News
From self sufficiency to a meal-a-day Govt. handouts
Some 800,000 families in drought affected districts whose sole livelihood is agriculture, are now reliant on ‘Govt Relief Packs’ (GRP) to survive. The drought, reportedly the worst in 40 years, has devastated agricultural areas and resulted in near complete collapse of economies in some of the affected districts.
The situation is so dire that the United Nations (UN) warned this week that some drought affected families are surviving on one meal a day, while indebtedness is on the rise.
Two weeks worth of dry rations have already been distributed Pic by Karuwalagaswewa Jayrathna
Over 2 million people, in 20 of the country’s 25 districts, are now affected by drought, according to the latest statistics issued by the Disaster Management Centre (DMC).
Families eligible for GRPs have been identified by the District Secretariats, as those whose only source of income is from agriculture. Effective from August, they receive Rs. 5,000 worth of essential items a month, through Sathosa outlets and Cooperative stores.
Disaster Management Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa told the Sunday Times that the Govt has to spend Rs. 3.5 billion a month on GRPs alone. “We have approached the Treasury which is now releasing the necessary funds,” the Minister stated. Minister Yapa said the Govt intends to issue GRPs, initially, for three months. “If the rains come in the meantime, we can discontinue the programme,” he added. Authorities are hoping that inter-monsoonal showers will bring the much needed water to the drought-affected agricultural areas.
Given that the Met Dept is forecasting substantial rainfall only in October, the drought is set to persist and perhaps, even worsen through September. Access to drinking water is also becoming an increasing challenge in most affected areas. Minister Yapa said his Ministry alone was operating over 340 bowsers to provide drinking water. Meanwhile, authorities such as the Water Board and the Tri-Forces are also operating their bowsers to provide water.
“We are providing 65,000 million litres of water daily to the drought-affected areas,” Minister Yapa stressed. Even the vehicles in use to transport water are insufficient, and the Govt is purchasing more bowsers and tractors,” he claimed.
Meanwhile, the UN, in its disaster update on the drought situation issued earlier this week, warned that over 300,000 households in the country are food insecure. In March 2017, an estimated 60% of affected households had lost more than one-third of their income during the primary cultivation season.
Available water sources are also at alarmingly low levels with reservoirs countrywide 18.5% full, compared with 51% for the corresponding period in 2016.
“With the drought impacting the primary and secondary harvests of 2017, the total amount of rice cultivated this year is less than half of that produced in 2016. Other crops have also been adversely affected. As a result, many households have had to limit their food intake, in some cases with just one meal a day. The inability of farmers to cultivate their land has also caused the availability of agricultural work to decline and consequently, in many drought-affected communities, indebtedness is rising. This is having serious consequences on the health and well-being of communities, with several suicides being directly attributed to the effects of the drought,” the UN highlighted.
In some of the districts severely hit by the drought, the livelihoods of many residents have all but collapsed.
Moneragala is the worst affected district. Over 391,000 persons from more than 104,000 families are victims of the drought. Authorities are currently distributing drinking water to 33 Grama Niladhari Divisions in 5 Divisional Secretariat Divisions in the district.
“We haven’t had a successful harvest here since the Maha Season of 2015,” District Secretary D.S. Pathmakulasooriya revealed, pointing out that five consecutive seasons had failed since then; a catastrophic outcome, considering that most people in the district depend on agriculture for their livelihood. “Except for the sugarcane plantations at Sevenagala and Pelwatte, there aren’t many large scale industries in the region either,” she pointed out.
“For those in Moneragala, main sources of income are cultivation of paddy and supplementary crops,” Ms. Pathmakulasooriya stated.
“Normally, 20,000 hectares of paddy are cultivated in the Yala season. But this year, less than 10,000 hectares were cultivated because of the drought. Even a portion of that was destroyed.”
“The situation is the same for other crops. For example, in the Siyambalanduwa area, many residents grow corn for a living. During a typical Maha season, corn is grown over some 13,000 hectares. This drops to just about 48 hectares during the Yala season,” Ms Pathmakulasooriya said. “As such, residents of the area are completely dependent on a successful Maha season to feed them throughout the year.” With two successive Maha seasons now having failed, their situation is extremely dire.
“Water for agriculture becomes even more of a problem considering Moneragala does not have any large tanks,” the official stated. “Everything is sustained through a collection of small tanks, and when they run dry, it’s really difficult.”
As tanks run dry, so does the livelihood of the fishermen engaged in inland fishing, many of whom have already given up their trade. There are also daily paid labourers who assist both fishermen and farmers, who are now mostly without work.
“The loss of livelihoods for these people also has a knock-on effect on other businesses,” Ms Pathmakulasooriya pointed out. “Traders, for example, don’t have much business. People with no money, don’t go purchasing.”
The District Secretary said effects of the drought may not be apparent at first, to any visitor. “There’s still plenty of greenery around, and there were rains even this week, but it’s not enough to mitigate the effects of the drought. It’s still very much there, and the district’s economy is collapsing under its effects.”
The situation is similar in other areas, including the Northern Province which has borne the brunt of the drought’s fury. Over 100,000 persons have been affected in each of the districts of Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya and Mullativu, while over 92,000 are affected in the Kilinochchi district. Mullaitivu District Secretary Rupavathi Ketheeswaran said all six of Mullaitivu’s Divisional Secretariat Divisions had been affected and they were providing 100,000 litres of drinking water daily to the victims. “Water scarcity had made cultivation extremely difficult, severely affecting the livelihoods of many people. The production of fruits and vegetables was also very low,” she added.
The drought has impacted farmers, daily-paid labourers who worked in the fields, inland fishermen and those who reared livestock, among others. “The degree to which people have been affected may tend to vary, but the effects are definitely there,” she added.
Kilinochchi District Secretary S. Arumainayagam said two weeks worth of dry rations had already been distributed, while dry rations for a further two weeks are to be distributed.
“Paddy cultivation, which is the livelihood of many residents in the area, is severely affected with the yield far less than normal,” he acknowledged.