The Hon. K. V. Samantha Viddyarathna - Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure

¶ 01 Hon. Member, the National Fertilizer Secretariat under the Ministry of Agriculture is the lead State body on fertilizers; your proposal should be discussed with them. For tea, we have the TRI—the world’s oldest tea research institute, which turns 100 this November. As a Government, we rely on TRI’s recommendations for fertilizers and agronomy. As I said, TRI has approved biochar in principle and continues trials, including from plants other than bamboo, since bamboo alone will not suffice in the current context. We acknowledge soil quality has declined, affecting yields, and could worsen in future without replenishment. Hence both chemical and organic inputs are needed to sustain soils. We will discuss further with the National Fertilizer Secretariat and proceed.