Farmers pay price of Sri Lanka govt’s ban on chemical fertilisers | Exclusive
India Today
The Rajapaksa government's decision to ban all chemical fertilizers last year to make agriculture 100 percent organic severely hit the country's farm production, especially rice production, forcing the reversal of this decision.
Once a major exporter of food grains, Sri Lanka is currently reeling under its worst economic crisis. The country has been facing an acute shortage of food grains, triggering panic among farmers across the country.
The Rajapaksa government decided to ban chemical fertilisers without preparing farmers, which prompted a surge in food prices. The government is now worried about shortages due to an imbalance in demand and supply.
MP Roshan Ranasinghe recently proposed that a decision must be made to distribute organic and chemical fertilisers (50% each) to the agricultural community.
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At Kesbewa village, on the outskirts of Colombo, the farmers are sitting idle. Challenges are double, as on one side the chemical fertilisers are banned and the other side there is an acute shortage of diesel, which is essential for the agricultural process.
Farmer Gunasiri said that he currently has no fertilisers nor the diesel to carry out any work on his farm. But to make ends meet, he is working at some shop.
The fields that used to be covered by paddy crops every year are now deserted. For more than four decades, farmers of Sri Lanka have been using foreign-made chemical fertilisers and pesticides that help them reap better crops. Citing health concerns and shortages of foreign reserves to import chemical fertilisers, the Rajapaksa administration imposed a ban on the use of chemicals and started organic farming.
