Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved a $55 million credit line from India’s Exim Bank to buy fertilisers in the crisis-ravaged Indian Ocean country, a cabinet spokesman said on Tuesday.

The country of 22 million is suffering its worst economic crisis in seven years. A shortage of foreign currency causes imports of essential commodities such as fuel, medicines and fertilisers to stall.

Sri Lanka has more than 2 million farmers and up to 70% of its 22 million people depend directly or indirectly on agriculture.

On Tuesday, Sri Lanka’s prime minister told parliament that the cash-strapped Sri Lankan government would need at least $5 billion over the next six months to maintain basic living standards, including about $3.3 billion in fuel imports.

“Building economic stability is not enough; we have to restructure the entire economy,” said Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is trying to propose an interim budget to balance Sri Lanka’s battered public finances.