inorganic pesticides or fertilizers, creating chaos among farmers. While such a change was made over concerns for the nation’s ecosystems and the health of citizens where pesticide poisonings prevailed over other health related deaths, the precipitous decision was met with criticism from the agriculture industry. This included fears that the mandate would harm the yields of the country's major crops (despite claims to the contrary), that the country would not be able to produce enough organic fertilizer domestically, and organic farming being more expensive and complex than conventional agriculture. To put this into perspective, 7.4% of Sri Lanka’s GDP is reliant on agriculture and 30% of citizens work in this sector. This means that about ⅓ of its population is dependent on this sector for jobs, making its maintenance highly crucial for the prosperity of the nation’s social and economic status. Of special concern was rice and tea, which are a staple food and major export respectively. Despite it being a record crop in the first half of 2021, the tea crop began to decline in July of that year. Rice production fell by 20% over the first six months of the ban, and prices increased by around 50%. Contrary to its past success at self-sustainability, the country had to import US$450 million worth of rice to meet domestic demand. In late August, the government acknowledged the ban had created a critical dependency on supplies of imported organic fertilizers, but by then food prices had already increased twofold in some cases. In September 2021, the government declared an economic emergency, citing the ban's impact on food prices, as well as inflation from the devaluation of Sri Lankan currency due to the crashing tea industry, and a lack of tourism induced by COVID-19 restrictions. In November 2021, the country partially lifted the ban on inorganic farming for certain key crops such as rubber and tea, and began to offer compensation and subsidies to farmers and rice producers in an attempt to cover losses. The previous subsidies on synthetic fertilizer imports were not reintroduced. See also Biointensive Biological pest control Certified Naturally Grown Holistic management (agriculture) List of countries by organic farmland List of organic food topics List of organic gardening and farming topics List of pest-repelling plants Natural Farming Organic farming by continent Organic lawn management Organic movement Organic food culture Permaculture References Further reading Avery, A. The Truth About Organic