Organic fertilizer and hydroponic systems of nutrient delivery were identified as the modern best practices in agriculture by global and Sri Lankan policy experts. Israel has been identified as a nation that is leading in agriculture and is currently heavily assisting India in its agricultural revolution. Due to long term usage of chemical fertilizer, there has been a loss of traditional farming know-how and a dependence on external inputs. Over 60% of Sri Lankan soil would be graded as eroded by international metrics.
Soil Scientist Saman Dharmakeerthi noted that Sri Lankan soil is mainly sandy and that it has a very low clay content. He noted that the elements that make up the clay component in Sri Lankan soil was also very weak. He noted that the poor soil quality in agrarian land plots was due to more than high fertilizer usage, with factors like poor soil management practices contributing significantly to the decline.
Dharmakeerthi was speaking at an Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka webinar on 23 June on the governments switching to organic mechanisms of farming.
Dharmakeerthi noted that it was part of the current government’s election manifesto to have an organic revolution in agriculture. Such moves would help domesticize the supply chains and build long term resilience thereby contributing to food security.
Dharmakeerthi explained that the quality of soil most important to agricultural output was the capacity of the soil to hold and deliver nutrients to plants. He noted that the current practice of placing artificial nutrients on the soil from external sources was a very ineffective mechanism of delivering nutrients to plants. Organic systems of farming deliver nutrients in a mechanism that is more absorbable by plants.
Dharmakeerthi called on the general public to educate themselves on Liebig’s law of the minimum which would better help explain how difficult it is to increase agricultural output sustainably. He noted that fertilizer usage was not some panacea for strong agricultural yields. Dharmakeerthi said, “Plant growth is affected by the least limiting factor.”
University of Singapore Prof Ng Wun Jern noted that there was a poor global understanding of the microbial ecology of soil. He noted that biofertilizer was a better mechanism for plant nutrient delivery.
He noted that chemical fertilisers, in the long run, create soil acidification, poor crop quality, the need for pesticide, plant disease, and poor rates of root growth. Economics Prof. at the Ruhunu University Faculty of Agriculture L M Abeywickrema noted that in the short run there could be an expected lowering of agricultural output as local farmers get used to the new systems of farming.
Abeywickrema noted that there would be an estimated short term drop of about 20%,30%, and 50% for Sugarcane, Paddy, and Tea respectively. He noted that minor export crops were unlikely to see any change in output as they are not heavily dependent on fertilizer inputs.
0 comments: