Farmers lament over damaged crops

COLOMBO (News 1st): As farmers in India are demanding for justice, several farmers in Sri Lanka are also facing hardships, especially due to the damages faced by their crops. Farmers across the country face massive losses due to crop damages, amidst economic hardships due to COVID-19. Cornfields in Pallebedda and Uhunudanawwa spanning across 1500 acres have been infested with Sena caterpillars. As a result, farmers face difficulties affording meals while their hopes dashed after months of hard work. More than 800 families have been left helpless due to this situation. Meanwhile, farmers of Galle are suffering due to the lack of water to irrigate their cultivations. Farmers in the Elpitiya 11 area point out that they have managed to cultivate 200 acres amidst severe hardship. The only anicut used to supply water to their fields is in a dilapidated condition. An unidentified disease spreading across fields in Bandagiriya has worsened the woes of farmers. Around 1500 acres of paddy fields have been destroyed due to this disease that is damaging crops. Farmers of Puttalam are also striving hard to protect their fields from marauding wild elephants. More than 300 acres of cornfields have been destroyed by herds of elephants that encroach into the village. Farmers say that they will be left with no alternative, but to take to the streets, if their pleas go unheard.