Sri Lanka’s Food Security after Cyclone Ditwah: Risk, Recovery, and Resilience

Cyclone Ditwah destroyed earlystage Maha season paddy, vegetables, and perennial crops, disrupting both current and upcoming harvests.

- By MANOJ THIBBOTUWAWA AND CHANDULA IDIRISINGHE

Together, rising prices, lower production, and declining purchasing power are likely to intensify food insecurity and further undermine nutrition.

Restoring transport links, supporting farmers to replant, protecting vulnerable households and strengthening climate-resilient farming are essential.

The year 2025 has been disastrous for Sri Lanka’s agriculture, especially after Cyclone Ditwah caused severe destruction through heavy rains, landslides, and crop damages in different agro-ecological zones. While the immediate physical devastation was evident in the destruction of houses and infrastructure, the deeper and far-reaching consequence are the hidden agricultural toll which will shape food availability and farm incomes well into 2026. The cyclone came when the Yala crop had been harvested and most of the Maha season crops were either just emerging or were still young at a stage of high vulnerability. Young plants either got buried or pulled out, field plants were submerged, and trees lost their fruits and flowers at an unusually high rate. All these disruptions affect paddy, vegetables, fruits, plantation crops and home gardens and cause a cascading shock which not only undermines the current production but also threatens future harvests, household nutrition and national food security.

The Hidden Agricultural Toll of Cyclone Ditwah