Hon. Maithripala Sirisena studies options for recycling waste into fertilizer
(Makandura, 10 May 2016) His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, visited a waste compost pelletizing research site at the Regional Agricultural Research and Training Centre (RARTC). He was accompanied by the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Duminda Dissanayake, along with fellow ministers and other government officials.
IWMI is trialing waste pelletizing at the site and demonstrated the process to the presidential delegation. The president and the minister chatted to IWMI researchers and other project partners and expressed their interest in promoting this technology to encourage organic farming in Sri Lanka.
As a part of the MoU signed between the Sri Lankan Ministry of Agriculture and IWMI on 4 March 2016, IWMI is introducing waste to fertilizer technologies to the country, including at RARTC Makandura. This is part of a broader research program which will also train farmers, compost plant operators and agricultural officers.
IWMI researchers Sudarshana Fernando and Lakshika Hettiarachchi demonstrate the conversion of compost into pellets of organic fertilizer to Hon. Maithripala Sirisena and Minister of Agriculture Duminda Dissanayake. Photo: Shaoyu Liu / IWMI
IWMI is exploring how value can be derived from organic waste and fecal sludge using innovative technologies and business models. At RARTC, the Ministry of Agriculture, Wayamba University and IWMI are conducting a new BMZ funded project: Research and capacity building for inter-sectoral private sector engagement for soil rehabilitation. This will involve various agronomic trials using co-composted pellets (waste combined with other nutrients) on different soils and crops.
For more information contact project leader Johannes Paul.
IWMI’s research into Resource Recovery and Re-Use (RRR) program looks at how waste can be converted to valuable fertilizer.
This work is supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Water Land and Ecosystems (WLE)
This article first appeard on the IWMI web site at http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/2016/05/sri-lankan-president-visits-iwmi-project-site/
