ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe has allowed glyphosate, a widely used weedicide for all crops in the next Maha season in a bid to boost agricultural production, a government statement said.
Glyphosate was banned by during the so-called Yahapalana administration by President Maithripala Sirisena.
Later it was allowed for tea as alternatives which leave residues made it difficult to export some markets.
“The ban and restrictions on glyphosate has severely impacted many types of crops, and prices have also gone up,” the statement said.
“Taking these factors into account, it has been recommended that glyphosate be allowed for all crops in the 2022/23 Maha (main) cultivation season.”
Glyphosate will be allowed to be used for six months.
Sri Lanka is facing an economic crisis after the rupee collapsed from 182 to 360 to the US dollar after two year of money printing and a botched float. (Colombo/Sept23/202)
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I can understand the economic troubles facing Sri Lanka. However, people should be aware of how dangerous Glyphosate is. It is banned in Canada and cannot even be used to kill weeds in the lawn, let alone use in farmland. It’s link to cancer is very strong.