Sri Lanka is giving government officials an extra day off a week to encourage them to grow food, amid fears of a food shortage,
BBC reports.
The country has around one million public sector employees.
It comes as the island nation, home to around 22 million, faces its worst economic crisis in more than 70 years.
Sri Lanka is struggling to pay for critical imports such as food, fuel and medicine as it faces a severe shortage of foreign currencies.
Late on Monday, the government approved a proposal for public sector workers to be given leave every Friday for the next three months.
It said the decision was partly to help workers who are facing difficulties getting to work due to fuel shortages as well as to encourage them to grow fruit and vegetables to help feed themselves and their families.
"It seems appropriate to grant government officials leave for one working day of the week and provide them with the necessary facilities to engage in agricultural activities in their backyards or elsewhere as a solution to the food shortage that is expected to occur in the future," the government said in a statement on its online news portal.
Also on Monday, the United States said that it was ready to help Sri Lanka.
After a phone call with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the US "stands ready to work with Sri Lanka".
