Floods cause havoc in paddy growing areas

Tuesday, 11 January 2011 00:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Paddy cultivation in Vavuniya affected

Over 19,000 hectares of cultivated paddy lands have been destroyed in the Eastern Province due to the recent floods.

Floods are also being experienced in other major paddy cultivation areas such as Polonnaruwa, Ampara, Anuradhapura and Kurunegala said Agricultural Economist, K.Karunagoda of the Department of Agriculture. He also said that the flood waters would inevitably affect the Maha harvest season which ends in March.

By Shezna Shums

“The paddy lands in these areas are located in low lying areas of the country and are affected by the current floods. Ampara, Batticaloa, Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura and Kurunegala are paddy growing areas and are affected by heavy rains as well as the water released from the reservoirs when they are full. The main paddy growing areas are within the Mahaweli areas,” highlighted Karunagoda.

He also explained that in Iranamadu, Kilinochchi the paddy crop in the areas surrounding the tank are affected when sluice gates are opened to release excess water.

“So are the paddy cultivation areas in the Eastern Province. They are severely affected by floods. Most of the paddy cultivations in the Eastern Province are under water and the damage will be permanent. The crop cannot be recovered even after the flood waters drain out. In short all the paddy cultivating areas in the whole island are affected by floods during heavy rains. But in other parts of the island where paddy cultivation is undertaken there is a chance of recovering the crop after the floods,” explained Karunagoda.

The Department of Agriculture is currently gathering information on the crops damaged during the ongoing rains not only of paddy, but also of other vegetable cultivations in the up country like Nuwara Eliya and Badulla, which are also affected by the torrential rains.

According to the crop forecast by the Department of Agriculture for the Maha season 2010/2011 the target paddy cultivation for Maha 2010/2011 season is 804,333 ha. The cultivation progress up to end of November 2010 is 562,658 ha, which is a 70 percent achievement of the target.

The crop damage records state that 7,176ha low land cultivation and 1,834 ha of highland crops were damaged due to the floods during November last year in the Western, Southern, North Western and Northern Provinces.

Current floods have resulted in several deaths and damage to homes, roads and agricultural lands. So far over 919,759 persons belonging to 215,996 families have been affected due to the rains.