175,000 hectares of croplands destroyed, will there be a food security crisis?

 

•  Land used for cultivating vegetables has also been destroyed with Nuwara Eliya recording the highest vegetable crop loss at approximately 1,046 hectares, followed closely by Badulla with 930 hectares
•  Other significantly affected districts include Anuradhapura (671 hectares), Kurunegala (508 hectares), Trincomalee (498 hectares), Batticaloa (454 hectares), and Puttalam (430 hectares), totaling 7,000 to 8,000 hectares of vegetable cultivation
•  Crops such as pulses, maize, chillies, and similar crops have also been damaged where Anuradhapura records the highest affected area in this category at approximately 3,478 hectares, followed by Vavuniya with 2,747 hectares
•  Data extracted from satellites indicates that districts such as Mannar, Mullaitivu, Batticaloa, and Trincomalee experienced the highest levels of inundation, with flood extent ranging between 13 and 16 percent
•  With crops destroyed and equipment damaged, these farming families now face crushing debt without means of repayment

Of the country’s approximately 2.3 million hectares of agricultural land, 175,000 hectares or 7.6 percent of land has been damaged in Sri Lanka due to the recent cyclone causing a setback in harvest, output levels and driving price hikes for locally produced food, according to the Department of Agriculture compiled with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) .

It has triggered concerns over food security of Sri Lanka unless these lands are re-cultivated immediately.

Data shows that paddy has been affected the most with Batticaloa recording the highest flood-affected paddy area at approximately 36,188 hectares, followed by Trincomalee with 22,155 hectares and Anuradhapura with 15,237 hectares. Significant damage is also evident in Mannar (11,570 hectares) and Kurunegala (10,775 hectares). Based on district level figures, it is estimated that approximately 140,000 to 150,000 hectares of paddy land in total have been destroyed.

Land used for cultivating vegetables has also been destroyed with Nuwara Eliya recording the highest vegetable crop loss at approximately 1,046 hectares, followed closely by Badulla with 930 hectares. Other significantly affected districts include Anuradhapura (671 hectares), Kurunegala (508 hectares), Trincomalee (498 hectares), Batticaloa (454 hectares), and Puttalam (430 hectares), totaling 7,000 to 8,000 hectares of vegetable cultivation.

Other crops such as pulses, maize, chillies, and similar crops have also been damaged where Anuradhapura records the highest affected area in this category at approximately 3,478 hectares, followed by Vavuniya with 2,747 hectares. Trincomalee, Ampara, Batticaloa, Mullaitivu, and Kurunegala also report losses, each exceeding several hundred hectares, which totals to 18,000 to 20,000 hectares of other field crops being affected nationwide.

Data extracted from satellites indicates that districts such as Mannar, Mullaitivu, Batticaloa, and Trincomalee experienced the highest levels of inundation, with flood extent ranging between 13 and 16 percent.

Rural indebtedness already affects 38 percent of rural households according to UNDP data. Many farmers borrowed heavily to finance their Maha season crops borrowing that assumed successful harvests to repay loans. With crops destroyed and equipment damaged, these farming families now face crushing debt without means of repayment.