday attack in 2019 and Covid-19 pandemic that had been going on for last two years. The terrorist attack and the pandemic in turn had hit major foreign income earners like tourism.