Statement of the General Manager

I am pleased to present the audited financial statement and the annual report for the financial year of 2017/2018 and address our valued shareholders, our partners and stakeholders as yet another financial year comes to an end.

Flood and drought that significantly impact agriculture was a significant negative for agriculture during the year under review with much of the effort of farmers coming to naught.

Nevertheless, the company put its full efforts behind the policy based initiative of His Excellency the President “A toxin-free nation, a healthy populace”. In that respect, we involved ourselves is a massive effort to reduce promoting agrochemicals and increase the usage of organic fertilizers among our farming communities.

Adhering to our responsibilities, we became the first state agency to introduce organic pellet and liquid fertilizers to the farmers of Sri Lanka under the brand name “Sangstha”. We were able to face up to the difficult challenge of competing with 17 private sector organizations to leverage our goodwill, brand recognition and state patronage to rapidly penetrate the organics market with a view to expanding our market share over the year under review.

While our primary mandate is to supply fertilizer to the people, we recognized that there was a critical requirement for us to expand our services to include the provision of other agrarian inputs as well at a significantly subsidized rate. Therefore, plans are already completed to market seed, liquid sprayers, mammoty heads, tractors etc. under the “LakPohora” brand name. Adhering to our responsibilities, we became the first state agency to introduce organic pellet and liquid fertilizers to the farmers of Sri Lanka under the brand name “Sangstha”.

I am proud to state that the year under review was the one in which Information and Communications systems were fully integrated and tied directly across the demand-supply dynamic to optimize the efficiency and ease of doing business with the company.

We, the Lakpohora family, have collectively resolved to put forth every effort, desiring above all to commit ourselves unreservedly to facing and overcoming every single challenge that the future holds in store for the company.

It is with joy and heartfelt gratitude that I sincerely thank the Honorable Minister of Agriculture, the Secretary of his ministry his ministerial staff, the Chairman of Lakpohora and its Board of Directors and every single member of the lakpohora family.

Priyantha Samaraweera General Manager

For Rubber Cultivation

Special mixed fertilizer including R A – 465, R U – 462, R U - 465, R/Y B, R /S A