Food Insecurity to Worsen in Sri Lanka Amid Poor Harvest, Economic Crisis: UN

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Food insecurity has “increased dramatically ” in cash-strapped Sri Lanka, with the number of people requiring life-saving assistance doubling to 3.4 million, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

The U.N. stated that about 6.3 million Sri Lankans face “moderate-to-severe acute” food insecurity due to the country’s poor harvest season and high food inflation, which peaked at 85.6 percent last month.

Sri Lanka’s poverty rate has increased from 13.1 percent in 2021 to 25.6 percent this year, according to the World Bank’s data.

“Food insecurity in Sri Lanka has increased dramatically due to two consecutive seasons of poor harvests, foreign exchange shortages, and reduced household purchasing power,” the U.N. said in a statement.

The U.N. agencies in Sri Lanka had so far raised $79 million from its joint humanitarian appeal. But the U.N. stated that an additional $70 million is required to help the growing number of vulnerable Sri Lankans.

The extended appeal aims to provide immediate food assistance for 2.4 million vulnerable people, as well as support and fertilizers for 1.5 million farmers and fisherfolk to revive Sri Lanka’s food systems.

The appeal also seeks to provide nutrition support for 2.1 million Sri Lankans—including pregnant women and schoolchildren—safe drinking water, essential medicines, and healthcare, according to the U.N. joint statement.

A laborer pulls a cart loaded with sacks of vegetables at a market in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Oct. 21, 2022. (Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP via Getty Images)

Sri Lanka’s financial crisis, its worst since declaring independence from the British in 1948, went into overdrive in early 2021 when the former Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration announced an overhaul of farming practices.

In April 2021, Rajapaksa instituted a national ban on the use and importation of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for key export crops. The ban on chemical fertilizers was partially lifted in November 2021, but it proved to be too late.

Before the restrictions were implemented, more than 90 percent of the country’s farmers utilized chemical fertilizers. Following the ban, 85 percent of these same farmers suffered immense crop losses, attributed to the reduced application of fertilizer.

Two consecutive seasons of poor harvests led to a nearly 50 percent drop in Sri Lanka’s production, coupled with reduced food grain imports, according to a joint report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the World Food Program (WFP).

It stated that production of paddy rice is forecast at 3 million metric tons in 2022, “which is the lowest level since the 2017 drought-affected harvest,” mostly due to low yields following reduced application of fertilizers.

Abdur Rahim Siddiqui, WFP representative and country director in Sri Lanka, said that Sri Lanka’s crippling economic crisis caused more than 60 percent of families to reduce food consumption and eat less nutritious food.

“This comes at a time when financial constraints have forced the government to scale back on nutrition programs, such as school meals and fortified food to mothers and undernourished children,” Siddiqui said in a statement.

Andrew Moran contributed to this report.