One of the pioneers in agriculture fertiliser and a leading diversified business group, A. Baur & Co. (Pvt.) Ltd., also known as Baurs, will bring down a team of experts from Switzerland to study the country’s agriculture ecosystem to provide scientific and practical solutions for an organic approach. They are due to arrive today.
The 10-day visit will include meetings and diverse interactions with all key stakeholders, including visits to sites and facilities that influence organic agriculture. The expert team will also conduct first-hand training in composting and organic farming.
Soon after Sri Lanka’s decision to ban chemical fertilisers and pesticides, Baurs established dialogue with some of the leading agriculture institutions in the world to gather insight and expertise on best practices and emerging technologies to successfully embrace this challenge.
Baurs teamed up with Switzerland-based Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) and School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (HAFL) of Bern University of Applied Sciences FiBL and HAFL will work with other local and international organisations with domain knowledge in the subject. The expert team comprises four very senior members of FiBL and HAFL.
Prof. Dr. Christoph Studer is Professor of Natural Resources Management at HAFL.
Dr. Gurbir S. Bhullar is a Senior Scientist in Tropical Agroecosystems at HAFL. Dr. Jacques G Fuchs is a senior scientist in plant pathology and soil quality at FiBL and a board member of Swiss Society for Phytiatry.
Paul van den Berge joined FiBL after having managed his own organic farm and is an expert in various fields.
Following the comprehensive and cohesive study, the expert team will later develop an integrated plan backed by scientific and professional evidence and expertise to support Sri Lanka’s efforts in embracing organic agriculture.