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.
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)
Population pressure and increasing water competition in a changing climate require us to take stock of the availability and use of water across scales. Water availability not only influences farmers’ commercial prospects but also irrigation-related enterprises and agri-businesses. Greater water scarcity could jeopardize irrigation and agricultural markets while excessive water use can lead to declining ecosystems, water quality and soil health. IWMI advises development partners and the public and private sectors on all aspects of water resource availability and use through a variety of advanced modeling and remote-sensing products and tools, including 
The ability of farmers to engage in or expand irrigation depends on the prevailing socioeconomic, ecological and political contexts, which are often complex, non-linear and changeable. Overcoming systemic barriers to farmer-led irrigation development while taking advantage of existing opportunities 
A lack of affordable credit, particularly for women and resource-poor farmers, is one of the main barriers to expanding farmer-led irrigation in low- and middle-income countries. But 
Scaling farmer-led irrigation requires strengthening human capacity and knowledge exchange among all actors and stakeholders involved. IWMI takes an action research approach, working with national and international research institutions, governments, extension agents and public and private organizations to co-develop the scaling ecosystem and strengthen capacity to drive scaling networks and collective action. We support the
Comments are closed.