Sri Lanka farmers had sown 563,000 hectares of rice when cyclone hit

ECONOMYNEXT – About 563,950 hectares of Sri Lanka’s main Maha rice cropping season was sown when Cyclone Ditwah high, a Joint Rapid Needs assessment conducted by the United Nations and the Disaster Management Centre said. Sri Lanka farmers usually sow about 800,000 to 850,000 hectares in the Maha season. Just before the Cyclone hit 563,950 hactares were sown by 774,996 farmers which were at various growth stages. “Large areas are now submerged or waterlogged following intense and prolonged rainfall, resulting in substantial expected yield losses,” the Joint Needs Assessment said. “While paddy fields are generally prone to short-term flooding, the…

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