Farmers left to watch rice fields die due to arid weather

COLOMBO (News 1st) - The Ministry of Agriculture says that there is an increase in the extent of cultivation destroyed due to the ongoing dry weather conditions. The Ministry says that the damage has now spread across 50,000 acres.

Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera says that the situation is exacerbating daily as the arid weather persists. 

The Minister adds that the ministry has deployed five teams to assess the extent of crop damage in the Udawalawa area, in this regard.

More than 41,000 farmers have been adversely affected by the dry weather conditions as well. Districts including Ratnapura, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Ampara, Puttalam, Kurunegala, Jaffna, Mannar, Mullaitivu, Badulla, Monaragala, Hambantota, Gampaha, and Matale have all been strongly affected by the dry weather phenomenon.

Among these affected districts, Kurunegala is the worst hit. Water supply in 10 different districts has also been affected in this regard. Meanwhile, it was also reported that a staggering 45 water supply systems were disrupted due to the dry weather conditions.