The F-Word Comes to Sri Lanka What F-word is that? Famine. As I reported previously, in May of 2021, the Sri Lankan government, at the urging of western governments and environmental groups, banned the use of chemical fertilizers and insecticides. For years, the country had been a net exporter of rice and tea due solely to its use of those very products. The abrupt ban canceled all that, reducing the country’s access to foreign currency and crushing its ability to produce enough for its people to eat. That double whammy of too little home-grown food and not enough money to purchase it abroad has, for the last year, had a devastating effect on the lives of everyday Sri Lankans, so much so that they stormed the presidential residence last month and sent him packing.
Two Short Takes
Two Short Takes
Two Short Takes
The F-Word Comes to Sri Lanka What F-word is that? Famine. As I reported previously, in May of 2021, the Sri Lankan government, at the urging of western governments and environmental groups, banned the use of chemical fertilizers and insecticides. For years, the country had been a net exporter of rice and tea due solely to its use of those very products. The abrupt ban canceled all that, reducing the country’s access to foreign currency and crushing its ability to produce enough for its people to eat. That double whammy of too little home-grown food and not enough money to purchase it abroad has, for the last year, had a devastating effect on the lives of everyday Sri Lankans, so much so that they stormed the presidential residence last month and sent him packing.