ADVERSE WEATHER, POOR PLANNING AND THE PLIGHT OF AGRICULTURE - EDITORIAL

Sri Lanka is going through a prolonged period of dry weather this year. However, this is not the first time such variations in the climate have adversely affected this country. We underwent similar dry spells during the Presidencies of Ms Chandrika Kumaratunga and Mahinda Rajapaksa. The failure of the monsoon causes prolonged periods of dry weather leading to power cuts and crop failures.

But there was little anyone could do to stop the damage to agricultural production and loss of livelihood to farmers. Today once again, it appears agricultural production and the farming community are going to be adversely hit.

On July 20 this year India announced it would stop exporting non-basmati white rice with immediate effect. The move was designed to help lower rice prices and secure the availability of rice in India, according to the Indian Government’s statement.

In contrast, two weeks ago our Department of Agriculture announced that Sri Lanka would not need to import rice, green gram, black gram, kurakkan (Finger millet), cowpea, and groundnut in 2023. The country, according to the agriculture department would reach self-sufficiency in rice due to the reintroduction of chemical fertiliser.

However, weeks later, the Minister of Agriculture warned there was a risk of a food shortage in the country if the current dry weather conditions were to continue. He said cultivated paddy lands in several districts had been destroyed due to the dry weather. According to the Minister, over 50,000 acres of paddy lands under the Udawalawe reservoir are at risk of being destroyed due to lack of water and tanks in Anuradhapura are running dry.

Are our agricultural authorities and the minister-in-charge of these departments so out of touch with ground realities? Did they not notice that tanks were not filled before the planting season commenced?

The water in the tanks in Anuradhapura and the Udawalawe did not disappear all of a sudden. How come agricultural authorities did not see the water shortage coming? Did they not give heed to reports of falling water levels in the reservoirs (tanks)? In an earlier era, water for irrigation was distributed on a planned basis depending on availability. Plans should have been in place regarding the extent of land to be cultivated given the quantity of water available in the tanks. What is worse is the fact that prolonged dry weather should have been expected. The El Nino and climate change conditions are affecting multiple continents including Asia, which are sweltering under a global heat wave.

In Japan, the heat is hovering near the nation’s previous record of 41.1 C, according to the country’s meteorological department. Wildfires have broken out in Spain and Portugal and temperatures are hovering at around 40 degrees in southern Europe.As mentioned earlier, in India authorities planned to meet the anticipated shortfall in rice production by banning the export of the commodity, to ensure sufficient quantities to meet local needs and to stabilise local prices.

Sadly in our country such foresightedness is missing. However, perhaps we can use the present situation to ensure that during the next monsoon, we will be able to store more water by dredging and deepening our tanks and reservoirs.

In order to minimise the effect of losses to farmers this season, the government will provide the community with some form of aid. Rather than providing handouts, perhaps these funds could be used to organise farming communities to dredge tanks and clear irrigation channels, through shramadana activities.

The JVP which was in government during Ms. Chandrika’s Presidency, organised such programmes.

Agriculture authorities need to draw up plans to implement similar schemes now. This will help farming communities plan out their agricultural activities in advance, while at the same time increasing the water retention capacities of tanks.

Agricultural authorities should also work in close collaboration with the Meteorological Department to help plan out agricultural production in keeping with anticipated weather patterns and management of water resources.

We cannot go on blaming the vagaries of the ‘Weather Gods’ when modern technology can predict weather patterns and the availability of water.