Rains destroy 50,000 acres of rice cultivation

Monday, 24 December 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Ministry of Agrarian Services and Wildlife reported heavy damage to crops due to the heavy rains some parts of the country received in the past few weeks.

The Commissioner General of Agrarian Services Sunil Weerasinghe said that about 50,000 acres of rice cultivation is affected by floods.

The cultivations are prone to total destruction, causing severe inconvenience to the livelihood of the farmers, sources say.

Rice cultivation was severely damaged in Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Puttalam, Ampara and Trincomalee districts the Ministry said.

Farmers in these areas lost the last season’s paddy crop due to the prolonged drought. According to the Commissioner, around 100,000 acres of paddy land in the Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Kurunegala Puttalam, and Trincomalee Districts were destroyed by the drought earlier.

The official said that a study is being carried out to evaluate the damage due to the floods now.