The Ministry of Agriculture has drawn up a plan intended to maintain food security and head off a future food shortage as El Niño conditions continue to affect the island.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture Namal Karunaratne said a cultivation plan has been introduced as part of the effort.
Water management at the centre
Karunaratne said particular attention has been given to water management and to the sustainable use of water resources. Awareness programmes have been organised to teach farmers to use water efficiently and avoid waste.
The ministry did not publish the crop-by-crop detail of the cultivation plan, an implementation timetable, or a budget figure.
Why it matters
The announcement lands as the dry spell registers across several indicators. National reservoir storage has fallen to 37% of capacity, with Ampara and Batticaloa worst affected, and more than 68,000 people across four districts have been hit by drinking-water shortages.
The Department of Meteorology expects El Niño effects to persist until next April — a timeline that runs past the current Yala season and into the Maha cultivation cycle, which depends on the northeast monsoon.
A Cabinet sub-committee formed to mitigate the impact of El Niño is due to review the situation with stakeholders on August 17, convened by Water Supply Minister Susil Ranasinghe.
Sri Lanka’s cultivation calendar is tied closely to reservoir releases and monsoon timing, and shortened or delayed planting windows in a drought year feed through to domestic food prices several months later.
