The Effects of Natural Disasters: A Study to Sustain Paddy and other Seasonal Crop Farmers in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The United Nations (UN) Development Programme set out seventeen sustainable development goals (SDGs) to be achieved by the UN member countries in 2030. One such goal, SDG 8 is about decent work and economic growth, where the agriculture sector can play a wider role for economic growth by reducing unemployment in the country. Worldwide, various factors can adversely affect many occupations, especially with unfavorable effects on those engaged therein. Previous researchers have shown that natural disasters cause impacts in terms of income volatility, particularly negative income shocks regardless of the cause whereas risks force households in developing countries to lower their expenditure on health and education. Mottaleb et al. (2013) identified natural disasters impacting on household income and expenditure volatilities in Bangladesh as well. Ministry of Disaster Management (DM) in Sri Lanka identifies flood and drought as the major types of natural disasters affecting Sri Lanka (Karunarathna and Athukorala, 2018). Nevertheless, Tsunami has also been a major issue in the recent past. Its likelihood of occurrence is rather small, but it causes high damage. Ancient Sri Lanka was a country with selfsufficiency. Currently, an open market economy, Sri Lanka’s dependency is higher on imports, partly due to insufficient local production. In addition, over the years cultivation has declined due to various reasons. The International Trade Administration (2018) states that in Sri Lanka, over 25% are employed in the agricultural sector, which contributes 6.9 % to Gross Domestic Production (GDP). This indicates the magnitude of any adverse impacts to the agricultural sector. In Malaysia, Hein (2019) discussed the response to extreme disasters and climate change when the government intervenes to mitigate same and spread awareness of climate changes. However, in Sri Lanka no long term plan is in place to mitigate or at least minimize the effects of natural disasters, which can lead to inequalities in the population. The findings/results of this study can assist Sri Lanka to initiate policies to reduce inequality among farmers, and thereby improve and sustain the agricultural practices in Sri Lanka; and thus to achieve SDG 8 as set out by the UN.