Sri Lanka’s food security problem: Are we getting this right? Part 1

Farming must be resilient to climate change, soil degradation, and market unpredictability, all of which can exacerbate hunger

The Government did not understand the concept of poverty which was treated simply as lack of income. Income transfers were treated as the only panacea to overcome poverty and food but governments were happy because they were politically visible and palatable. Food security is complex and holistic in nature and should only be part of the broader agricultural development strategy of Sri Lanka integrated with other policies on the environment, rural development, health and markets, rural roads, etc. Sri Lanka failed to develop a more coherent and all-encompassing policy framework

Introduction: Food security in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has been facing a serious food crisis since 2021. This is due to the increase in prices of fertilisers, rice and other inputs. Food inflation is a major cause of food insecurity. SL ranks 5th among 10 countries with the highest food price inflation according to a World Bank report. Ac-cording to the Census and Statistics Department (CSD), Colombo’s food inflation recorded 90.9% year-on-year (YoY) to this month. 

In 2009, 88% of households were food secure. According to the Global Food Security Index, 2013, Sri Lanka, had a food security score of 48.6 (ranks 60th globally), one of the most food secured nations in South Asia. Only 10% of Sri Lankan households are ‘food secure’ now. The World Food Program (WFP) in Sri Lanka found that 61% of households reduce the amount they eat or the number of meals, and are consuming cheaper, less nutritious alternatives. Climate change, increased water scarcity, population growth, unsustainable consumption of non-renewable resources, rapidly changing food consumption patterns (e.g. increase in overall calo-rie intakes; meat, eggs, etc.), total mismanagement of the economy and the agriculture sector are the other major factors that precipitated the food crisis in 2021.  

Evolution of the concept of food security, food sovereignty and sustainable development   

Food security and malnutrition 

The food security issue gradually evolved since the time of Thomas Malthus. Malthus (1766-1834) hypothesised that a rapidly growing population would inevitably outstrip society’s capaci-ty to produce enough food and can create a food crisis. We averted Malthus’s prediction by de-veloping high-yielding rice varieties, massive investments in irrigation, and ready availability of fertiliser (Green Revolution) which significantly increased agricultural productivity. But an in-crease in production is not sufficient to avert a food crisis. Access and distribution of food are important. Hence, in 1996, the Food Summit redefined food security as “when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (FAO).  

Nearly 35% of women of reproductive age are anaemic and 16% of newborns had a low birth weight and about 21% of children below the age of five were underweight. Around 100,000 families are currently suffering from malnutrition, and 75,000 families are presently struggling to survive (Dr. S. Batagoda). According to GMOA, child malnutrition would be imminent in the near future. The most vulnerable in society in terms of malnutrition are the children in the plantation sector. Seven families out of 10 in Sri Lanka are struggling to get adequate meals which can exacerbate acute malnutrition amongst children and pregnant mothers (UNICEF).

The World Food Program (WFP)’s emergency food and nutrition operation aims to assist 3.4 million Sri Lankans most at risk of food insecurity and malnutrition. Inadequate nutrition is symptomatic of a deepening agrarian crisis. Solving malnutrition involves facilitating the rural poor’s access to nutritious diets by maintaining an affordable, sustainable and healthy food supply. Reorganising the agriculture sector in an eco-friendly manner can be a possible alterna-tive to improve nutrition. The growth of the middle class in Sri Lanka (FAO, 2017) added enor-mous pressure to the food system. Supply-side food and agricultural interventions such as culti-vation of home gardens, animal agriculture, and reducing post-harvest losses may alleviate hunger and malnutrition.

Hunger however, is not inevitable because there is an enormous surplus of food produced by corporate agri-businesses. This enormous surplus of food is a reflection of severe global ine-qualities that deeply impact and harm third-world countries worldwide. Holz-Gimenez and Patel states, “…according to the FAO, with record grain harvests in 2007, there was more than enough food in the world to feed everyone – at least 1.5 times current demand”. The world population will reach 9.7 billion by the year 2050 and food production will need to increase by more than 50% of 2012 production which is a huge challenge.   

Food sovereignty

The new concept of food sovereignty emerged in the 1990s. The food sovereignty approach was coined in 1996 by La Via Campesina—a global peasant network, defined food sovereignty as the right of people to define their own food and agriculture systems. Food sovereignty trans-cends the entrenched social, economic and ecological problems and forged strong alliances be-tween agroecology and food security. 

