On the feasibility of an agricultural revolution: Sri Lanka’s move to go 100% organic

Simple item page
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Water Management Instituteen_US
cg.contributor.donorCGIAR Trust Funden_US
cg.contributor.initiativeResilient Citiesen_US
cg.coverage.countrySri Lankaen_US
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2LKen_US
cg.coverage.regionSouthern Asiaen_US
cg.identifier.iwmilibraryH052324en_US
cg.identifier.urlhttps://www.tropentag.de/2023/abstracts/full/133.pdfen_US
dc.contributor.authorDrechsel, Payen_US
dc.contributor.authorMadhuwanthi, Piumien_US
dc.contributor.authorNisansala, Duleeshaen_US
dc.contributor.authorRamamoorthi, Dushiyaen_US
dc.contributor.authorBandara, Thilinien_US
dc.date.accessioned2023-10-29T15:45:22Zen_US
dc.date.available2023-10-29T15:45:22Zen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/132506en_US
dc.titleOn the feasibility of an agricultural revolution: Sri Lanka’s move to go 100% organicen_US
dcterms.abstractIn April 2021, the Sri Lankan Government banned imports of agrochemicals, including chemical fertilizers, to make Sri Lanka the first fully organic and chemical fertilizer-free country globally. The ban was justified by human and environmental health concerns, such as many cases of kidney failure in the central parts of Sri Lanka. While previous policies had envisioned a stepwise transition, the sudden ban jolted the agriculture sector. However, it was aligned with the emerging national economic crisis with drastically declining foreign exchange reserves that restricted the import of commodities, including fertilizer for distribution at subsidized prices. The ban was also opportune because fertilizer prices peaked on international markets in 2022. Without any transitional time, the thrust for organic fertilizers failed to satisfy demand or obtain the required crop nutrients resulting in severe agricultural losses. After the first data on decreasing yields were revealed, the government lifted the chemical fertilizer ban on December 1, 2021, but it was too late as the cropping season had arrived. Without financial reserves to import fertilizer, the donor community was urged to assist. This paper addresses: (1) justification of the ban, (2) the feasibility of transitioning to organic fertilizers based on the available biomass to replace chemical fertilizers; and (3) the related cost implications. The scenarios focus on irrigated paddy rice and the plantation sector that underpin the national economy. Undervalued nutrient sources are also considered as well as the constraints to and implications of such a transition beyond Sri Lanka’s frontiers.en_US
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Accessen_US
dcterms.bibliographicCitationDrechsel, Pay; Madhuwanthi, Piumi; Nisansala, Duleesha; Ramamoorthi, Dushiya; Bandara, Thilini. 2023. On the feasibility of an agricultural revolution: Sri Lanka’s move to go 100% organic. Paper presented at the Annual International Conference on Research in Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture, Natural Resource Management and Rural Development (Tropentag) on Competing Pathways for Equitable Food Systems Transformation: Trade-Offs and Synergies, Berlin, Germany, 20-22 September 2023. 4p.en_US
dcterms.descriptionPaper presented at the Annual International Conference on Research in Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture, Natural Resource Management and Rural Development (Tropentag) on Competing Pathways for Equitable Food Systems Transformation: Trade-Offs and Synergies, Berlin, Germany, 20-22 September 2023en_US
dcterms.extent4p.en_US
dcterms.issued2023-09-20en_US
dcterms.languageenen_US
dcterms.licenseOtheren_US
dcterms.subjectorganic fertilizersen_US
dcterms.subjectagrochemicalsen_US
dcterms.subjectinorganic fertilizersen_US
dcterms.subjectagricultural sectoren_US
dcterms.subjectriceen_US
dcterms.subjectteaen_US
dcterms.subjectpublic healthen_US
dcterms.subjectfertilizer legislationen_US
dcterms.typeConference Paperen_US

Files

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.75 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download

Collections

IWMI Conference Chapters or Papers
CGIAR Initiative on Resilient Cities
Circular Economy and Water Pollution (CEWP)