Minister calls for increased agriculture funding cyprus-mail.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cyprus-mail.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In mid-2022, Sri Lanka’s leaders were driven from office by mass protests after the island nation’s economy collapsed in the wake of the government banning the import of fertiliser. A year on, and two British government advisors are warning that "re-wilding" and the promotion of organic farming are making wealthy countries more dependent on food from abroad and off-shoring habitat damage to Asia, Africa and Latin America. Environmental and agriculture policies in Europe and Japan are "driving up food imports and thereby having an impact on wildlife overseas," according to Ian Bateman of University of Exeter and Andrew Balmford of the University of Cambridge, writing in the journal Nature. According to Bateman and Balmford, when wealthy nations take land "out of agriculture without lowering food demand or raising yields elsewhere," it usually means a greater need for imports. And this in turn leads to environmental damage elsewhere.