A representative group of farmers of different farming associations in the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu Districts met Chief of Defence Staff, Army Commander and Head, National Operations Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO), General Shavendra Silva during his visit to Kilinochchi on Sunday, October 17, with a view to seeking solutions to some of their pressing agricultural issues.
The farmer representatives, including Chairmen/Secretaries of those organisations, gave their observations and discussed matters related to the use of carbonic fertilizer and urged possibilities be made to use both carbonic and chemical fertilizer varieties together to begin with since the soil is not yet conducive to the sole use of carbonic fertilizer.
Those representatives appealed to the Army Commander to bring this need to the attention of the President since they believe that the use of carbonic fertilizer is certainly the best option for human health. They also sought the Army’s support for cultivation of unattended State lands and requested General Shavendra Silva to see how more lands can be allocated for them to start cultivations.
After giving a patient hearing to them, General Shavendra Silva explained to them the vision of the President in implementing carbonic fertilizer policy and the moves afoot to popularize those methods as of now.
He also assured the Army cooperation for their cultivation projects and promised to explore possibilities of getting State lands for cultivation purposes on lease or through some other agreements across respective District Secretaries after their recommendations and consultations.
General Shavendra Silva requested those farming representatives to directly contact both Kilinochchi 1 Corps and Mullaittivu Commanders every month and take up their pending issues, if any, in order to bring such needs for the attention of relevant authorities to find solutions.
Those representative farming communities were also requested on the spot to jot down their questions and issues affecting them.
Major General Harendra Ranasinghe, 1 Corps Commander at Kilinochchi, Major General Sisira Pilapitiya, Commander, Security Forces, Mullaittivu and a few Senior Officers were associated with the discussion.
