Sri Lanka ends organic farming drive amid food crisis

Rising prices and protests force Colombo to lift ban on chemicals

SRI LANKA yesterday abandoned its attempt to become the world’s first entirely organic farming nation amid spiralling food prices and weeks of protest.

Colombo in May banned imports of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides in a surprise move hailed by environmentalists.

The government said it would make farming in the South Asian nation more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Speaking at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow this month, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the country’s president defended the policy, saying only “entrenched lobbies” were against a move that would create “opportunities for investment in organic agriculture”.

But Colombo reversed course yesterday amid furious protest from farmers who had been forced to abandon vast tracts of fertile soil.

“Many farmers have decided not to cultivate paddy, fearing financial losses,” said Namal Karunaratne, of the All Ceylon Farmers Federation.

Some said they were expecting far smaller crops come harvest-time.

“I should have sprayed the [chemical] fertiliser now, about 30-35 days after sowing. I haven’t been able to do that.” Ketheeswaran, a farmer, told The Hindu.

“I doubt if I will get even half the yield I got last time.”

Prof Buddhi Marambe, a former dean of the Agriculture Faculty at the University of Peradeniya, was sacked from his position as a government adviser after warning of serious food shortages in recent newspaper articles. Yesterday, Colombo announced it would immediately lift the import ban on pesticides and other agricultural inputs.

“We will now allow chemical inputs that are urgently needed,” Udith Jayasinghe, agricultural ministry secretary, told local media.

“Considering the need to ensure food security, we have taken this decision,” he said.

Sri Lanka was aiming to be a global pioneer by switching to a fully organic agricultural sector.

The European Union is also aiming to transition to organic farming under the Farm to Fork strategy, but at a much slower pace.

The policy calls for increasing the percentage of EU farmland under organic management from 8.1 per

‘Many farmers have not [cultivated] paddy, fearing financial losses’

cent to 25 per cent by 2030.

Sri Lanka’s organic farming policy was introduced as the economy was still reeling from the pandemic.

The country is suffering an economic crisis, with the opposition blaming Mr Rajapaksa’s government’s policies for dwindling foreign reserves, high food prices, and shortages of food, fuel and other essential goods.

The shortages have worsened in the past week, with rice, vegetables and other food items doubling in price.

Supermarkets have been limiting the amount of rice they sell to each customer.

On Tuesday, the country’s main opposition political party, the United People’s Force, led a protest of thousands in Colombo against the dire economic conditions as the parliament debated next year’s national budget.