Sri Lanka: Food Security and Livelihood Recovery Emergency Assistance Project

Agriculture, natural resources and rural development / Agricultural policy, institutional and capacity development

Public sector management / Social protection initiatives

Food price inflation reached 58.0% year-on-year in May 2022 and soared to 75.8% in June 2022. During the month of June 2022 alone, significant increases have been recorded in food prices (7.25%). The food insecurity emergency has been caused by the convergence of multiple factors. A sharp rise in food and fuel prices globally beginning in March 2022 (caused by the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine) has aggravated rising prices of imported basic food items and locally produced food commodities in Sri Lanka that began in 2021 and has increased the cost of living and reduced access to nutritious food, especially for the poor and vulnerable. The spike in food and fuel prices has coincided with ongoing struggles to recover from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which left a significant portion of the population with reduced incomes and savings due to employment losses and disruptions. Fuel shortages and daily power cuts since March 2022 have been triggering further disruptions in daily lives, livelihoods, and domestic supply chains, particularly related to agricultural products, contributing additionally to income losses, food price hikes, and food shortages. As a result, about 38% of households or 6.3 million people (3.3 million women and girls) are facing moderate or severe food insecurity, with 65,600 people considered as severely food insecure.

Household expenditure on food has jumped sharply to around 75.0%, compared to 35.1% in 2019. Households have coped with rising food prices and income losses by reducing their food consumption and/or purchasing cheaper but less nutritious food. About 95.0% of households are eating less preferred or less expensive food, 83.0% limiting the portion size of meals, and 66.0% reducing the number of meals per day. The prolonged increase in food prices, which started to rise in 2021 and are expected to increase further in 2022-2023, is aggravating malnutrition among vulnerable households, with detrimental impacts on health, especially of children. Even before the pandemic, low-nutrition diets among children were prevalent, resulting in high child undernutrition rates, with significant prevalence among children under five years of age of stunting (17.3%), wasting (15.0%), and underweight (20.5%).__

Since the start of the pandemic, household economies have come under severe strain and their emotional, psychological, and social well-being has diminished. Consequently, gender-based and domestic violence and high-risk child protection incidents (e.g., sexual assault, physical abuse, and child negligence) have increased significantly, with growing numbers of women and children requiring protection and services. Many cases of domestic violence and child protection remain unreported, due to lack of effective outreach and support mechanisms._

A worsening agricultural crisis also contributes to the livelihood, food, and nutrition insecurity. The crisis is affecting 2.2 million people who engage with agriculture (27.1% of the employed population)._Until the 2020-2021 cultivation season, chemical fertilizers were heavily subsidized in Sri Lanka, leading to excessive application of fertilizers, soil degradation, and groundwater pollution. The government banned imports of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in May 2021 without adequate preparation and farmer training, resulting in rice and maize production losses of 50%-60% in 2021-2022. Although the ban was lifted in November 2021, shortages and high prices of fuel, fertilizers, and other agricultural inputs have negatively impacted crop yields in 2022 and increased import requirements, especially of rice (Sri Lanka was previously self-sufficient in rice). Exorbitant costs of agricultural inputs and lower yields have forced farmers to move out of the sector in search of employment and other livelihood opportunities. Lack of timely supply of fertilizers and other agricultural inputs would result in lower crop yields in 2023, further exacerbating food insecurity.

Adverse effects of food insecurity mitigated (Prime Minister's statement on the roadmap to revive the economy)

Food security and livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable, especially women and children, improved

Scaled-up and broadened direct financial support for the poor and vulnerable provided

Livelihood development activities of the poor and vulnerable better supported

Social protection systems enhanced