WFP & UNICEF: TAMIL People in the north spend over 65% of income for food.!!! Food security 'fragile' in North.!!!

19 December, 2010 - Published 17:40 GMT

Food security 'fragile' in north

By P Sivaramakrishnan
BBC Tamil service

Study says people in the north spend over 65% of income for food
Food security in the war ravaged areas of the northern part of Sri Lanka is very fragile the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UNICEF have warned.
The emergency food security and nutrition study was done in association with the Medical Research Institute of Sri Lanka.

Spanning over all the five northern districts of Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya, Killinochi, and Mullaitheevu the study says that the majority of people in these areas spend more than 65% of their income on food.

These five districts were severely affected due to the internal conflict between the Tamil Tigers-LTTE and the Sri Lankan armed forces which came to a bloody end with the defeat of the LTTE in May 2009.

Low income levels coupled with the slower-than-expected livelihood recovery and widespread loss of livestock asset have contributed significantly to the fragile food security situation WPF has said.

Tamils and Muslims

More than 95% of the 300,000 conflict displaced persons have been resettled in these five districts according to the government of Sri Lanka.


It is of paramount importance that aid agencies like the WFP continue to operate and support the people in the North and East of the country till their livelihood condition improves


Prof Ganesamoorthy

However experts have told the BBC Tamil Service that the report is a direct reflection of the existing fragile socio-economic conditions of the people living in the North and East of the country.

The majority of the population in the North and East of Sri Lanka are from the minority communities of Tamils and Muslims.

Though significant developments have taken place in agricultural activities in the North and East, during post war period lack of warehouse facilities to store the agricultural produce has been a major contributing factor for this situation Dr Ganesamoorthy, Prof of Economics, Colombo University told the Tamil Service.

“Non availability of sufficient warehouses coupled with escalating cost of transporting the paddy to the southern part of the country for hulling and bringing it back to the producing areas of the north increases the price of rice which is the staple food of the country," he said.

While the government is concentrating on developing basic infrastructure like roads along the main routes after the war ended the networking of these roads into the interior areas where the agricultural activity takes place has not been done according to Dr Ganesamoorthy.

The economic conditions of the conflict displaced people who the government says have been resettled, has not improved even reasonably to enable them to buy food products at open market rates he says.

“It is of paramount importance that aid agencies like the WFP continue to operate and support the people in the North and East of the country till their livelihood condition improves” points out Dr Ganesamoorthy.

The government has asked many of the aid agencies including the WFP and ICRC to scale down their operations in the country.

Experts also say that the need of the hour is to build at least one Rice Mill in each of the five northern districts as that would significantly reduce the cost of production and availability of rice for the locals who produce it at a lesser cost.

There is also a grave danger of the Food Security collapsing totally if immediate action is not taken to improve the livelihood of the people in the erstwhile war torn areas warns Dr Ganesamoorthy.

North and east of Sri Lanka are the main paddy producing centres in the country which was seriously affected by the internal conflict in the country.


Sandeshaya

BBC News