‘Imported fertilizer could be a threat to food security'

Senior Lecturer in Soil Science in the Faculty of Agriculture at the Univerity of Peradeniya Dr.(Ms) Warsui Dandeniuya questions as to who is fooling whom in the import of Fertilizer claimed to be from seaweed.

-  L.B. Senaratne

The authorities who are importing these fertilizers claim that they are prepared from seaweeds, but this claim is far from the truth; because seaweed cannot contain the claimed nitrogen levels of 10-15 percent. Dr.Dandeniya also says that the bacterial group “Erwina” has not been reported in seawater.

Dr. Dandeniya says the bacterial genus Erwinia is commonly found in soil environments and in contaminated freshwater. However, Erwinia has not been reported in seawater because this bacterium cannot tolerate high salt concentrations. Further, the imported organic fertilizers are said to have 10-15 % total nitrogen levels. Authorities claim that these fertilizers are purely prepared from seaweeds. However, the presence of Erwinia, coliforms and high nitrogen levels indicate that this claim is far from the truth. This is because a fertilizer purely based on seaweed cannot contain this much of nitrogen and cannot have organisms that are not found in seawater. So, should we keep blind-folds and choose to be fooled?

Dr.Dandeniya says rich biodiversity in Sri Lanka is a wealth of the nation. In order to protect this biodiversity and safeguard the sensitive ecosystems, a number of measures has been taken in policy and regulatory framework over the past few decades. “We have enough experience of endangering ecosystems due to the spread of invasive plants and animals and disease-causing organisms introduced from other countries. Therefore, all imported materials that could serve as carriers of organisms are to be inspected by the National Plant Quarantine Service (NPQS), which is established under the Department of Agriculture.