TOPIC 'Environment' on Oct 24, 2008 (CEST)
Sri Lanka District learns to Cope with Changing Environment
A direct effect of climate change can be seen in the terrain and soil of Sri Lanka. Due to the increase of temperatures, water levels evaporate faster. When the water evaporates, salt deposits are left behind, making the soil salty. A group of villages, which includes hundreds of families, were recently forced to leave their homes in Kurunegala District, northwestern Sri Lanka, to vacate land needed for an irrigation project. Their new destination, and new homes, was Puttalam District, Nelumwewa. Climate change has led to reduced rainfall and, therefore, many droughts. Here the land is too salty to plant rice, and both coastal and inland soil incurs this problem.
The Sri Lankan rice farmers have had to learn new methods of growing crops in this different type of soil. It has been lessons learned from trial and error. Each season, they learn what techniques they used that worked and what didn’t. The Government of Sri Lanka recognized the need for assistance and with the help of a program financed by France, under the tutelage of the United Nations Development Program, farmers are learning new ways of growing crops.
Formerly, these farmers had been planting hybrid rice strains that were designed to maximize the crop yield. However, in Nelumwewa they had to return to the traditional varieties of rice that are the most resistant to pests and disease, but also produce smaller crop harvests. The original rice varieties are more resilient as well and do not need as much inorganic fertilizer. This helps lower production costs for the farmers. It is a give-and-take scenario.
The road to re-learning has not been an easy one for the transplanted farmers from the Kurunegala District. Delays in production have been experienced as they have had to drain the water from the rice paddies more frequently to help reduce the amount of salinity. Future plans include adding types of salt-resistant vegetables to the crop mix and finding a way to keep wild elephants from trampling the crops. The old saying, “Where there is a will, there is a way” takes no truer form than the one presented here. As well, the indomitable human spirit can always find a way to succeed.
Sherry Irvin
on behalf of the
BascoTec Internet Limited
Technologie Park 13
33100 Paderborn
Germany
