8 Proponents of organic farming in Sri Lanka were appalled at the president’s decision to shift into organic farming in a single agricultural season without providing farmers with adequate support and training for the shift. The president of the Lanka Organic Agriculture Movement argued that “The president’s committee of advisers to implement the new agricultural policy had no knowledge of organic farming” and that it takes time to produce results: “It needs two to three seasons to develop microbes that enhance soil quality. It is during this time that the farmers needed governmental support. But that support was missing.”<sup>19</sup> Since domestic production and imports of organic fertilizer were insufficient, organic fertilizers were in short supply and became very expensive. Some farmers ended up using low-quality fertilizers obtained on the black market. More fundamentally, agricultural specialists argue that, in terms of providing necessary nutrients for crop growth, organic fertilizer can only be a supplement and not a substitute for chemical fertilizer (even if organic fertilizer can help reduce the demand for chemical fertilizer over the long-run).

Quantifying the economic consequences of the agrochemicals import ban is the focus of our paper. Preliminary evidence in FAO and WFP (2022) suggests the ban had dramatically adverse effects on agricultural production in the major 2021-2022 growing season, resulting in large increases in food prices and reduced food security. Farmer protests and general social upheaval ensued, eventually inducing the government to lift the import ban later in 2021. However, while the ban was short-lived, it was in place during a very unfortunate time, around the start of the Maha season, which is Sri Lanka’s major rice growing season. Moreover, after the ban ended, international fertilizer prices reached their all-time highs due, in part, to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Given Sri Lanka’s low foreign reserves and a large depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee (LKR), the shortage of agrochemicals continued into 2022, with adverse consequences for agricultural production and food security.<sup>20</sup>

# **II.A Organic and Inorganic Fertilizer**

The purpose of fertilizer additions is to provide plants with nutrients (mostly nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) that are not sufficiently naturally occurring in the soil. However, there are important differences between organic or inorganic (chemical) fertilizers. Organic fertilizers are slow-releasing and may require the correct amount of heat and moisture for nutrient extraction at the time of plant need. Since this need is met with almost the right timing and amounts, leaching is minimized.<sup>21</sup> In contrast, inorganic fertilizers provide nutrient inputs rapidly because they are in plant uptake-ready form, but this can come at the expense of leaching, especially if timed incorrectly.

> 19 https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Sri-Lanka-crisis/Sri-Lanka-aims-for-food-security-after-ill-fated-fertilizer-ban. 20Over 2022, the rupee devalued by nearly 45% against the USD.

> 21Leaching is the removal of excess water-soluble nutrients from the plant/soil system by runoff or drainage. Leaching is an environmental concern if chemical fertilizers find their way into water bodies.