[ColomboPage 12 March 2014] COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has banned the sale of Monsanto's "Round Up" glyphosate weedicide after a study found that the weedicide is responsible for the increasing number of chronic kidney disease patients. Minister off Special Projects S.M. Chandrasena said the decision to ban Glyphosate sales in the country has been taken on a directive of the President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Addressing a media briefing, the Minister said several programs have been implemented to prevent the high occurrence of kidney disease among the farming community. A new study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found a link between the weedicide known as Roundup and the fatal Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown origin (CKDu) affecting mostly, the rice farmers in Sri Lanka and several other countries. The study found that while the weedicide itself is not nephrotoxic, when it combines with hard ground water containing metals such as cadmium and arsenic, either naturally present in the soil or added through fertilizer, glyphosate becomes extremely toxic to the kidney. In recent years a significant increase in the number of CKD patients has been observed in some parts of the country, especially in North Central, North Western, Uva and Eastern Provinces. According to the Minister a national program to prevent the kidney disease will be launched next Friday. The program will encourage the Sri Lankan farmers to produce and use organic fertilizer. ${imageDescription} Comment