Sri Lanka has granted a four-day work week for public sector employees to grow food in their backyards to avert a potential food shortage as the government faces its most significant financial crisis in decades.

The island nation, which employs over one million people in its public sector, is struggling to pay for fuel, food, and medicine imports due to a chronic foreign exchange shortfall.

Many of the country's 22 million residents must wait hours at gas stations and have had prolonged power outages for months.

On Monday evening, Sri Lanka's cabinet accepted a proposal to give public sector employees every Friday off for the next three months, partly because of the gasoline crisis, which made traveling difficult and encouraged them to farm.

As a remedy to the anticipated food scarcity, it appears fair to allow government officials one day off to engage in agricultural activities in their backyards or elsewhere, according to a government information office statement.

The extra day off would be a "solution to the anticipated food shortage in the future," according to the statement, which also noted that reducing commuting times for government employees would help reduce fuel usage.

The United Nations warned last week of a "dire humanitarian crisis." They stated that four out of five people in the 22 million-person nation were forced to go without food, as it intended to send $47 million to assist more than a million vulnerable individuals.

According to the cabinet resolution, public employees will have every Friday off for the next three months without a wage decrease. However, this will not apply to employees of critical services.

The administration also stated that any public sector employee who desired to seek employment overseas would be granted up to five years of unpaid leave without compromising their seniority or pensions.

The measure is intended to encourage more individuals to work abroad and return money to the island, which is suffering from a severe lack of foreign currency to purchase goods.

In April, food inflation reached 57 percent due to currency depreciation, increased global commodity prices, and the reversal of a restriction on chemical fertilizer.

The government is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund for a rescue package, and a delegation is scheduled to arrive in Colombo on June 20.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated after a late-Monday phone discussion with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that the United States is also prepared to assist.

Blinken tweeted, "During these economically and politically difficult times, the United States stands ready to work with Sri Lanka in close coordination with the International Monetary Fund and the international community."

This month, Wickremesinghe stated that Sri Lanka required at least $5 billion to cover vital imports for the remainder of the year.

The public has sought President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's resignation due to his mismanagement of the country's economy and the grave sufferings affecting its people.