It is reported that the Minister of Agriculture, Mahinda Amaraweera, said that the licenses of companies supplying substandard pesticides will be revoked and those companies will be blacklisted, and the law will be strictly enforced against those companies.
It is stated that the minister has taken this step considering a complaint submitted by the district presidents of the Sri Lanka National Farmers Organization to the Minister of Agriculture.
The farmers’ representatives have told the minister that the pesticides paid high prices from certain companies have failed to give proper results in weed control and insect control, and that they are in inferior condition.
Responding to the demands of the farmers, the Minister said that if any company feels that the pesticides sold are of inferior quality, they should immediately inform the Ministry of Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture and the Pest Control Secretariat.
The minister further mentioned that in this season, a pest control distribution system will be started from the agricultural service centers and accordingly, the farmers will have the opportunity to get high quality pesticides from the agricultural service centers.