Since Sri Lanka’s independence in 1948, its agricultural policies focused on reaching self-sufficiency in food production. Thanks to chemical fertilizers, pesticides, modern hybrid seeds, and bold irrigation schemes, Sri Lanka essentially achieved this goal.
At least that was so until April 2021, when ex-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa banned agrochemicals, boasting to make Sri Lanka the world’s first 100% organic country. Production quickly dropped by 40%. When he fled the country due to riots in July, 7 out of 10 families were cutting down on food, and 1.7 million Lankan children risked dying from malnutrition.
This political turmoil and agricultural collapse were triggered in Sri Lanka by fearmongering organic ideologues: the likes of Vandana Shiva in India, and activists like Dr. Ranil Senanayake, who recently came out of the ashes to re-scare Sri Lankans back into its ruinous organic policies.
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Organic-friendly agrochemical policies cater to wealthy elites demanding choice foods from limited harvests. Meanwhile, ordinary farmers and citizens in Sri Lanka and other nations struggling with dense populations face famine. Even Europe and America, if divested of its agrochemicals, would face the harvests of the Dust Bowl era and struggle with famine, pestilence, and instability.
American leaders should not follow Sri Lanka’s or the EU’s footsteps. When scaremongering – not science – determines agricultural policies, citizens go hungry.
