Women wait near an empty fuel station hoping to buy kerosene for cooking in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, May 26, 2022. Sri Lankans have been forced to stand in long lines for months to buy rare essentials, many of which are returning home empty-handed. From food, cooking gas, medicine and fuel to toilet paper and match sticks, there is an acute shortage of many items.
Highlight
- India assures fertilizer supply to Sri Lanka to help debt-ridden country overcome food shortage
- The food shortage is caused by crop losses and exacerbated by the worst economic crisis in Sri Lanka
- President Rajapaksa said that PM Modi had assured him of fertilizer supply for the next farming season
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office said on Thursday (June 2) that India has assured fertilizer supplies to Sri Lanka to help the debt-ridden country overcome crop losses and severe food shortages from the worst economic crisis. Can you
President Rajapaksa, while speaking with a group of irrigation officials on the requirements of the next harvesting season, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured them of fertilizer supply for the next farming season.
He said the supplies to be supplied under the Indian Line of Credit would be delivered within 20 days of the consignment arriving in Colombo. Sri Lanka is aiming to boost its agricultural sector to avoid any disruption in the agricultural market following a drop in paddy cultivation during the Maha Session. Yala is the paddy cultivation season in Sri Lanka which lasts between May and August.
Sri Lankan government banned chemical fertilizers in 2021
The Sri Lankan government last year banned chemical fertilizers as part of a phased transition to organic agriculture. The lack of an adequate supply of organic fertilizers affected agricultural production, especially rice and tea, and caused food shortages with crop losses of 50 percent.
Rajapaksa had admitted a few weeks ago that his decision to ban chemical fertilizers to 100% organic was wrong.
Farmers have warned that there could be a shortage of food by mid-August in the ongoing economic crisis in the country. Last month, India assured Sri Lanka of immediately supplying 65,000 metric tonnes of urea to avoid any disruption in paddy cultivation.
Government of India’s help to Sri Lanka:
The Sri Lankan High Commission said in a statement that the Government of India has decided to supply this quantity of urea to Sri Lanka at the request of the Government of Sri Lanka, notwithstanding the ban on export of urea from India.
Sri Lanka is aiming to boost its agricultural sector to avoid any disruption in the agricultural market following a drop in paddy cultivation during the Maha Session. Sri Lanka’s annual fertilizer imports cost USD 400 million. Farmers across the country have protested the shortage of fertilizers, saying they are being forced to leave their fields.
There are more than two million farmers in Sri Lanka and up to 70 percent of its 22 million people depend directly or indirectly on agriculture.
India has committed over USD 3 billion in loans, lines of credit and credit swaps to debt-ridden Sri Lanka from January this year to help the neighboring country which is battling the worst economic crisis since its independence. Is.
Sri Lanka’s economic crisis is partly due to a lack of foreign exchange, which means the country cannot pay for imports of staple foods and fuels, leading to extreme shortages and very high prices.
The crisis provoked widespread protests and calls for political reform and the resignation of President Rajapaksa.
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