Bad policies destroy nations.
In 2021, Sri Lanka banned synthetic fertilizers and pesticides overnight - forcing the country into 100% organic farming.
The result? Economic collapse, food shortages, and mass protests.
Here’s what happened 🧵: 1/12
In 2021, Sri Lanka banned synthetic fertilizers and pesticides overnight - forcing the country into 100% organic farming.
The result? Economic collapse, food shortages, and mass protests.
Here’s what happened 🧵: 1/12
The government banned chemical fertilizers and pesticides to become the first fully organic nation.
They promised:
✅ Healthier food.
✅ Environmental benefits.
✅ Self-sufficient agriculture. 2/12
They promised:
✅ Healthier food.
✅ Environmental benefits.
✅ Self-sufficient agriculture. 2/12
What they got:
❌ Crop failures
❌ Skyrocketing food prices
❌ A full-blown economic crisis
Ideology met reality—and reality won. 3/12
❌ Crop failures
❌ Skyrocketing food prices
❌ A full-blown economic crisis
Ideology met reality—and reality won. 3/12
The immediate consequences:
🌾 Rice production fell by 40%.
🍃 Tea exports—the country’s biggest industry—collapsed.
💰 Farmers went bankrupt. 4/12
🌾 Rice production fell by 40%.
🍃 Tea exports—the country’s biggest industry—collapsed.
💰 Farmers went bankrupt. 4/12
The government had to import rice for the first time in decades, spending hundreds of millions just to avoid famine.
Organic farming wasn’t feeding the country. It was starving it. 5/12
Organic farming wasn’t feeding the country. It was starving it. 5/12
Why did this happen?
🚨 Organic yields are lower—you need more land and labor to produce the same food.
🚨 Pests don’t care about ideology—without pesticides, crops were destroyed.
🚨 Soil health declined—without synthetic fertilizers, nutrient depletion hit hard. 6/12
🚨 Organic yields are lower—you need more land and labor to produce the same food.
🚨 Pests don’t care about ideology—without pesticides, crops were destroyed.
🚨 Soil health declined—without synthetic fertilizers, nutrient depletion hit hard. 6/12
Sri Lanka’s leaders believed the “natural = better” myth.
Their people paid the price. 7/12
Their people paid the price. 7/12
As farming failed, the entire economy crumbled:
💰 Inflation hit 50%+—food became unaffordable.
⛽ Fuel shortages—supply chains broke down.
🔥 Riots and protests—people stormed the presidential palace. 8/12
💰 Inflation hit 50%+—food became unaffordable.
⛽ Fuel shortages—supply chains broke down.
🔥 Riots and protests—people stormed the presidential palace. 8/12
In less than a year, Sri Lanka went from a functioning country to economic disaster—all because of a reckless farming policy. 9/12
The irony?
🚨 The government reversed the ban in 2022—but the damage was done.
🚨 Farmers went back to fertilizers and pesticides, because science works.
🚨 The world ignored the lesson, and activists still push “100% organic” fantasies. 10/12
🚨 The government reversed the ban in 2022—but the damage was done.
🚨 Farmers went back to fertilizers and pesticides, because science works.
🚨 The world ignored the lesson, and activists still push “100% organic” fantasies. 10/12
The takeaway?
1. Science beats ideology. Farming works best with innovation, not wishful thinking.
2. Organic isn’t scalable. It can supplement, but not replace modern agriculture.
3. Bad policies hurt real people. Sri Lanka didn’t just lose crops—they lost stability. 11/12
1. Science beats ideology. Farming works best with innovation, not wishful thinking.
2. Organic isn’t scalable. It can supplement, but not replace modern agriculture.
3. Bad policies hurt real people. Sri Lanka didn’t just lose crops—they lost stability. 11/12
You can’t feed 8 billion people with slogans.
You need science, efficiency, and modern tools.
Which countries should learn from Sri Lanka’s mistake before making the same one? 12/12
You need science, efficiency, and modern tools.
Which countries should learn from Sri Lanka’s mistake before making the same one? 12/12
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