by W.D.S. Madhavi
Published on Ceylon Today on 23rd August 2023.
The food crisis has become an increasingly pressing problem in not just Sri Lanka, but also in the majority of developing countries in the world. Due to the heightened severity of this issue caused by economic instability as a result of pandemic effects, the disclosure related to food insecurity has garnered particular focus following the Covid-19 scenario. According to the United Nations (UN), sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America are the three regions with the highest rates of food insecurity in the globe.
In considering the global trends towards food insecurity, the UN has ranked the African region has been designated as a hunger hotspot in the globe. When it comes to South Asia, 330 million people in the region are experiencing food insecurity. World Food Programme (WPF) – 2022, points out that more than 30% of Sri Lanka’s population is deprived of food and requires humanitarian assistance for food. Therefore, it is clear that the food crisis is an acute issue in the majority of developing countries, including Sri Lanka. (https://www.wfp.org/countries/sri-lanka)
Food Insecurity in the Case of Sri Lanka
Although history has positioned Sri Lanka as a ‘Granary of the East’, the country now encounters food insecurity as a result of the failure to implement a viable strategy. This issue of food insecurity in Sri Lanka has posed national security threats in a variety of ways, challenging the health, economic, and political aspects of the country. However, not only the existing economic crises, but also different historical reasons caused the path for the platform of transparency on food insecurity gradually. Department of Census and Statistics highlighted that food expenditure decreased from 53.6% in January to 49% in February 2022 and food inflation was 30.6% by April 2023 in Sri Lanka. As per WFP (2023), 17% of the population is in moderate acute food insecurity in Sri Lanka, especially in Northern, Eastern, and Central Provinces indicating an improvement compared to 2022 as well as 36% of households in Sri Lanka are food insecure, while 76% have resorted to food-based coping strategies, while 8 out of 10 households constantly utilise food-based coping strategies. The 10 households are either pawning items or formally borrowing money to be able to afford food as well as food prices also remain a primary concern for 9 out of 10 households according to WFP. When it comes to middle-class households, 80% of their earnings are spent on food, and consumption of sufficient diets has the highest prevalence of acute food insecurity; which was reported in tea plantation communities in the estate sector and among daily wage employees. However, it is obvious that economic insecurity has contributed to the food crisis in Sri Lanka as well as individual economic situation, on the other hand, has an impact on food insecurity at the domestic level.
According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), (2022) over 5.7 million people, including 2.3 million children, require humanitarian assistance in Sri Lanka as well as World Bank statistics (2023) have depicted that Sri Lanka ranked the second worst affected country in South Asian region for malnutrition. As per the Family Health Bureau in Sri Lanka, all forms of malnutrition rates increased in 2022 after a steady drop since 2016. Therefore, it is obvious how food insecurity has adversely affected the health security and also the quality of life of Sri Lankans. UNICEF (2022) stated that this situation has had a terrible impact on female-headed families and estate communities as well whereas people who are in urban and rural areas experience lower levels of acute health security.
According to WPF “Food security exists when all people, at all times have physical and access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance (FANTA) has mentioned there are three main dimensions of food security. They are; Food availability: The availability of sufficient quantities of food of appropriate quality, supplies through domestic production or imports (including food aid), Food access: Access by individuals to adequate resources (entitlements) for acquiring appropriate foods for a nutritious diet as well as Utilisation: Utilisation of food through adequate diet, clean water, sanitation and health care to reach a state of nutritional well-being where all physiological needs are met. The extent to which these pillars have been engulfed in the Sri Lankan context as a result of food insecurity, however, has been demonstrated nationally and internationally. Thus, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) highlights that access to and availability of food are the key contributors to Sri Lanka’s current state of food insecurity.
The Government of Sri Lanka and other stakeholders have already put several programmes into action to prevent this disaster. International organisations have launched humanitarian projects aimed at the nation’s most vulnerable groups as a crisis reaction. In Colombo’s impoverished neighbourhoods, the WFP has already started distributing food vouchers to pregnant women. In addition, FAO and WFP have just completed a Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) and are actively monitoring the state of Sri Lanka’s food security.
