The government is considering to amend recommended fertilizer standards and import criteria according to the request by the controversial Chinese fertilizer Company, Lankasara reliably learns.
Sri Lanka has sent prior observation and approval for the draft of fertilizer import criteria prepared by the experts and approved by the Attorney General department. The Chinese company has sent back the document with some adjustments. Sources said that they have requested to amend existing preventive conditions which led to prevent the country’s agriculture from adverse pathogens.
Very reliable sources reveal to Lankasara that this has been done.
Accordingly the SLS 1704 standards has to be removed from criteria.
The Sri Lanka Standards Institution had recommended the 1704 standard stating that there should be no microorganisms in the imported organic matter. That standard was created about a decade ago after a wide-ranging scholarly debate on the protection of the soil, flora and fauna of an island nation.
Experts in the field of agriculture reasonably point out that this standard has saved the country from a number of serious dangers and that any change in these standards would lead to a dangerous situation for the country.
It is reported that this standard is to be changed under the influence of China and a government team is currently working on it.
In addition, the document recommends amending certain sections of the Plant Protection Act, which have been modified by a broad panel of experts including microbiologists and soil scientists in the country.
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