Sri Lanka softens its agrochemical ban and organic farming shift as tea production dives

Credit: Shutterstock
Credit: Shutterstock

Sri Lanka on [October 19] backed down from ambitious plans to become the world’s first completely organic farming nation, reversing a ban on imports of chemical fertiliser.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had imposed a total ban on agrochemicals in May, saying he wanted to make Sri Lankan farming 100 percent organic.

Plantations Minister Ramesh Pathirana said [October 19] that the change of course was to help growers of Ceylon tea, exports of which are worth $1.3 billion annually for the island nation.

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“Considering the fact that there has been a quality drop in tea that was produced in factories, the government has taken the decision to import sulphate of ammonia,” Pathirana told reporters in Colombo.

He said imports of chemical fertiliser would continue until the island was able to produce enough organic fertiliser for local agricultural needs.

Rajapaksa’s policy had sparked anger among tea plantation owners and other farmers who warned that a lack of organic fertiliser and lower yields would lead to shortages.

This risked compounding problems for a government already facing an unprecedented shortage of foreign exchange to import fuel, food and medicines.

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