The 12 months 2025 has been disastrous for Sri Lanka’s agriculture, particularly after Cyclone Ditwah brought about extreme destruction via heavy rains, landslides, and crop damages in numerous agro-ecological zones.
Whereas the quick bodily devastation was evident within the destruction of homes and infrastructure, the deeper and far-reaching consequence are the hidden agricultural toll which is able to form meals availability and farm incomes effectively into 2026.
The cyclone got here when the Yala crop had been harvested and a lot of the Maha season crops have been both simply rising or have been nonetheless younger at a stage of excessive vulnerability.
Younger vegetation both acquired buried or pulled out, subject vegetation have been submerged, and bushes misplaced their fruits and flowers at an unusually excessive fee.
All these disruptions have an effect on paddy, greens, fruits, plantation crops and residential gardens and trigger a cascading shock which not solely undermines the present manufacturing but additionally threatens future harvests, family vitamin and nationwide meals safety.
The Hidden Agricultural Toll of Cyclone Ditwah
Cyclone Ditwah brought about extreme injury to early-stage Maha season crops—notably paddy, greens, and different subject crops—making a shock with each quick and long-term manufacturing impacts.
Even perennial crops reminiscent of tea, rubber, coconut, fruit bushes, and residential backyard crops, that are usually much less affected by quick seasonal fluctuations, are anticipated to have sustained various ranges of harm as effectively.
The size of those losses is basically as a result of a good portion of the affected space overlaps with Sri Lanka’s essential crop-growing areas (see Determine 1).
Paddy cultivations have been at their most susceptible early levels reminiscent of seedling, transplanting, and early vegetative when the cyclone struck.
Intense and extended rainfall has left massive areas submerged or waterlogged, delaying planting cycles, decreasing the cultivated space, and certain inflicting important yield losses within the upcoming harvest.
Intensive losses occurred to vegetable and different subject crop productions throughout each up-country and low-country areas.
Many vegetable cultivations nearing harvests and in vegetative, flowering, or early fruiting levels, suffered extreme injury attributable to flooding, extended waterlogging, and powerful winds.
Anecdotal stories from the Galkadapathana Village in Nuwara Eliya district, as an illustration, point out some localised injury to vegetable cultivations beneath protecting constructions reminiscent of greenhouses as effectively.
In keeping with the patterns seen in the course of the 2017 floods and landslides, which have been smaller than Cyclone Ditwah, comparable or higher ranges of harm for plantation crops like tea, rubber, and coconut, are extremely doubtless.
Sturdy winds and landslides can injure bushes bodily, which can result in dropping of flowers and immature nuts, leading to manufacturing declines within the following months.
Primarily based on experiences from the 2017 floods and landslides, house gardens and blended cropping methods, lots of which had reached vegetative or early fruiting levels, are additionally prone to have been broken, typically buried beneath mud and sand, requiring intensive cleansing and replanting usually.
Determine 1: Agricultural Land Use and Excessive Rainfall Throughout Cyclone Ditwah
From Manufacturing Losses to Value Spikes: The Rising Meals Safety Outlook
Utilizing the 101kg annual consumption per capita in 2019 as a benchmark, the overall nationwide want for paddy approximates 4 million MT which incorporates seed paddy, processing losses, wastage and different necessities.
The Maha season contributes roughly two-thirds of the rice manufacturing with the planting of roughly 800,000 hectares annually.
Nevertheless, the Catastrophe Administration Centre (DMC) has reported that paddy has been sown on 563,950 hectares to this point and most of this space has suffered as a result of heavy rains.
Therefore, the manufacturing will likely be very low in 2026, inflicting meals safety implications except quick soil fertility restoration and replanting happen.
Equally, about 95,799 hectares of different subject crops and 13,463 hectares of greens which is about 64% of Maha 2024 different subject crops’ extent and 74% of Maha 2024 vegetable extent have sustained intensive injury.
The revenue of farmers from the affected areas will most probably cut back considerably due to crop destruction and planting delays.
A considerable funding will likely be required to resume manufacturing capability via soil fertility restoration, protecting construction repairing, and replanting.
