Key Takeaway:
- Sri Lanka abandoned its quest to become the world’s first utterly organic farming nation, announcing it would lift an import ban on pesticides and other agricultural inputs.
- The island country has been in the hold of a severe economic crisis, with a lack of foreign exchange and shortage of food, crude oil and other essential goods.
On Sunday, Sri Lanka abandoned its quest to become the world’s first utterly organic farming nation, announcing it would lift an import ban on pesticides and other agricultural inputs.
The island country has been in the hold of a severe economic crisis, with a lack of foreign exchange and shortage of food, crude oil and other essential goods.
Authorities had already removed restrictions on fertiliser imports last month for tea, the country’s primary export earner.
But of planned farmer protests in the capital, Sri Lanka’s agricultural ministry said it would end a broader ban on all agrochemicals, including herbicides and pesticides.
“We will now only allow chemical inputs that are needed,” ministry secretary Udith Jayasinghe told the private News TV.
“Considering the need to have food security, we have chosen this decision.”
Shortages have worsened in the past few weeks, with prices for rice, vegetables, and other market items having doubled across Sri Lanka.
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Supermarkets have also controlled rice sales, allowing only five kilograms (11 pounds) per customer.
Farmers’ group had planned to march on the national parliament in Colombo on Friday to demand chemicals to protect and save their crops.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had said that he wanted to make Sri Lankan farming 100 per cent organic.
The policy was introduced after a hit to the cash-strapped island’s economy during the Covid-19 pandemic, with tourism earnings and foreign worker remittances drastically falling.
Authorities attempted to save foreign exchange by banning a host of imported goods last year, including a few food and spices.
Sri Lanka also shut its oil refinery last month after going out of dollars to import crude.
Source-CTV News
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