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Environmental Disasters in History

Case Study 3: The Price of Green Agriculture

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By Arjun Singh |

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Substack⁠

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“Even though the majority of the farmers supported organic farming, less than a quarter believed they’d be able to make the transition if given the timeframe of one year - let alone one night⁴”

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ਆਪੇ ਧਰਤੀ ਆਪੇ ਹੈ ਰਾਹਕੁ ਆਪਿ ਜੰਮਾਇ ਪੀਸਾਵੈ ॥

He Himself is the field, and He Himself is the farmer. He Himself grows and grinds the corn.

ਆਪਿ ਪਕਾਵੈ ਆਪਿ ਭਾਂਡੇ ਦੇਇ ਪਰੋਸੈ ਆਪੇ ਹੀ ਬਹਿ ਖਾਵੈ ॥

He Himself cooks it, He Himself puts the food in the dishes, and He Himself sits down to eat.

ਆਪੇ ਜਲੁ ਆਪੇ ਦੇ ਛਿੰਗਾ ਆਪੇ ਚੁਲੀ ਭਰਾਵੈ ॥

He Himself is the water, He Himself gives the tooth-pick, and He Himself offers the mouthwash.

ਆਪੇ ਸੰਗਤਿ ਸਦਿ ਬਹਾਲੈ ਆਪੇ ਵਿਦਾ ਕਰਾਵੈ ॥

He Himself calls and seats the congregation, and He Himself bids them goodbye.

ਜਿਸ ਨੋ ਕਿਰਪਾਲੁ ਹੋਵੈ ਹਰਿ ਆਪੇ ਤਿਸ ਨੋ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਮਨਾਵੈ ॥੬॥

One whom the Lord Himself blesses with His Mercy - the Lord causes him to walk according to His Will. ||6||

Raag Bihaagraa - Guru Amar Daas Ji - Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji -

Ang 550⁠

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Preliminary Facts

Gotabya Rajapaksa was a former military officer and politician who played a part in the ministry of defence, along with ending the Civil War that took place in Sri Lanka in 2009. He served as the president of Sri Lanka for 2 years in 2019-2022 and some of his main priorities included increasing economic stability and transforming agriculture to be completely organic¹. Many people could argue that he handled COVID well early on, however, later on, his ban on agrochemicals² caused massive food shortages that led to questioning his competency as president.

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Centrally Planned Motivations

Rajapska’s initial plan was to transform Sri Lanka into the first nation with 100% organic agriculture over a ten year period. There are some obvious benefits to this, including long term sustainability, soil health, air and climate quality, and more³. In addition, Sri Lanka spends close to ten percent of it’s reserves on importing fertilizer. During COVID-19, the country’s reserves had already been significantly affected because the biggest revenue generators (tourism, garments, production, etc.) were reduced⁴. This incentivized Rajapska to take quicker action on transitioning to organic agriculture in order to save money and increase the federal reserves. He went on to ban synthetic fertilizers almost overnight in April 2021.

The transition to organic farming does require some more planning to ensure all variables are taken into account. Even though the majority of the farmers supported organic farming, less than a quarter believed they’d be able to make the transition if given the timeframe of one year - let alone one night⁵. Agricultural and farming experts and organizations were not consulted during this decision making process, which ultimately led to chaos across Sri Lanka.

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Detrimental Outcomes

This immediate ban initiated uproar across Sri Lanka, as the nation’s two million farmers ended up not having enough time to purchase supplies and prepare for a massive change across acres and acres of farming land. Specifically, rice production (one of Sri Lanka’s main exports) fell by twenty percent in just the first six months. This not only meant that the production went down, but they had to import $450 million worth of rice. To make matters worse, their other main exports such as tea, rubber, and coconut had reduced production massively. The drop of tea production, for example, equated to a loss of $425 million for the nation⁶. Food in general was ultimately in a massive shortage which was not good for the people of the country.

Ultimately, over half a million people ended up in poverty, inflation soared, and the currency collapsed. The streets began to be filled with angry protestors and rioters that were unhappy with the outcomes of this ban. Protestors eventually forced their way into the presidential palace, which alongside other factors, forced Rajapska step down as president and ultimately leave the country⁶.

Organic fertilizers have more micronutrients than synthetic fertilizers, they keep the soil healthier, chemicals and contamination are avoided, less pollution is produced, and overall human health is arguably increased. However, plants are simply unable to absorb organic fertilizers as quickly as they do synthetic, which is why an agricultural expert would be able to identify how this drastic change may have led to a food shortage⁷.

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Photo by

Raphael Rychetsky⁠

Unsplash⁠

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Lessons

We can conclude from this case study that taking steps in increments, at local levels, are crucial before scaling to nationwide decisions. There were unfortunately no agricultural and environmental organizations that were consulted in this process, and we can even see other countries that have implemented organic farming at smaller scales first, with a long term plan at hand.

Although in this case we can agree that Rajapaksa and the government had good intentions with the emphasis on organic farming, relying on a group of central planners to make decisions for the entire nation may not always be the best system.

We can see here the tragedy of the commons, where farms (that can be classified as private property) were controlled by a group of central planners. This statement itself is paradoxical in nature as private property should allow one to make an educated decision for themselves and the property they own based on incentives and acquiring knowledge about the situation. If organic seeds are truly better, we would then see that reflected in consumer and producer decisions.

To conclude, enforcing major policies on smaller scales with incentives can be more beneficial than enacting bans on nations overnight, to ensure all variables are taken into account for long term gain.

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Endnotes

Fact file and important notes on Sri Lanka’s (now) former president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Link: Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Raw:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gotabaya-Rajapaksa⁠

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Definition of an “agrochemical”

Link: agrochemical

Raw:

https://www.ipbes.net/glossary-tag/agrochemical⁠

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Article about the environmental benefits of organic agriculture written by the “Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations”

Link: Organic Agriculture

Raw:

https://www.fao.org/organicag/oa-faq/oa-faq6/en/⁠

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Video that goes over the various factors that were linked to Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, with organic farming being a main one

Link: Is organic farming responsible for Sri Lanka's economic crisis?

Raw:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYnkhBux9WU⁠

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Article from the “Brown Political Review” that provides an academic and critical analysis of the initial motivations behind the political policies that took place

Link: Interpreting Sri Lanka’s Organic Farming Failure

Raw:

https://brownpoliticalreview.org/2022/11/sri-lankas-organic-farming-failure/⁠

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Geopolitical analysis on the detriments of the organic farming decisions from the Sri Lankan government

Link: In Sri Lanka, Organic Farming Went Catastrophically Wrong

Raw:

https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/05/sri-lanka-organic-farming-crisis/⁠

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Overview of the actual facts being organic farming and substances, and how this relates to Sri Lanka’s crisis

Link: Sri Lanka and Organic Farming?

Raw:

https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/student-contributors-environment/sri-lanka-and-organic-farming#:~:text=Rice%20production%20fell%2020%25%2C%20and,importing%20food%20and%20compensating%20farmers⁠

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