Nearly 63 million people in crisis-hit Sri Lanka face moderate to severe food insecurity or crisis. Two UN organizations in their report on Monday called for providing adequate life-saving and livelihood support to the people of the island nation.
Nearly 63 million people in crisis-hit Sri Lanka face moderate to severe food insecurity or crisis.
Nearly 63 million people in crisis-hit Sri Lanka face moderate to severe food insecurity or crisis. Two UN organizations in their report on Monday called for providing adequate life-saving and livelihood support to the people of the island nation. Otherwise, the situation in Sri Lanka may get worse.
About 50 percent drop in production
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) have said in their joint report that production has declined by about 50 percent due to crop failure in two consecutive seasons. At the same time, due to the lack of foreign exchange, there has also been a decrease in the import of food grains.
FAO/WFP’s Joint Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission visited 25 districts of the island nation during June-July this year. In order to assess the level of agricultural production – especially cereals and household food security situations – in 2022. The report warned that without aid, food security could worsen without aid, mainly from the economic crisis and inclement weather between October this year and February next year.
These measures need to be implemented
FAO’s representative in Sri Lanka, Vimlendra Sharan, said in a statement that targeted livelihood support to smallholder farmers should be a priority to prevent further deterioration in food security and support the resumption of agricultural production. The FAO official said that with about 30 per cent of the population dependent on agriculture, the improvement in the production capacity of the farmers will support the strength of the agriculture sector. At the same time, amid the shortage of foreign exchange reserves, import requirements will be reduced and starvation will be prevented.
Let us tell you that Sri Lanka, which is dealing with the biggest economic crisis of the country so far, has started imposing restrictions on imports to cut expenses. The government has informed that it has banned the import of many non-essential goods. This includes a wide variety of consumer goods and machines.
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