Minister of Agriculture, Wildlife, and Forest Resources Conservation Mahinda Amaraweera said the Agriculture Ministry is ready to lift the existing glyphosate pesticide prohibition in Sri Lanka.

Even though glyphosate is prohibited by law, subpar glyphosate powder and liquid are still being sold illegally at high prices, and approximately Rs. 1.5 billion worth of glyphosate is being illegally imported into Sri Lanka, according to Minister Amaraweera, who was speaking during a discussion at the Agriculture Ministry’s facilities.

The Minister claimed that as a result of the development, the government loses a significant amount of money every year and that it is impossible to measure the harm that using subpar glyphosate has done to the environment and human health.

Director-General of Agriculture Ajanta de Silva commented on the use of the herbicide glyphosate and stressed that it is a necessary general herbicide for perennial crops. It further noted that maize cultivation cannot be effective by implementing the glyphosate ban, especially as it prepares to be widely cultivated.

The glyphosate restriction should be lifted as soon as possible, he said.

Mahinda Amaraweera also asked entrepreneurs who were present at the meeting if they were ready to import glyphosate herbicide once the ban was repealed.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, business owners in the agricultural industry have said they are prepared to import glyphosate whenever the Department of Agriculture lifts the restriction.

The Minister has emphasised the need to end the restriction on glyphosate, a powerful weed killer that has reduced the output of food crops in our country, including paddy and maize, and that the ban would be abolished by permitting the import of glyphosate once more this growing season.