(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) – Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera said the licenses of the companies that supply substandard pesticides will be revoked and those companies will be blacklisted.
The Minister also said that if the quality of pesticides supplied to farmers by any company is inferior, the law will be strictly enforced against those companies.
The Minister took this measure considering a complaint submitted by the district presidents of Sri Lanka National Farmers Organizations to the Minister of Agriculture.
Farmer representatives told the Minister of Agriculture that pesticides bought at high prices from some companies failed to give proper results in weed control and insect control and they are in inferior condition.
Responding to the demands of the farmers, the Minister told them to inform the Ministry of Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture and the Pest Control Secretariat immediately if they feel that the quality of pesticides sold by any company is substandard.
The Minister also mentioned that in this season, a system of distribution of pesticides will also be started from the Agrarian Service Centers and accordingly, farmers will have the opportunity to get high quality pesticides from the centers.
