BBC still in denial about Sri Lanka's fertilizer ban – upset about it?

not many people know

Paul Homewood

One of our readers sent me a letter from the BBC a few weeks ago:

The following is a letter I wrote to Tony Grant, editor of Channel 4's From Our Own Correspondent, in early October:

Dear Mr. Grant,

I listened in disbelief to your article that was broadcast in Sri Lanka on the 28th^th Your correspondent Samira Hussain reported in September that the economic crisis that devastated the country a few years ago was caused by corruption in the then “right-wing” government. While I would venture to say that there was (and still is) a fair amount of corruption in its management, the cause of this disaster (which was a disaster for tens of thousands of farmers) was not. Catastrophic crop failures ensued as the government banned fertilizer imports in response to demands from the global climate change lobby.

I don't believe you and your colleagues know anything about this and the pain and hunger it causes. Rather, such a cause runs counter to the climate change agenda of the supposedly truth-seeking national broadcaster. In fact, I remember how shamelessly it avoided mentioning the banned fertilizers during the disaster, so maybe this lie of omission is what you all believed.

Sadly, corporations have become the unquestioned propagandists of this controversial creed. It is extraordinary to provide such dishonest news.

To my surprise, the usually combative Grant (with whom I had corresponded before) did not reply, but forwarded my letter to the BBC Complaints Department, who in turn responded with a typically confusing (misspelled my name):

Reference number CAS-7944404-Z4T1X8

Dear Steven,Thank you for reaching out and sharing your thoughts with us about the September 28 episode of From Our Own Correspondent.We note your concerns about Samira Hussein's reporting due to concerns about factual inaccuracies.The main focus of this report is to provide an overview of Sri Lanka's current political landscape, including the election of new President Anura Kumar Dissanayake and the context of the country's current economic challenges. In it, Samira cited the corruption and financial mismanagement of the previous government, especially that of Rajapaksa, which exacerbated the economic crisis.That said, we do understand your point about the impact of government bans on fertilizers. While the report did not explore this specific aspect, we highlighted it in our broader coverage:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-62149554https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-58485674https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-61028138

Here are my thoughts!

The BBC clearly wanted him to believe that the three links were recent. They are not. The first is Marco Silva’s disinformation from two years ago, claiming that the fertilizer issue was just a minor issue:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-62149554

The second is another article verified by the BBC, which again denies that chemical fertilizers are the main cause of the food problem.

The third's only mention of fertilizers is a complete lie, imports are banned due to foreign currency shortages:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-61028138

We need to remember how the BBC reported on the Sri Lankan crisis at the time:

Tea leaves from the lush green tea estates that cover the hills of central Sri Lanka are eventually turned into teacups that are sold around the world.

Tea is the island's largest export, typically earning more than $1 billion in foreign exchange annually, but the industry is being hit hard by an unprecedented economic crisis.

Most of Sri Lanka's tea is grown by small farmers such as Rohan Tilak Gurusinghe, who owns two acres of land near the village of Kadugunnawa.

But he remains alarmed by the impact of the government's sudden and ill-conceived decision to ban fertilizer last year.

“I'm losing money,” he told the BBC in frustration. “I can’t even imagine the future of my business without fertilizer or fuel.”

The ban is intended to protect the country's dwindling foreign exchange reserves, It was one of a series of disastrous policy decisions implemented by now-deposed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa that led to a sharp decline in agricultural production.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-62221355

Even then, they tried to blame the ban on “dwindling foreign exchange reserves.” In fact, it was the sharp decline in tea exports that led to the reduction in reserves.

The simple fact is there for the BBC and everyone else to see because it was announced by the President of Sri Lanka at the COP26 conference in Glasgow in October 1921, just a few months after the ban was introduced.

Nitrogen is an abundant element that is essential for the survival of all living things.

However, reactive nitrogen produced and released into ecosystems by human activities exacerbates climate change.

Overuse of nitrogen, especially in fertilizers, can have adverse effects on soil, water, air and human health.

Chronic kidney disease has been a serious problem in Sri Lanka's agricultural heartland for decades.

Excessive use of chemical fertilizers is an important cause of this problem.

It is against this background that our government has taken firm measures to reduce the import of chemical fertilizers and vigorously encourage organic agriculture.