A farmers' awareness meeting titled "One more seed for the paddy field" jointly organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Fertilizer Secretariat was held at the Secretariat Auditorium yesterday (16).

Farmers representing all the Divisional Secretariat divisions of the district were informed about the importance of integrated plant nutrition management through the use of chemical fertilizers and organic fertilizers for this program.

The annual requirement of chemical fertilizers in the district is about forty thousand metric tons, but there is a huge gap between fertilizer supply and fertilizer use, which has a direct impact on the yield. Accordingly, representatives of companies such as DIMO, CIC and Plant Chem, which are involved in the application and use of fertilizers, were present to educate the farmers.

The farmers were also given the opportunity to experience the operation of the only mobile vehicle currently available in Sri Lanka for testing soil samples, and District Secretary Ranjana Jayasinghe and Additional District Secretary (Lands) Dilip Nishantha were also present to observe it.

The District Fertilizer Division, including the Deputy Directors of the District Fertilizer Secretariat, Sarath Sumanadasa and T.H.S. Tennakoon, had organized this program.

The District Director of Agriculture, M.S. Thilaksiri, representatives of fertilizer distribution institutions, fertilizer dealers, technical officers, farmers, and government officials related to this field were present on the occasion.