-The Hindu Ensuring government support for financial incentives, upgrading technologies and reskilling labour are key challenges South Asia became a major player in the global textiles and clothing market with the onset of the third wave of global production. Bangladesh joined the league in the 1980s, owing to the outbreak of the civil war in Sri Lanka. Supportive industrial policy was an instrumental factor in the 1990s, with zero duty on raw...
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Russia’s war in Ukraine is crushing Sri Lanka’s $81 billion economy -Anusha Ondaatjie
-ThePrint.in Hit by soaring oil import costs and a dip in tourism revenue, Sri Lanka is racing to avert a default amid dwindling forex holdings. Colombo: Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has caused a humanitarian crisis and convulsed global financial markets, is now threatening to crush an $81 billion economy more than 4,000 miles away in the Indian Ocean. Hit by soaring oil import costs and a dip in tourism revenue, Sri Lanka...
More »A food crisis of the government’s own making -RS Dharmakeerthi
-The Hindu Sri Lanka’s decision to ban imports on chemical fertilizers was not backed by scientific evidence There is consensus in the scientific community that organic agriculture could reduce crop yield. Quoting three global meta-data analysis, Meemkem and Qaim (2018) pointed out that on average, the yield reduction in organic agricultural systems could be 19-25%, depending on the crop and agro-climatic region. To switch to 100% organic agriculture, a country must have...
More »Sri Lanka’s organic farming crisis: Learning from failures -Gurudas Nulkar
-Down to Earth Sri Lanka has found itself in an economic crisis in pursuit of producing 100% organic food ‘Lankan food crisis shows perils of organic farming’. This was the headline of a column by Indian economist Swaminathan Anklesaria Aiyar column published in a national daily recently. Aiyar’s article analysed the Sri Lankan food crisis, which has been triggered by the President’s recent decision to shift from chemical to organic farming. While the...
More »Rajapaksa’s eco-extremism spells doom for Sri Lankan agriculture and rural livelihoods -R Ramakumar
-Foundation of Agrarian Studies An influential section of Sri Lankan agricultural economists and scientists has deplored the recent course change in the country’s agricultural policy made by the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government. The decision by the government to ban the use and import of chemical fertilisers and pesticides in pursuit of a “100 per cent organic food producer” status for Sri Lanka has already had disastrous consequences for the economy of the...
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