LESSONS FROM INDIA TO ADDRESS THE AGRARIAN CRISIS

Following the 1935 soil chemistry findings of the Thopawewa and Parakarama Samudra Development Scheme, Brohier warned that the dry-zone soil structure is not entirely suited to carry out large-scale resettlements centred on paddy cultivation. He noted that the 'luxuriant tropical forest' of the dry-zone was a mirage of fertility caused by perennial plant foliage

- By Dhanusha Gihan Pathirana

Nature seems to beat war with a market-driven investment pattern, slowly decaying the means of survival for the masses. In many ways, this ecological pushback expressed through Cyclone Ditwah mirrors the 2022 people's uprising, which sought to overthrow an entrenched political establishment. Just as that quest remains incomplete, nature is waging its own campaign against an economy dictated by self-interest. As the climate breaks, more decisive acts of defiance from the natural world appear inevitable, mirroring the political and economic struggles that lie ahead for the masses.

Agricultural over-extension

The current state of agriculture in Sri Lanka serves as an important catalyst to climate disasters. The graph below shows the extreme over-extension of agricultural land use in Sri Lanka, particularly since 2004. According to World Bank data, land under agriculture in Sri Lanka has surged from nearly 36% in 2004 to over 48% by 2023, which is significantly higher than the average for low and middle-income countries.

This is further reflected by total paddy lands under cultivation increasing to over 700,000 hectares in the 2024/25 Maha season from nearly 500,000 in 2004 (Census data). It is also important to note that agricultural land only constitutes 29% of the total in high income economies which was declining over the years, indicating that developed capitalist centres have moved away from extensively exploiting the land compared to the periphery. This highlights mainly a dual problem: first, agricultural overextension increases the severity and vulnerability of average Sri Lankans to climate disasters. Secondly, a serious lack of qualitatively acceptable employment in the non-agricultural sector is forcing people more and more to retreat into land-based incomes, despite its many dangers and threats, as the only means of survival. This in turn accelerates environmental destruction.