BBM Sir, As Interim Secretary Of Agriculture, You Could Learn From Abroad... President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Of Sri Lanka Miscalculated On His National Policy Of Imposing 100% Organic Agriculture And 0% Chemical Agriculture – Today, Sri Lanka Is A Total Disaster!

Bad news about organic farming? The New York Times said last December: “Sri Lanka’s Plunge Into Organic Farming Brings Disaster” (Aanya Wipulasena & Mujib Mashal, 07 Dec 2021, nytimes.com). National disaster!

Ted Nordhaus & Saloni Shah say, “In Sri Lanka, Organic Farming Went Catastrophically Wrong” (05 March 2022, Foreign Policy, foreignpolicy.com):

Faced with a deepening economic and humanitarian crisis, Sri Lanka called off an ill-conceived national experiment in organic agriculture this winter. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa promised in his 2019 election campaign to transition the country’s farmers to organic agriculture… Last April, Rajapaksa’s government made good on that promise, imposing a nationwide ban on the importation and use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and ordering the country’s 2 million farmers to go organic.

April 2021, Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa declared the national policy of 0% chemical agriculture (CA) and 100% organic agriculture (OA). 1 year later, there is a national catastrophe!

So, what is the lesson from Sri Lanka?
Sudden Policy = Sudden Death!

Dhinesh Kallungalsays, “Lessons From Sri Lanka On Shift To Organic Farming” (The Hindu,thehindu.com): “… The ill-advised policy of switching to [100%] organic farming, shunning chemical fertilizers, has led to a steep fall in agricultural production and export earnings from tea in Sri Lanka.”

It’s not organic farming – it’s national policy declared without study!
(Milton Friedman quote from Pinterest, pinterest.ph)

Omair Ahmad says, “Sri Lanka’s Problems Are Anything But Organic” (22 April 2022, Science: The Wire, science.thewire.in):

The collapse of Sri Lanka’s economy had little to do with organic farming per se, and much more to do with the disastrous handling of its economy. … The banning of inorganic fertilizers, the reasons… and the way it was done [compose] a cautionary tale of how not to embark on a green transition.

So, BBM Sir, the Sri Lanka tragedy is a lesson from the very top! It is lack of study – be careful to declare any national policy in agriculture just like that!

Notwithstanding the bad news, while I respect current Secretary of Agriculture William Dar’s“Balanced Fertilization” policy for Philippine farms, I am 0% CA and 100% OA – because organic agriculture is designed to solve at least 3 problems nationally:

1.     Food crisis

2.     Farmer poverty

3.     Climate change

(1)   Food crisis – You can grow any food crop using any OA method in any field, includingand especially bad soils, so there should be enough food for everyone.

(2)   Farmer poverty – Costs of OA are very much lower than CA, so returns are very much higher. Also, foods grown with OA are more healthy, and attract more buyers. Healthier foods, healthier returns.

(3)   Climate change – You will help solve climate change with OA because nogreenhouse gases are produced.

BBM Sir! With organic agriculture adopted with cautionary policy nationally, the Philippines will soon be The World Model on the Best Practices in Agriculture!@517

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