Drastic climate changes during past decades - Research

Ishara Mudugamuwa

According to a research done by Sri Lanka Council for Agricultural Policy (CARP) and International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics(ICRISAT) on climate change and its impact on agriculture sector, they have identified that climatic conditions in Sri Lanka have changed during the last three decades and it badly affects the agriculture sector.

According to the research, rainfall in Yala and Maha seasons is getting late. The extent of rainfall, number of days and the intensity of rainfall during Yala and Maha seasons are reducing.

'Because of this pests and insects attack crops and farmers had to face lots of problems, said a researcher. The research shows that most of the farmers have changed their cultivation patterns according to climatic variations. Though there are various reasons for poverty, the climatic variability also affects the rural poor.

According to researchers poverty is increasing in Hambantota and Puttalam districts due to climate variability. CARP and ICRISAT jointly conducted this research to improve understanding of the climate variability and its impact on the rural poor, to identify the best practices and institutional innovations for mitigating the effects of climatic change and develop strategies to address socio-economic problems relating to climatic change, said Project Leader Naveen Singh.

They conducted this research in selected areas of the Dry Zone.

Meteorological Department data too was used for this purpose.