RIGHT Responses to Food Insecurity in Sri Lanka and the Way Forward - Sirisena Amarasekara

Sri Lanka is facing multiple crises. Among them, the one hitting its population where it hurts the most is food insecurity. As per UN World Food Program’s (WFP) report in July 2022, two in five Sri Lankan households are not consuming adequate diets. Since mid-2020, food prices worldwide have been consistently rising. The pandemic, and subsequently, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have exacerbated food inflation and increased the cost of importing food. Similarly, increased crude oil prices as well as the disruption in fertilizer supplies have raised fertilizer prices. Sri Lanka’s dwindling foreign currency reserves in the aftermath of reduced tourist inflows due to the pandemic, further compounded by tax cuts has led to a precarious fiscal position. In this backdrop, importing food and fertilizer is a challenge for Sri Lanka.