Scorched earth: Farmer misery worsens in Sri lanka

[AmrSingh]

TN got it badly too this year. Whole area needs better water conservation...too much water runs to the sea and there is plenty of land that could be turned to small reservoirs with some planning and execution.

Long run there just needs to be more wealth so more resources are available for desalination (and water recycling in general) and then pumping this through the irrigation canals to make up any shortfalls each year.....but the leaky bucket's holes must be plugged since this is lot more cheaper.

But we must also control population growth too. These temporary measures will only work for short time.

 

[AmrSingh]

It's completely a government's fault. Every institution predicted that there will be severe drought this year. But, the government started doing anything only after people started complaining about it. Anyhow, the drought will be over within 2-3 months time. Till then we have to hold on. On the side note, what more can we expect from this government when the victims of the land slide are still in tent houses.

That is a South Asian problem. Our governments and politicians are very slow to do anything.

 

[AmrSingh]

A percentage of the population still rely on Agriculture and Sri Lanka is too reliant on Hydropower for energy.
They should diversify crops and introduce more drought resistant crops and use new technologies which could at least reduce the effects of the drought

This will require tons of resources. Hopefully something will be done to alleviate the situation at hand.

 

[Nilgiri]

But we must also control population growth too. These temporary measures will only work for short time.

Population growth is very low in TN. Fertility rates are at like 1.6 now. Big population challenge will be ageing rather than growth in TN and Kerala.

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https://scroll.in/article/807556/fa...xpectancy-are-contributing-to-an-ageing-india

We found that nine Indian states (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka and Maharashtra) had fertility rates less than the replacement level of 2.1.

Kerala and Tamil Nadu, at 1.7, had lower fertility levels than Norway and the Netherlands, at 1.9 and 1.8 respectively.

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India as a whole also has fertility rate at 2.4 now, it will reach 2.1 (replacement level) pretty soon too (at the current rate around the year 2020) and it will level out at some level below it even:

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN?locations=IN

Population growth is not a big problem, rather we must focus on population education, training and employment...so that there is a good fiscal scenario that can be harnessed to find raw funding for adaptive next generation technologies for all problems that arise for any crucial resource. The answers are all there, it is a question of implementing them and continuing to find new solutions for the future to stay ahead of the curve.

 

[HeinzG]

Sri lankan is no longer reliant on hydropower for energy, check last 24 generation statistics (bottom of the page) http://www.ceb.lk/

CEB can supply 24/7 power without a single megawatt from hydro.
But agriculture is certainly a problem.

There goes the so called Mahaweli Project down the drain.

Check the daily generations stats at www.ceb.lk sri lanka electricity sector is very resilient not like it use to be. I've been checking for past 3 months, on some days hydro contribution is less than 3%, still stable round the clock power is supplied.

That is mostly because CEB is buying from private suppliers from higher cost. It is reported that there is a mafia inside CEB who are pushing for private suppliers despite the fact that there are other alternatives. The breakdowns of the Norochcholai plant is alleged to be conducted by this mafia.

 

[supun1]

The last time when rain was low there was load shedding as I remember.

The drought is because of a La Nina so its pretty severe. Its the worst drought since the 70s.There is a situation report by reliefweb alongside short term and long term recomendations
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/SLA_Drought_20170119_updated.pdf

The government has taken steps in advance this time with cross ministry committee but they aren't going to stop the damage to the economy
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sri-lanka-drought-resilience-idUSKBN1520X6

After this the government must start a programme to modernize and diversify the agri sector

Check this out!
http://www.nitf.lk/Home.html

Only just found out about this

National insurance Fund.

The fund assesses its own risk portfolio and submits its premium to the government. When there is a natural disaster, the fund will pay out for the damages, in all other times, it will collect and invest its money.

It's like putting money away for a rainy day.

‘All uninsured Sri Lankan citizens and Small and Medium Enterprise owners in particular, can now be secure in the thought that any tsunami, cyclone or other natural disaster of catastrophic proportions would not destroy their houses, businesses and livelihoods, and ultimately destroy their spirit,’ says the Honorable Minister of Finance, Mr. Ravi Karunanayake.

There is a story that animates this achievement.

Sri Lanka is now among the countries that incorporate the best practices of the insurance trade, for protecting citizens from the ill-effects of natural calamities.

That’s due to the fact that NITF (National Insurance Trust Fund) has under Sri Lankan government sponsorship insured all uninsured Sri Lankan citizens and uninsured properties by obtaining a catastrophic reinsurance cover of up to Rs. 10 billion from major reinsurance companies in London and other parts of the world, through Crescent Global and its subsidiary Strategic Insurance Brokers (SIB). All of the companies in the reinsurance cover agreement for 2016 are Lloyds registered Insurance companies with “A”, “AA” and “A+” ratings, along with other world renowned reinsurance companies. This national minded outcome was made possible through the Insurance services and brokering efforts of Crescent Global Southeast Asia and its subsidiary Strategic Insurance brokers, which facilitated this catastrophic reinsurance cover agreement for NITF, for the year 2016/17.

‘NITF would now as a result of the catastrophic reinsurance cover for 2016, have the capability to settle claims up to 2.5 million for any uninsured property that is affected by a natural calamity. Fishermen would be compensated up to Rs. 1 million for loss of life due to natural disaster while fishing at sea, and all citizens are covered for Rs.100,000 in the event of death due to natural perils,’ says Manjula de Silva, Chairman, National Insurance Trust Fund.

He added, ‘We responded to a request that came from the Minister of Finance to arrange this cover. It will greatly enhance the ability of the Treasury to absorb the impact of a significant natural disaster. The speed with which claims for compensation can be settled will also be vastly improved as we will be coordinating directly with the Ministry of Disaster Management. We greatly appreciate the role played by Crescent Global who succeeded in obtaining reinsurance cover from an excellent panel of reinsurers whose reputations underpin the effectiveness and the quality of the programme.’

Indrajith Fernando Director Crescent Global South Asia while congratulating Hon Ravi Karunanayake and the government for prudent governance, and ensuring the people’s right to insurance protection, said ‘Catastrophic reinsurance cover arrangements such as what NITF has entered into are encouraged internationally by international cooperative arrangements these days, and countries have been feeling more obligated to enter into such agreements, with Sri Lanka now in line with this international trend.’

He added that the “NITF acted speedily and displayed professionalism during negotiations with our global broking team and a galaxy of leading re-insurers worldwide”.

Among the top global reinsurance companies that are part of the catastrophic reinsurance cover agreement with NITF, are four out of the top 10 Reinsurers in the world.

http://bizenglish.adaderana.lk/sri-...ir-spirit-finance-minister-ravi-karunanayake/