Sri Lanka, economic crisis and organic agriculture. The viral deception

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17th November 2023

Published by Marta Strinati on 4th November 2023

Sri Lanka, bio under accusation

The also reported in the Italian media alleged that the Sri Lankan government had forced farmers to suddenly convert to organic farming by banning the use of chemical fertilizers. This would cause crop failure and food shortages, sparking riots and economic chaos. (2) A 'viral deception' at the service of global pesticide and seed monopolists.

'The false narratives familiar, the falsehoods and linguistic style of these articles show that the spin doctors sourced them from a public relations firm employed by the large pesticide and agriculture cartels. They were cut and pasted by poor quality journalists who did not check the facts. This is a gross distortion of the truth', explain the organic organizations in the joint statement.

Sri Lanka's economic problems

The economic reality the Asian country can instead be explained simply like this. 'Sri Lanka was in dire economic straits due to the accumulation of financial debt caused by a combination of factors that began with the crippling financial drain, infrastructure damage, and social disorder of the decade-long civil war.

On top of that, tax cuts in 2019 reduced government revenues and worsened the country's national debt. The 19 Covid-2020 pandemic has decimated the tourism industry. All these factors have caused a significant increase in inflation, contributing to shortages of food and essential goods and increased food insecurity in Sri Lanka.

At the beginning of 2021, Sri Lanka was in dire economic and social straits.

On April 27, 2021, the Department of Import and Export Control banned the import of chemical fertilizers because they contributed more than $400 million to the trade deficit. This was the beginning of a series of measures that would be proposed to create an economic recovery.'.

The real causes of chaos

The ban on fertilizers chemicals in Sri Lanka was therefore an emergency tool to reduce a crippling public debt. But the adoption of the organic method in agriculture, which had also been indicated as useful for the green transition, had nothing to do with the economic emergency.

As for price increases and food shortages in the country, organic organizations point to other triggers:

– speculation by the 'rice miller oligarchies', who hold back rice stocks waiting for prices to rise, thus leading to food shortages,

– shortages of fuel and essential goods,

– excessive inflation.

Stopping fertilizers is not enough to become organic

'The sudden reduction in fertilizers caused a decline in rice production. However, this is not because the country has gone organic. It takes three years to convert a farm to the organic system and decades to transform a country or region, as in the case of Bhutan and Sikkim's successful transitions'.

The 'Farm to Fork' organic farming, however, does not necessarily cause a reduction in yields. In contrast, organic systems based on best practices are achieving higher yields and greater profitability than agroindustrial systems, as we have seen. (3)

For this, 'Sri Lanka's new government is working with the Lanka Organic Agriculture Movement (LOAM), EarthRestoration and other stakeholders to develop a plan to implement organic farming.'.

Marta Strinati