| Sri Lanka's rice crop
has been hit by poor
rains that is expected to
lead to food supply
difficulties and higher
prices in the lean
period of
October-January after
the harvest, says FAO's
Global Information and
Early Warning System
(GIEWS). Since April, rainfall
has been scanty.
Following an
on-the-spot assessment,
FAO warns of poor
prospects for the
coming Yala crop. The
land under crops has
decreased and, in many
parts, planting has been
delayed and growth is
highly stunted. The
FAO predicts that the
Yala paddy crop could
be 33 percent below the
average for the last five
years.
And this follows a fall
in the main rice harvest,
the Maha. So overall
rice production for
1995/96 is likely to be
26 percent below
normal and 11 percent
lower than it was after
the last serious drought
of nearly a decade ago.
Rainfed and minor
irrigation areas in the
central part of the
country around
Kurunagala and
Anuradhapura have
been badly affected. So
too have the areas of
Mannar, Mullativu and
Jaffna in the North.
In the North, where
many people rely on
food aid, the food
situation is expected to
become particularly
tight as shipments to
affected areas are likely
to be constrained by the
deterioration in the
security situation.
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