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Addressing worsening food insecurity

16 Oct 2022

By Maneesha Dullewe It has been many months since Sri Lankans have been undergoing food insecurity stemming from the current crisis, with farmers hapless in the face of successive poor harvesting seasons. In such a backdrop, the United Nations has warned that the situation is likely to deteriorate during October 2022 to February 2023.  A joint report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) which assessed households’ food security conditions and the country’s agricultural production reported that increased food prices, reduced income, poor harvests, and disruptions to the food supply chain have caused the food and nutrition security of households to decline in the first six months of 2022.  Accordingly, an estimated 6.2 million people are moderately acute food insecure while 66,000 people are severely acute food insecure.    Severe decline in harvests   The forecast for paddy production, Sri Lanka’s main food staple, was also unfavourable, with three million tonnes being predicted for 2022 – a 42% decline Year-on-Year and the lowest since 2017. Maize production as well as other food crops, including vegetables and annual fruits too have reportedly been affected by the limited application of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, with production dropping well below average levels.  Accordingly, concerns abound for the upcoming 2022/’23 Maha harvest, as the report notes that many small-scale and commercial farmers intended to significantly reduce paddy crop plantation areas if high costs of agricultural inputs were to continue. It also revealed that as some paddy farmers had started to cultivate vegetable crops, the shift towards alternative crops could intensify during the 2022/’23 Maha season, causing a decline in paddy cultivation.  Maha season production is likely to be further affected if agriculture inputs and agriculture supplies are not provided in a timely fashion and in adequate amounts. Therefore, the report urges assistance to improve productive capacity and resilience of farmers, in order to strengthen overall food security.   Speaking to The Sunday Morning, All Island Farmers’ Federation Convener Namal Karunaratne too noted that the fertiliser shortages, transportation costs, fuel issues, and surging costs of seeds and questionable quality had rendered their livelihoods unsustainable, with farmers not receiving sufficient returns on their investment into production.  “Given these circumstances, the country’s food production has weakened,” he noted, adding that this had in turn led to reduced consumption. “We need 6.5 million kg of rice per day for consumption, but now only around five million kg of rice is sold daily. For instance, small- and large-scale rice millers have reduced the quantity of rice they produce and make available in the market. One reason for this is that people have reduced the amount of rice they consume,” he said.  He further explained that people were cutting down on their consumption of rice due to rising costs. “Rice needs a vegetable or similar accompaniment – it cannot be eaten plain. So, added to the cost of rice, people have to also spend on multiple accompaniments such as vegetables, which are also expensive. Therefore, people have resorted to substitute meals which do not require curries.” Meanwhile, Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera told The Sunday Morning that the planned land area of 248,000 hectares of paddy to be cultivated had been doubled to 512,000 hectares following the provision of fertiliser, fuel, and encouragement from the Ministry.  “Now there is no need to import rice, since our farmers are producing rice. Additionally, around 75% of the maize requirement too is being cultivated, so the shortfall will be very little. Every assistance is being provided to ensure that the upcoming Maha season is successful.” According to the FAO/WFP report, 8.7 million people were not consuming an adequate diet at the time of the survey, with female-headed households, small households, and households receiving Samurdhi benefits having significantly inadequate food consumption. The nutritional content of diets consumed by households was also reportedly poor, and diets of the poorest households were particularly lacking protein and iron-rich foods.  Moreover, a majority of households – 61.1% – were using food-based coping strategies due to reduced access to and availability of food, including 24.1% of households who had reduced the number of meals consumed in a day and 46.2% of households who had limited their portion sizes.  Food availability was also considerably constrained, and market supplies of food products had dropped drastically from previous years. For instance, Dambulla reported a total daily vegetable volume between 250 and 300 tonnes per day, when the volume averaged between 600 and 700 tonnes per day in previous years.    Recommendations and Govt. measures   The CFSAM report stressed that an immediate provision of food and livelihood assistance was critical to mitigate the impacts of the economic crisis and meet food consumption gaps. With the 2022/’23 Maha season commencing in October, farmers too require urgent support to ensure that the harvest and food production remain secure.  Accordingly, it recommends that the estate sector and female-headed households be prioritised and that small-scale farmers should be provided financial support to purchase high quality and high yielding seeds. The report also points out the importance of providing support towards establishing home gardening in order to increase food production. Moreover, school-aged children require support in terms of access to nutritious food, through the continuation and adequacy of the school meal programme.  In this backdrop, President Ranil Wickremesinghe recently initiated a food security programme titled the ‘multi-sector mechanism to empower rural economic revitalisation centres to ensure food security and nutrition’. Senior Advisor to the President on Food Safety Dr. Suren Batagoda told The Sunday Morning that this programme had been initiated since ensuring that every citizen had access to enough food was not a feat that could be accomplished by a single person or entity. “The private sector or the Government alone can’t provide food for everyone. All of us must join together in this, otherwise, there’s no way to accomplish this, since at least some will be left without food.” Dr. Batagoda noted that there was a National Food Security and Nutrition Council established for this purpose, which would function under the chairmanship of the President. A policy-level coordination mechanism called the National Combined Mechanism on Food Security and Nutrition will function under the chairmanship of the President’s Secretary whereas the Technical Advisory Committee on Food Security and Nutrition will be chaired by the Prime Minister’s Secretary.      He mentioned that at the Grama Niladhari level, there were Rural Economic Revival and Food Security Committees, which would also focus on revitalising the village economy. These committees will comprise a Grama Niladhari, development officer, agriculture officer, Samurdhi officer, and family health officer. “These officials’ task will be to work together to ensure that within their Grama Niladhari section there will be no person without food, no malnourished children, and no poverty-stricken families.” According to the President’s Office, it is planned to meet Sri Lanka’s food needs locally by 2025 through this mechanism.  


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