Additionally, the government anticipates putting into action the country’s strategic plan for 2023–2027, which aims to enhance nutrition and food security by strengthening domestic capacity and reducing vulnerability through a programming strategy that layers and sequentially implements nutrition-sensitive resilience. Further, it has adopted a number of programmes to address food insecurity, such as Ekwa wawamu rata dinwamu, api wawamu rata nagamu as well as taken steps to improve agriculture among those who live in urban areas by promoting the concept of urban agriculture. The Ministry of Health too, has implemented a Nutrition Plan for 2022 – 2024. Under this Project, vulnerable groups such as low-income pregnant mothers, lactating mothers, women-headed families, children under five years and adults suffering from malnutrition are identified and the food security of these groups is addressed and ensured. And also, WFO implements many valuable food programmes such as unconditional food assistance through means of cash or kind; school meals and nutrition support programmes for children under 5 years and pregnant women. However, Sri Lanka is still saddled with food insecurity regardless of the number of efforts made by both government and non-government stakeholders.
Loopholes of Food System in Sri Lanka
The food system is the way in which food is produced, processed, transported, sold, and consumed both farmers and customers have to encounter difficulties such as there being no proper market price for their food in Sri Lanka. There is a huge demand, but inadequate supply in Sri Lanka’s increasing food insecurity. There is a circumstance where intermediaries exploit this weakness as a result due to this reason, food consumers cannot get food at a reasonable price, while intermediaries have gained a lot of advantages in this system, while farmers and consumers suffer the worst.
Conversely, farming in Sri Lanka has also been discouraged due to the poor way of life brought about by it. As a result, the younger generation has stayed away from agricultural practices crippling the future of the agricultural sector in Sri Lanka. No one needs to become a farmer, but they always need to have blue-collar jobs due to the competitive educational system and seeking a luxurious lifestyle. The tragic situation is that a new trend has emerged in Sri Lanka whereby even people with less education are resorting to particular vocations such as tricycle diver jobs instead of farming. On the other hand, although Sri Lankan universities offer some degree related to farming and agriculture, these graduates have stayed away from the field due to the country’s significant underemployment rates related to the field and lack of opportunities to use their knowledge in practice to enhance the agricultural sector in Sri Lanka.
Way forward
In order to minimise food insecurity in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan Government should join forces with ‘Zero Hunger’, one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SGD) by 2030, the Zero Hunger Programme envisages eradication of hunger and assurance that everyone has access to enough wholesome food. Ending all forms of malnutrition and fostering sustainable agriculture are further components of this SGD. Sri Lanka ought to endeavour to achieve this objective.
Further, the responsible parties should take action against the intermediaries who take unfair advantage of this system. Further policies should be formulated to encourage farmers by extending optimum assistance including fixing fair and reasonable pricing on their crops. Such a policy should also cover benefits to consumers as well. The government should take decisive action in this regard since it has already taken unsatisfactory measures to maintain affordable prices for consumers, especially on almost all essential commodities and utilities. Even while there is a common belief in our society that a farmer is ‘suitable for the throne if the mud is removed’, this belief hardly comes into play for any action plan. So, it is vital at this stage of food insecurity to take the necessary steps to encourage and develop farming as a privileged profession. The Agricultural sector could be certainly developed with the involvement of our energetic youth who with guidance and necessary training have potential to raise farming to a level of innovation. Countries like Thailand use innovative strategies and Sri Lanka can learn lessons from them. Failing which, Sri Lanka’s Agriculture sector would be bleak. The other factor is employing and/or obtaining the services of Professionals who are knowledgeable in the field of Agriculture and make use of their knowledge and skills for educating and guiding the farming community in the right direction including in techniques and strategies that need to be adopted for preventing post-harvest losses.
Food is a must for human survival and if no constructive action is taken to counter food insecurity the country may face a situation of famine in the near future. Our fervent wish is to see Sri Lanka retransform itself as the ‘Granary of the East’ to ensure food security and thereby national security.
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* Ms. W.D.S. Madhavi is an Intern (Research) at the Institute of National Security Studies (INSS), the premier think tank on National Security established and functioning under the Ministry of Defence. The opinion expressed is her own and not necessarily reflective of the institute or the Ministry of Defence.