Food sovereignty puts farmers at the centre of our food systems. Local people should have ac-cess to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced in an ecologically sustainable manner. China and Nepal adopted food sovereignty in 2013. It seeks to improve the quality of life of the rural poor by adopting a “bottom-up” approach to solving food security and hunger. Under-standing linkages between food security and water supply, climate change, preserving land and conservation of water are all recognised in the food sovereignty approach which is very rele-vant for Sri Lanka because smallholder agriculture in Sri Lanka requires such a broad approach.

Improvement of home gardens is a food sovereignty strategy, because it goes beyond food se-curity into a farmer-led food sovereignty agenda. Many rural communities still maintain high species diversity promoting sustainability. There are three issues that I wish to highlight with respect to home gardens in the context of the food crisis in Sri Lanka. First, due to commerciali-sation, there is a declining trend in the number of home gardens in Vietnam, Sri Lanka and In-donesia (Hideyuki et. al 2013). I see potential in plantations to allocate small areas to their poorest sector so that their nutrition can be improved and three, research has shown that those who consume home grown food have better nutrition than those who purchase food. These fac-tors must be taken into consideration in integrating traditional knowledge of smallholders to promote appropriate food systems to counter malnutrition.  

UN sustainable development goals 2015 (SDGs)

 Another global development project to end hunger and food insecurity was initiated by the United Nations (UN) referred to as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There were 17 goals which are closely interrelated. Goal 2, is Zero Hunger (SDG 2) which is related to SDG Goal 1-No poverty), Goal 3-Good Health and Wellbeing, support knowledge and R&D (Goal 4) and improve water quality and use efficiency (Goal 5). The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 2) focused on all four dimensions of food security, the linkages among production, access to land, asset ownership, malnutrition, health and water availability as essential for food security. 

One of the fundamental features of the SDGs is the interconnectedness of the goals which al-ways will impact on the progress of others. For instance, the increase of food production to support No Poverty (Goal 1) or Zero Hunger (Goal 2), may have a negative impact from climate change. 

To achieve food security, food sovereignty and improved nutrition, we must improve health, mental and labour capacity, and build a level playing field for poorer communities, support women’s participation in work and society, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, and climate action. Thus SDGs are a good model for Sri Lanka to follow. Farming must be resilient to climate change, soil degradation, and market unpredictability, all of which can exacerbate hunger.   

New threats to food security/food sovereignty  

COVID-19 pandemic 

Food security and food sovereignty met their nemesis in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. COVID-19 affected the agri-food system due to demand shocks and supply disruptions. Economic models predict that 90-150 million people will fall into extreme poverty in the ab-sence of adequate responses to COVID-19 which will increase food insecurity (David Laborde, Rob Vos 2021). COVID-19 increases poverty, food insecurity and affects incomes, livelihoods and health among vulnerable households due to the many restrictions imposed including social isolation and reduced food access. 

Simulations suggest that the global recession caused by COVID-19 will be much deeper than that of the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Since the poorest households spend nearly 70% of their income on food, they are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. Rethinking traditional food ac-cess policies, such as community-centred strategies can dismantle socio-political barriers in a crisis could help food access to the broader community. 

 Food waste and price policies 

 Food waste in Sri Lanka is shocking especially in the context of the current food crisis. We wit-ness everyday newspaper articles highlighting the enormous losses of rice, vegetables due to lack of fuel, poor distribution and highly fluctuating prices. About 16-40% of the total production of vegetables (565,250 metric tons from an area of 110,960 ha) is wasted after harvest (Bamunuarachchi et al., undated; Warushamana, 2011). Sri Lanka needs around 2.4 million metric tons of rice per year and the country expects around 1.6 million metric tons in the Yala season. But just last week, about 30,000 tonnes of rice, imported to meet the shortfall in the market, have been used as animal feed. This shocking waste due to poor packaging, transporta-tion and lack proper storage is unconscionable. 

Under SDG 12, target 12.3, calls for reducing by half per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels, and reducing food losses along production and supply chains (including post-harvest losses) by 2030. SDG target 12.3 has the potential to reduce food loss and waste in public and private sector if the Government adopts innovative forms of food production, distri-bution and storage

According to Barker (2007), during 2006, food production worldwide was enough to supply 2,720 Kcal per person daily. A general average consumption per person daily is close to 2,000 Kcal, which means hunger in the world is not a production issue. Asia and the Pacific, including India, have more than 500 million malnourished people. India is part of this list, even though it is one of the 15 major food export countries in the world. But because of food waste, more than 40 million people die of hunger each year worldwide but they could all be fed with this 36.71% food loss (Barker 2007).

