Sri Lanka reverses organic agriculture development due to damage to tea | Agricultural News

The government abandoned its ambitious plan to become the world’s first fully organic farming country and lifted the fertilizer import ban.

Sri Lanka abandoned its ambitious plan to become the world’s first fully organic farming country and lifted the fertilizer import ban.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa completely banned the use of agrochemicals in May, saying that he hoped that Sri Lanka’s agriculture would be 100% organic.

Plantation Minister Ramesh Pathirana said on Tuesday that the change is to help growers of Ceylon tea, the island country’s annual export value of US$1.3 billion.

“Considering the decline in the quality of tea produced by the factory, the government has decided to import ammonia sulfate,” Pasirana told reporters in Colombo.

He said that the import of chemical fertilizers will continue until the island can produce enough organic fertilizer for local agricultural needs.

A worker works at the Virgin White Tea Plantation in Ahangama, Sri Lanka [Amal Jayasinghe/AFP]

Rajapaksa’s policy aroused the anger of tea planters and other farmers, who warned that lack of organic fertilizers and low yields would lead to shortages.

For governments that are already facing an unprecedented shortage of foreign exchange for imported fuel, food and medicine, this may exacerbate the problem.

Last week, the government violated its ban by importing 30,000 tons of potassium chloride from Lithuania but calling it “organic fertilizer.”

“We are not a stubborn government,” government spokesman Dullas Alahapperuma told reporters in the same briefing with Pathirana.

“We are very sensitive to people’s needs.”