In April 2021, the Sri Lankan government banned imports of all chemical fertilizers. They were the first country to do this. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa explained in a speech:

If we are to preserve the health of our planet and ensure human sustainability, governments all over the world must not hesitate to adopt bold policies

The import ban turned out to be a bit too bold. Amidst plunging farm yields and soaring food inflation, the ban did not last the year. I covered Sri Lanka’s economic crisis in a prior video three years ago, but did not mention the fertilizer ban. So let me do it this time. In today’s video, the disastrous Sri Lankan fertilizer import ban.