Did organic farming cause Sri Lanka’s collapse?
The Inquiry
BBC
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 14 July 2022
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Sri Lanka is now in the worst economic crisis they have seen in decades, schools are closed, fuel is in short supply, there are power cuts and a shortage of food. The President has been forced to resign and the political future of the country is uncertain.
But can the current problems be traced back to a decision to take the country’s food production completely organic?
In 2021 the President of Sri Lanka announced a total ban on chemical fertilizer and pesticides. Health concerns were given as a reason, but in the background was the pandemic, loss of tourism and a lack of natural fertilizer available in the country.
After protests the ban on chemical fertilizer was reversed, but had it already caused too much damage?
This week on The Inquiry we ask, did organic farming cause Sri Lanka’s collapse?
Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Researcher: Christopher Blake Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford
(Anti government protesters invade the president's office in Colombo, Sri Lanka. 9 July 22 Credit: Tharaka Basnayaka /Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | A bomb whose creation would tip the scales of global power. |
| 0:05.0 | A nuclear physicist who sought to redress the balance. |
| 0:10.0 | The bomb, a podcast from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:14.0 | These are two available now. |
| 0:18.0 | Welcome to The Inquiry. |
| 0:20.0 | I'm Charmaine Cozier, each week four expert witnesses, |
| 0:24.0 | one question and an answer. |
| 0:29.0 | July 2022. |
| 0:32.0 | After days of walking and defying troops trying to hold them back with rounds of tear gas, |
| 0:37.0 | thousands of people finally reach their destination. |
| 0:41.0 | It's the official residence of the president of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa. |
| 0:50.0 | The chanting crowd forced their way inside and demand his resignation. |
| 0:56.0 | The president's security team have already moved into a safe location. |
| 1:01.0 | Some protesters jump into his swimming pool. |
| 1:04.0 | Others live stream from the gym and other rooms in the palace of the man they blame. |
| 1:08.0 | For Sri Lanka's worst economic crisis for decades. |
| 1:12.0 | Much of their outrage is linked to the president's ambitious but deeply flawed plan |
| 1:18.0 | to overhaul how crops are grown in the country. |
| 1:22.0 | So this week we're asking, did organic farming cause Sri Lanka's collapse? |
| 1:33.0 | Part 1. Sri Lanka in crisis. |
| 1:39.0 | The economic crisis was long in the making. |
| 1:43.0 | Sri Lanka had been living beyond its means. |
... |
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