Pricing of agricultural commodities in Sri Lanka had been crazy to say the least. Rice price has always been a divisive and controversial issue and no rational method of rice pricing has ever been developed. We have no rice at controlled prices in several districts (Ada Derana 22 June 2022). Exorbitant prices are due to transport issues (Daily News, June 22, 2022). The Agriculture Ministry has planned to suspend the importation of rice until December of this year, because rice mill owners can buy paddy from farmers at cheaper prices due to importation of rice. Last week they fixed a price of rice of Rs. 120/kg. 

However, as media reports recently said, rice producers’ associations have alleged that the Ministry does not have any formal data with regard to the loss of the paddy harvest in the last Maha season due to the shortage of fertiliser and due to the amount of rice that has been im-ported so far. They argue that Rs. 120/kg is not sufficient to cover and hence this policy is not viable. This has created a noodle ball and we do not know where things begin or end. Sri Lanka is witnessing another comedy with respect to fixing egg prices. Fixing any price is not easy and one must have a deep understanding of the market and how price behaves. Expert opinion is imperative here since only they have the deep knowledge required.  

Climate change and food security 

 According to the World Bank’s Climate Risk Country profile on Sri Lanka in 2020, “temperatures are expected to rise by 2.9°C – 3.5°C by the 2090s, over the 1986-2005 baselines.” The study of long-term effects of climate change on crop production in South Asia from 1991 to 2016 shows that a 1% increase in temperature and CO2 emissions reduces crop production by 1.93% and 0.32%, respectively. Climate change affected crop growth and quality and livestock health. The average total economic losses are 6.5% for Sri Lanka. Precipitation positively affected crop pro-duction in the long-run, and a 1% increase in precipitation increases crop production by 0.52% (Abbas Ali Chandio et al 2021). Sri Lanka is already experiencing unreliable weather patterns that have impacted the economy. Food production in Sri Lanka is being disrupted by flooding more severely than before due to climate change. The most vulnerable groups in terms of food security under climate change will be the poor, women and children, the most marginalised groups in Sri Lanka. 

We must encourage management adaptation to climate change at all stages of food security, from the farm to the consumer. Agricultural practices that help climate change adaptation in agriculture are available. We must bring the required institutional changes, and design dynam-ic policies for long-term climate change adaptation. Formulating enabling policy and better in-stitutions and insurance markets to promote adaptation to climate change are imperative for food security. Farms in rain-fed areas are vulnerable to extreme climate and also has less ca-pacity to adapt to climate change. Adopting varieties of technologies, sustainable land man-agement practices and building on and use of local knowledge/culture can show the way for-ward. 

Sri Lanka’s recent food security initiatives: A critical analysis 

 The Sri Lankan Government initiated food security measures which are highly disconnected and fragmented activities and lacked any coordination. For example, the Sri Lankan Army will culti-vate over 1,500 acre barren State land across the country to avoid a looming food crisis. Even more shocking is the revelation that cabinet approval was given to use 14,000 acres belonging to the Sri Lanka Railways (SLR) for cultivation of alternative crops, vegetables and fruits. 

According to Minister Amaraweera, these lands around the country are mostly abandoned and not used for any cultivation. Therefore, the Government has decided to lease out these lands for seasonal cultivation of alternative crops other than paddy. But where do these 14,000 acres exist, and what food crops can they grow to feed the hungry? Who will get the land? May be the wealthy or those who are politically connected. In a country that is crying for land, how did these railway lands remain hidden for so long? Can the Minister tell us how many acres have been given out and cultivated? I believe none because these are just newspaper headlines to catch attention. Where are the farmers who can use these lands so that they can directly be fed? According to the Advocata Institute, 80-85% of lands in Sri Lanka are owned by the Gov-ernment, 27% of the farmers are landless and 82% of people involved in agriculture have less than two acres. 

Sri Lanka introduced a four-day work week ostensibly to give public employees the opportunity to engage in farming their gardens and lands. But many may not have land, farming skills, criti-cal inputs such as fertiliser and fuel and knowledge on what types of crops can be grown, how to choose seeds, and how much to use, how to water them, and how to prepare the soil. More-over, some employees may not have land and without this knowledge this policy can hardly make a dent on the food security problem. I believe that this policy was introduced to save on fuel. This policy has been now cancelled and it achieved nothing in terms of enhancing food se-curity. 

Recently Rosy Senanayake ploughed the well-manicured lands of the Colombo Municipal Coun-cil to grow vegetables. She was ably supported by the US ambassador who participated in the event. My question is if you have 14,000 acres hidden with the Railway Department unused for so long, why plough the well-manicured lands of the Colombo Municipal Council for vegeta-bles?

To be continued