For a lot of smallholder farmers who’re already scuffling with decrease earnings, the elevated prices of replanting might lead to having to borrow funds, thereby decreasing their means to deal with future local weather change shocks.
Communities working in plantations like tea and rubber may even face revenue cuts owing to the destruction of estates and the disruption of the harvesting cycles which is able to subsequently influence their meals safety and basic wellbeing.
The cyclone’s quick impact was a dramatic rise in vegetable costs that have been primarily attributable to a sudden scarcity of provide (Determine 1).
Among the many affected greens have been carrot, inexperienced chilli, cabbage, beans, tomato, and pumpkin, which in some markets have even skilled worth will increase of 100% to 350%.
These worth hikes make it a lot much less inexpensive for low-income households to purchase meals and virtually reduce off their entry to micronutrient-rich meals which might be taken as a staple in a nutritious diet.
In actual fact, susceptible teams, reminiscent of youngsters beneath 5, pregnant and lactating moms, older individuals, and other people with disabilities could have a fair tougher time dealing with malnutrition as their entry to common meals will get extra restricted.
Whereas worth volatility is prone to persist for not less than a number of weeks till roads are cleared and provide flows stabilise, this short-term enchancment might not absolutely offset the longer-term meals provide challenges which might be anticipated to emerge in 2026.
Determine 2 : Vegetable Value Spikes Submit-Cycle Ditwah
Supply: Every day worth stories, Central Financial institution of Sri Lanka
Nationally, meals insecurity is prone to improve attributable to a discount in home manufacturing, diminished farmer incomes, and better shopper costs.
With restricted entry to fruits, greens, and different nutrient-dense meals, the inhabitants’s vitamin will doubtless worsen, notably for poor and susceptible households.
Extra broadly, Sri Lanka’s elevated reliance on imports reminiscent of onions, potatoes, pulses, fruits, and even rice goes to decrease its overseas trade reserves and make it extra inclined to the fluctuation within the worth of commodities all over the world.
Restoration and local weather resilience growth plans all through the meals system are urgently wanted given the interconnectedness of the impacts brought on by this cyclone via markets, agriculture, livelihoods, and vitamin.
Key Motion Areas for Submit-Cyclone Meals System Stabilisation
The quick precedence is to revive the bodily movement of meals from producing areas to the principle wholesale and retail markets to normalcy.
You will need to take into account clearing the up-country highway community, enhancing entry to move corridors that hyperlink Nuwara Eliya, Badulla, and Kandy to the Dambulla and Colombo markets.
Quick elimination of particles, building of momentary bridges, and emergency repairs on roads can considerably cut back market shortages and, consequently, stabilise costs within the nation.
A direct and exact assist package deal for the agricultural sector is critical to revive the Maha crop and to keep away from additional financial losses.
Seed packs, instruments, and fertilisers given as substitute will assist farmers to instantly attend to their paddy fields and vegetable plots.
Earnings loss is one other trigger for a lot of farmers to wrestle with replanting.
Thus, grants and delicate loans for replanting will likely be vital in stopping misery borrowing.
Repairing assortment factors, storage areas, and broken rural roads won’t solely enhance the effectivity of transporting farms produce to markets but additionally cut back post-harvest losses in the course of the restoration interval.
It’s essential to safeguard probably the most susceptible households in the course of the time of worth fluctuations.
Poor households dwelling in cities and plantations may be shielded from malnutrition with the assistance of momentary focused meals subsidies for important greens and pulses.
As well as, market monitoring must be bolstered to forestall skyrocketing costs, hoarding, and rent-seeking, which generally exacerbate the influence of such crises.
The cyclone has proven that local weather resilience in numerous agro-ecological zones is a urgent want.
Local weather-smart agricultural practices, reminiscent of using drip irrigation, protected cultivation, planting of climate-resilient varieties, and slope stabilisation, are most vital to agriculture in high-risk upcountry areas.
It’s recommended that the district-level catastrophe preparedness plans ought to embrace higher integration and early warning methods for landslides, flash floods, and extreme storms.
Funding in protected cultivation constructions like polytunnels and comparable approaches can cut back crop losses and preserve the market provide even in harsh climate circumstances in areas which might be susceptible to excessive rainfall or landslides.
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