Sri Lanka faces another food shortage as a result of severe drought

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Radi
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Without land to cultivate, S. A. Priyangani, 36, works as a day laborer on nearby farms, earning barely enough to support her extended family of 9 in the village of Hambegmuwa, Sabaragamuwa. Priyangani, and her husband, support one adult brother with intellectual disability and three elderly parents. Even in the best of times this impoverished rural family struggled to survive, but since the economic crisis, life has become nearly unbearable and even the most basic of food needs are hard to meet. With grandfather Gunapala, 89, grandmother Fiona, age unknown, mentally disabled adult brother Samantha, age unknown, and Kinuri Gimsara, 2, the family poses for a photo in front of their tiny home. Sri Lankans are struggling to meet their food and nutrition needs in the face shortages and higher prices for food and fuel. The economy is on the verge of collapsing due to local currency depreciation, a lack of foreign reserves and failure to meet its international debt obligations. An estimated 4.9 million people – 22 percent of the population – are food insecure. The Government’s efforts to maintain critical assistance programmes are seriously constrained. Women and children from poor rural and urban households who have been relying on national social safety net programmes are now left without help.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW):Sri Lanka is set to face another food shortage as a result of ongoing severe drought in rice production areas in the Maha agricultural season falls during “North-east monsoon” from September to March in the following year.

According to Agriculture Ministry sources, paddy farming and electricity supply will be disrupted due to non-availably of sufficient water in Samanala wewa and Udawalawe reservoirs causing loss of Rs 17 billion in the next week alone.

Around 25,000 hectares are under paddy cultivation and its need irrigation facilities from Udawalawe reservoir which is dried up at present. Samalawewa reservoir should release water to tackle the issue.

The southern province will have to face at least two to three hour power cuts if the water is released from Samanala wewa to Udawalawe reservoir, officials said.

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Agriculture, Mahinda Amaraweera, issued a warning about the potential for a food shortage if the upcoming Maha agricultural season fails to yield expected results. The Minister voiced this concern during a public event held in Agunukolapelessa.

A key factor contributing to the potential failure of the Maha season is the prevailing drought conditions in the country. This could significantly impact the productivity of the agricultural sector and in turn, the availability of food crops in the local market.

Sri Lanka is expecting a paddy (rough rice) harvest of 2.69 million metric tonnes in ongoing main (Maha) 2023 cultivation season as the country recovers from the worst currency crisis in the history of the island’s soft-pegged central bank.

Nut under the present drought conditions it will come down by 30-40 percent to 1.9 million to 1.8 million metric tonnes compelling the government to import rice. However Sri Lanka will not be able to import rice from India as it Is also under the threat of the drought.

Up to December 756,538 hectares of paddy had been sown or 89 percent of the targeted 852,894 hectares for the season, the island’s agricultural office said.

Sri Lanka’s agriculture sector is recovering from a fertilizer ban and well as forex shortages from money printed to suppress interest rates which disrupted agro chemicals to the sector.

Sri Lanka has bought fertilizer with the help of World Bank and Asian Development Bank support.

Cultivation extents of 750,000, in past years have brought paddy harvests of around 3.0 million metric tonnes in the past when fertilizer was freely available.

Understanding the severity of the situation, Minister Amaraweera called upon the people of Sri Lanka to make an effort to counteract the potential food shortage.

He urged citizens to grow food crops in all available spaces suitable for plantation. Such proactive measures can potentially alleviate some of the impacts of a failed Maha season.

The Maha season is crucial for the agricultural economy of Sri Lanka. A successful season ensures food security and contributes to the country’s economic stability. A failure, however, could lead to a significant food shortage and possibly trigger an economic crisis.

Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera said there is a risk of food shortage arising if the upcoming Maha season is not a success. He added that there was no rice reserve at present.

The minister requested the people to take measures to understand the situation and grow any food crop in every place that can be used for plantations.