• NLDB instructed to provide water to buffaloes 

The Ministry of Agriculture has decided to look into the possibility of initiating legal action against farmers who set fire to their paddy fields in protest over crop damages due to the prevailing drought, and not to pay any compensation sum for them.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, an official of the Ministry said that there have been several incidents of certain individuals setting fire to paddy cultivations that have been damaged due to the drought. "Setting fire to a paddy cultivation is an illegal act. If someone sets fire to a cultivation that has been damaged due to the drought, the Government will not pay any compensation sum for the said cultivation. The Agricultural and Agrarian Insurance Board (AAIB) has informed the subject Minister Mahinda Amaraweera on this," he said. He added that the AAIB has already commenced the estimation of the crop damages due to the drought, and that there will be no possibility for damages to be assessed if the cultivations are set on fire. "If someone sets fire to a paddy field, the Government's expenditure on fertiliser and other forms of subsidies go in vain. Therefore, the Ministry has decided to study the possibility of initiating legal action against such individuals."

Meanwhile, livestock farmers have informed the Ministry that the drought situation has had a severe impact on livestock farming. They have pointed out that tanks in several Districts where the livestock industry is being carried out to a large extent such as Hambantota, Ampara, Monaragala and Polonnaruwa have dried up due to the drought, which in turn has severely affected buffalos. The animals have been left without water and food, particularly with the loss of grassland. Considering the situation, Amaraweera has instructed the National Livestock Development Board (NLDB) to take steps to provide sufficient drinking water to cattle, and also to initiate a programme to prevent grasslands from being set on fire. He further said that a notice would be displayed at all Government institutions, requesting the people not to set any grassland on fire.

Several parts of the country are currently experiencing a drought, and many cultivations in such areas have been affected due to the same. The Ministry recently stated that the AAIB would have to pay the highest compensation sum that it has ever paid to farmers for crop damages this year (2023).