The Opposition alleges that advice given by some agricultural instructors to farmers on preparing for El Niño-related threats has resulted in paddy cultivations being damaged by the current rains, while the Government says the Maha season was started early to conserve water for Yala.

Raising the issue in Parliament yesterday (22), Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Nalin Bandara Jayamaha said there were differing views on how farmers should respond to the El Niño threat.

“In some areas, agricultural instructors had given farmers the correct advice, but, in others, they had not. Some farmers cultivated their paddy fields based on the advice that they received, only to have their cultivations damaged by rain,” he said.

Responding, Deputy Agriculture Minister Namal Karunarathne said the Government’s aim was to avoid releasing tank water for paddy cultivation in January and February next year, as the main risk posed by the expected conditions was to the Yala season.

He said the Maha season had been planned to conserve water for Yala, enabling farmers to cultivate other field crops if necessary.

Commenting on possible crop damage caused by the rains, Karunarathne said farmers had been informed that rain was expected during this period and advised to sow the same paddy varieties used in the Yala season, so that harvesting could be completed by January and February.

“If there are crop damages due to rain, we will compensate farmers,” he said.

The Deputy Minister said international data on El Niño had been released and that the Agriculture Ministry acted on information provided by the Meteorology Department.

“When planning the season, we started cultivation two weeks early. According to the data that we have received, a severe drought is coming in January and February. Environmentally, evaporation has also increased by around 20 per cent. We saw that in practice as well. Under those conditions, water in reservoirs and wells evaporated rapidly,” he said.