Abstract:
Purpose: It is high time to study the impacts of banning of glyphosate in paddy (rice) cultivation in the
country as it is important in many aspects of the economy. The quantity of glyphosate has been in use
far exceeds the total of all other pesticides especially for paddy cultivation. The government banned
glyphosate in order to save Sri Lanka’s agricultural sector especially farmers from the chronic kidney
disease (CKD). This unexpected situation has created problems for farmers. This study was conducted
to assess the impacts of banning of glyphosate for paddy cultivation in Ratnapura district.
Research Method: Ratnapura district was selected as the research area because paddy cultivation
has been conducted in many Divisional Secretarial divisions of it. A Sample of 100 paddy farmers
was randomly selected and data was collected using a field survey from June to November in 2017.
Descriptive statistics and paired t-tests were used to analyze the data.
Findings: Results revealed that most of the paddy farmers are male farmers and they are at their middle
ages. They have a significant level of education. However, most of them have very small size farm
lands and their monthly income is very low. Furthermore, majority of them have a good understanding
about positive and negative aspects of glyphosate. Moreover, some farmers are spending much on other
herbicides due to unavailability of glyphosate. Hence, there is a significant difference in cost spent for
herbicides before and after banning glyphosate. While some farmers are moving away from farming,
some farmers are turning to use cultural practices.
Originality/ Value: Farmers wish to move away from glyphosate if they have a suitable alternative. But
at the moment they are facing problems due to unavailability of alternatives for glyphosate. So that,
finding for a better alternative for the glyphosate is a felt need.
