Govt. to release glyphosate to tea plantations

Sri Lanka’s tea industry that continuously campaigned to lift the ban on glyphosate said the government’s decision to do so would definitely increase yields and enable lower production costs thereby easing the conditions on the plantations.

Planters Association Chairman Sunil Poholiyadde told the Business Times on Friday that yields could go up by as much as 10 per cent this year on the tea estates.

The National Economic Council ( NEC) headed by President Maithripala Sirisena last week decided to relax the ban on glyphosate to some extent although no official confirmation has been communicated in this regard to the rel- evant ministries as yet.

Plantations Minister Navin Dissanayake had been present at the meeting where the policy decision to ban glyphosate was looked at in the context of its relaxation for the use of the weedicide on the plantations, Plantations Ministry Secretary J. A. Ranjith told the Business Times on Friday.

Mr. Poholiyadde explained that it would definitely help the estates since the weeding could be undertaken at the appropriate time and thereby allow for the application of fertilizer accordingly.

Since the ban was imposed in March 2015 the industry had been requesting the relevant authorities to lift the ban or provide them with a substitute weedicide which hadn’t materialised.

“Therefore the lifting of the ban is most welcome which would help the industry immensely and get the best returns,” he said.

With no substitute for glyphosate provided by the government it was believed that most plantations were resorting to the use of weedicides of their choice and this had caused problems with the Japanese authorities who complained that the Ceylon Tea exported there had high residue levels.

The only alternative to chemical weeding is manual weeding, which is about six times more expensive, Mr. Poholiyadde said adding that it also contributes to soil erosion with the top soil being disturbed and getting washed away.

Although uncertain why this decision (lifting the ban) had come about at this juncture the industry believed it was a good decision but pointed out that it would take about three months to return to normal as most estates were now overgrown with weeds.

Tea Traders Association President Anslem Perera said that the profits could increase depending on the market prices and with the plantations currently at a peak levels this decision would “definitely do good to the trade.”

He pointed out, “The state did not allow us to reach the targets because of the ban,” adding that these kind of decisions should be taken by experts in the field and ensure that it would not impact on industries like the tea sector that was a US$1.5 billion industry.

“Policy makers must listen to the trade,” Mr. Perera noted adding that the tea industry being a 150- year old sector would not ask for anything unreasonable.