In order to support long-term crop growth, Sri Lanka plans to cultivate 40,000 acres of coconut in the north and provide smallholders with free fertilizer. Samantha Viddyarathna, Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, stated.
Due to import restrictions and a crop shortage, Sri Lanka’s coconut prices have skyrocketed.
Minister Viddyarathna said parliament, “We have taken steps to grow 40,000 acres of coconut in the Northern coconut triangle.”
For such, we have requested 1,437 million rupees from the budget. Long-term effects will come from this.
Some of Sri Lanka’s traditional coconut plantations are found in rapidly developing regions with higher yielding uses for the land.
Following the Government Medical Officers Association’s recommendation, Sri Lanka’s former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa prohibited fertilizer. This was followed by a severe currency crisis as macro-economists produced money in addition to tax breaks to spur growth.
During the crisis, fertilizer costs skyrocketed, and supplies were extremely limited.
According to Minister Viddyarathna, 39,883 acres of state-owned coconut plantations in Sri Lanka have also been without fertilizer for the last five years.
“Cultivations suffer in areas without fertilizer,” he stated. “The weather had an impact as well.”
According to some in the coconut industry, heavy rains tend to saturate blooms and decrease pollination.
This year, the rains have persisted.
Of the 55,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer that Sri Lanka received from Russia, 27,500 were set aside for smallholder coconut growers.
“We have made the decision to provide free fertilizer to owners of less than five acres of coconut land.”
Due to crop shortages and import restrictions on raw coconuts, Sri Lanka’s export-oriented industries—such as coir, shell charcoal, and powdered milk—are now dealing with increased costs and challenges in obtaining raw materials.
