Dr Manoj Thibbotuwawa highlights that countries must address various interconnected factors when developing public policies on agriculture and food security

09 January 2025

IPS Research Fellow and Head of Agriculture and Agribusiness Development Policy Research Dr Manoj Thibbotuwawa has contributed a chapter titled “Food Security in Sri Lanka in the Aftermath of the Abrupt Policy Change Towards Organic Agriculture” to the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) publication “Food Security in South Asia”. This publication is co-edited by Dr Puspa Sharma, a visiting senior research fellow and Mr. Saeeduddin Faridi, a research analyst at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), National University of Singapore.

In this chapter, Dr Thibbotuwawa examines the situation of food security in Sri Lanka following the government’s 2021 ban on the import and use of chemical fertilisers with a particular emphasis on the effects on domestic food production and imports. He points out that after the ban on chemical fertilisers, there was a significant reduction in food production in Sri Lanka.

The government prohibited the import of fertiliser to manage the country’s current foreign exchange shortfall, even though the stated goal of the ban was to turn Sri Lanka into an organic food-producing nation. However, the chapter notes that the goal of controlling its foreign exchange shortages was not met since Sri Lanka had to significantly increase its food imports because of the drop in domestic food production. It further highlights that the food costs increased because of decreased domestic food production and increased food imports, which impacted Sri Lankans’ access to food. This could serve as a lesson for Sri Lanka and other nations on the importance of considering a variety of interconnected factors when devising public policies relating to agriculture and food security.

Read the publication here: https://www.isas.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SADP_Food_Complete.pdf