Sri Lanka is largely self-sufficient in terms of its national food requirements through domestic production. However, if Sri Lanka is serious about ensuring the food security of the Nation in the coming decades, the State and the public need to address vulnerabilities of the domestic agricultural ecosystem and our consumption patterns. According to UN agencies and Government data, Sri Lanka produces between 75-80% of its national food requirements, while being near self-sufficient in rice production. Domestic food production is something within the Governments' control, however, when imports, trade and supply chains are disrupted by geopolitical crises, creating dangerous vulnerabilities sometimes small states like Sri Lanka can do little about it. Let’s not forget that there is already food insecurity amongst vulnerable communities in Sri Lanka, especially the urban poor, due to high inflation.

Sri Lanka needs to address domestic food security resilience and work towards creating multilateral networks to ensure external disruptions have a lesser impact on the food needs of the island. One key area the State and the polity need to have a scientific approach to resolve is the global crisis of climate change and its related impact on Sri Lanka’s production capacity. Linked to this is the complication that the cultivation of rice is becoming less profitable for producers. The vulnerability of agricultural ecosystems to climate change and natural disasters is increasing the risks of failed harvests and household food insecurity. In order to adapt to climate change and sustainably use natural resources in Sri Lanka, it is crucial to identify best practices and policies in paddy rice cultivation that will enable the country to maintain sustainable production levels. Sri Lanka’s domestic food production is highly vulnerable to climate change and resulting adverse weather incidents. Take the impact from Cyclone Ditwah, which, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) caused widespread devastation to agriculture, fisheries, and rural livelihoods. Ditwah struck when farmers were planting for the 2026 Maha season crop, which accounts for the bulk of the country’s annual agricultural production. The FAO estimates that the impact has affected at least 20 per cent of the total sowings of the Maha season.

The dynamic nature of global order (or dis-order) and growing frequency of conflicts have created wider global shocks in the food, fertiliser, and energy markets. The recent COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted global supply chains and created domestic food and fertiliser shortages in Sri Lanka and other nations. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has deeply impacted chemical fertiliser production and supply to the world. Sri Lanka, which once had domestic capacity (not enough to meet national requirements) to produce a range of chemical fertilisers, is yet to revive the capacity, or establish reliable alternative sources of supply to plug the gap, leading to increased cost of farming. Sri Lanka should move quickly to use trade links, regional networks, and free trade agreements to ensure sustainable food supply options through bilateral and multilateral engagements, like those which Singapore (another Small Coastal State) has crafted to ensure their food security.

Given the probability of more conflicts occurring in the next few years and the high risk of supply chain disruptions, small nations worldwide are preparing to weather the uncertain period. In Finland, a Small Coastal State, its governance structure is well known for promoting a whole-of-society approach to security: farming is regarded as the backbone of its food system and critical for national security. The Finnish National Emergency Supply Agency manages a strategic grain reserve system to sustain the population for over eight months in a crisis, and its efficient agriculture sector delivers a self-sufficiency rate of 80%. Finland’s governance style allows for public-private partnerships to enable joint contingency plans, with routine exercises carried out to test the systems and ensure delivery. Finland has made disaster preparedness and resilience a natural way of life and doing business, which is not limited to policy documents and white papers.

Meanwhile, we should consider adjusting our food consumption patterns to ensure that our citizenry is well nourished, in good health, and resilient. Sri Lanka should not wait for the next crisis that cripple us, to act. We should address such issues now. Doing so is part of good governance.