14 December 2023 10:00 am Views - 262
By Kelum Bandara
A severe drought is predicted between February and the middle of next year posing a threat to the country’s food security, especially at a time when people endure hardships due to the economic crisis, experts warn.
This transpired at a top level scientific session organized by the Association of SAARCSFOOD in Sri Lanka on climate change and its impact on food security in Sri Lanka.
Assistant Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Nalin Munasinghe, in his presentation, said shifts in climate can lead to altered growing seasons, changes in the prevalence of pests and diseases and increased risk of crop failures.
Sri Lanka is already a country vulnerable to climate changes with frequent extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and storms that could damage crops and disrupt supply chains. He empathized the need for policy and adaptation measures to deal with them and ensure food security in the end.
Clinical Nutrition Specialist Dr.Renuka Jayatissa, in her presentation, said though Sri Lanka had achieved good health with very low cost in healthcare, which resulted in longer life expectancy, such successes were hand in hand with a shameful failure.
She said almost one third of households are food insecure in Sri Lanka and addressing this failure would be made much harder by the economic crisis and climate change.
“Sri Lanka is currently undergoing an economic crisis and people are facing immense hardships in obtaining a healthy diet. We estimate that 70 per cent of people are having hardships to reach a healthy diet. Additionally rising temperatures and more frequent severe weather will also have a disastrous impact on the availability and productivity of agricultural land. Indeed, we experience it today,” she said.
She said, “During the current economic crisis, the micronutrient gap is getting wider due to high prices of foods. As you may already be aware, approximately half of the Sri Lankan population has some form of micronutrient deficiencies. Studies show that many plants grown under conditions of higher CO2 levels suffer a decrease in micronutrients including B vitamins, zinc, and iron. Micronutrient deficiencies lead to potential impacts on human health and nutrition which are life threatening. Food fortification can help to fill the micronutrient gap. Millions of people will be more vulnerable to micronutrient deficiencies due to diet with less diversity,” Country Director – World Food Porgamme (WFP) Abdul Rahim Siddique who attended the event as the chief guest said there are more extreme weather events such as storms and floods in Sri Lanka.
“If we don’t assist communities in adjusting to these changes, there is a higher chance that there will be more problems with not having enough food and an increase in malnutrition,” he said.
He said a significant portion of land is in the dry and intermediate zones in Sri Lanka.