Jathika Hela Urumaya Parliamentarian Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera said they would stand against the government if the ban on the glyphosate was lifted.
The Thera said the government imposed the ban on glyphosate and several other chemicals three years ago. He said the government was influenced by many persons including ministers to lift the ban stating that the tea plantation was affected due to the ban.
Rathana Thera said this was baseless. Those who influence the government do so because they are misled by the officials and the agents of multinational companies.
The Thera made this observation yesterday during a press conference held at the Strategic Enterprise Management Agency (SEMA) in Colombo.
The allegation that the tea production was reduced by 10 percent in 2016 due to the non-use of glyphosate in the previous year was baseless. It happened due to the drought in 2015 and it is proved by the fact that the tea production increased by five percent in 2017, the Thera said. The Thera said the allegations was made by tea planters that contribute 25 percent of the tea production and not by Small Tea Holders who produce 75 percent.
“A professor says glyphosate is edible,” Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera said. “I challenge him to consume a spoon of gyphosate before the public,” the Thera challenged.