Drought is one of the major disasters in Sri Lanka. It has created major destruction in the agriculture sector, most importantly on the smallholder farmer households’ livelihood all over the country. The destruction has impacted on the socio-economic elements of these households. The impact of drought was significant in Northern Province, especially in Kilinochchi District.

This study aims to assess the impact of drought on the smallholder farmers in Kilinochchi Districts of Northern Sri Lanka and seek possible remedies to face future droughts. The findings based on the information collected through the farmer survey explore the details on how the recent drought has affected the smallholder farmer households. The study also tries to find out the ways and appropriate measures to protect their livelihoods from future droughts. The descriptive and statistical methods were used in this study. Three different tools; Key Informant Interview (KIIs), Farmer Survey and the Stakeholder Consultations were used to gather information and the gathered data were statistically, logically analyzed and the findings were presented. The Farmer Survey was the main tool of the study, which was used to gather information from 50 randomly selected drought affected farmers in the district. The study found that the drought has badly damaged the cultivation of smallholder farmers in the area. It has impacted negatively on the farmer household’s livelihood and made them economically poor. The severity of the impact is comparatively different between divisions within the district. The locations which mostly depend on major tanks, medium tanks, minor tanks and irrigation channels for cultivation badly affected by the recent drought. The study also found the possible remedies to overcome the issues and face future droughts. The authorities, UN agencies and Other NGOs looked into this issue and responded to have different mitigation measures to find solutions to the negative impact of drought in the district. The initiatives were not sufficient enough as the assistance and the initiatives were not reached all the smallholder farmers in the area. The study recommended appropriate measures and practices that improve water usages, reduce the vulnerability to future droughts and sustain the smallholder farmer’s livelihoods in the district.

Introduction

Kilinochchi District is one of the five districts in Northern Province of Sri Lanka. The total area of the district is 1,348.19 Sq. KMs with the population of 143,768. Among the total families 23,345 are farm households in which the majorities are smallholder farmers and it is 51.9% of the total families of the district. The annual rainfall during Maha season is 1,064.4 MM and it is 77.8 MM during the Yala season. The paddy is the main agriculture crop in the district and it is cultivated in 23,480 Hectares during Maha season and only 1,617 Hectares in Yala season. The total production of paddy from both seasons is 56,262 Metric tons. The extended land cultivated with subsidiary crops is 1,513 Hectares during Maha season and 609.1 Hectares in Yala season. The total production from the subsidiary crops is 4,402.6 Metric tons. The extended land with vegetable cultivation in the district is 1,151.5 Hectares in Maha season and it is 380.5 Hectares in Yala season, the total production from both seasons is 19,627.8 Metric tons. The fruit crop extends is 1,053 Hectares in Maha season and the total production is 10,328 Metric tons. The cultivation lands are irrigated from 5 major, 4 medium and 457 minor tanks in the district. The total irrigable area from the major tanks is 39,932 Acres and 2,343 Acres from medium tanks. There is also a lagoon scheme to support the irrigation system in the district (Vital Statistics-2018, Northern Provincial Council)

The drought has impacted on farmers in most of the locations during 2018 in Sri Lanka. The impact was significant in the North during the 1^st and 2^nd quarter in the year 2018. Among the total number of farmers, impact was significantly high on smallholder farmers in the Northern Province. But, among the five districts in the province, Kilinochchi District was badly affected by recent drought and mostly impacted on smallholder farmers and made them economically poor. In this basis, it is important to assess the impact of drought on smallholder farmers in Kilinochchi District which is economically important. This study has focused only on smallholder farmers and assessed the impact of drought for the past three years.  Further, it discusses the possible remedies to mitigate the negative impact.

Among all the identified natural and man-made disasters in Sri Lanka, drought has been listed as the most frequent disaster (Chithranarayana and Punyawardana, 2008). There are two seasons for the agricultural activities in Sri Lanka, which are Maha and Yala season. The Maha season is mainly rain fed and cultivated in large scale with high amount of participation. Yala season is highly depending on irrigation water for agricultural practices as the water scarcity is high during the season.  Irrigation plays a vital role in agriculture production in Sri Lanka (Sivayoganathan and Mowjood, 2003).

The economic liberalization policy adopted by the government in 1977 was a major policy orientation which had implications for the growth in domestic agriculture in Sri Lanka. This policy change has created many implications on the smallholder farming sector (Dhanawardana Gamage and Nadeeka Damayanthi, 2012). But the sector and the farming communities in Sri Lanka started facing severe drought since 1974 and it has been still continuing. The impact is quite significant in the North, especially in Kilinochchi District during the recent past. Though drought is a natural disaster it has significant socio-economic impact on farmer communities, especially on the smallholder farmers.

Drought is being defined and meant differently by different people by the way and purposes its being looked at by them. The Farmers means it as a shortage of moisture in the root zone of crops. The Hydrologists see it as below average water levels in streams, lakes and reservoirs. But the economists see it as water shortage which adversely affect and damage the established economy.

The study aimed to assess the impact of drought on the smallholder farmers in Kilinochchi District of Northern Sri Lanka. The findings based on the information collected through the survey explore the details on how the recent drought has affected the smallholder farmer households and to find out the ways and appropriate measures and possible remedies to protect their livelihoods from future droughts.

Literature Review

This literature review presented based on the different literature related to the impact of drought on the smallholder farmers The references were made from international and local books, journals and magazines; the research papers and  research articles from these sources were deeply reviewed and a comprehensive analysis has been presented. A special focus was given to Sri Lanka to see how the drought has impacted on the smallholder farmers.

Ram L. Ray et.al. (2018) have studied on the “Effects of Drought on Crop Production and Cropping Areas in Texas”. Increased crop yield is required to meet the needs of future population growth, but drought causes significant yield reductions for rain fed and irrigated crops. The study evaluated the impact of drought on crop yield and cropping area over 10 climate zones in Texas from 2008 to 2016. It also depicts the spatiotemporal distribution of crop yield and cropping area changes at each climate zone across the state. The study revealed that drought had a greater impact on winter wheat and corn and lesser impact on cotton and sorghum production across Texas. The study results also indicated that drought impact on crop production may be reduced by replacing water-demanding crops such as corn with drought-tolerant crops such as sorghum and expanding irrigation during drought periods. The study provided valuable information that can be used to adopt appropriate measures to cope with future drought challenges in drought-prone regions.

Shankar Adhikari (2018) studied on “Drought Impact and Adaptation Strategies in the Mid-Hill Farming System of Western Nepal”. Climate-induced drought hazard has been one of the major challenges in the mid-hill farming system and rural livelihood in Nepal. The impact of drought such as unequal social structure, gender discrimination, and marginalization of poor and disadvantaged groups has made smallholders more vulnerable in society. The agricultural impacts such as depletion of traditional varieties of crops, crop-specific diseases, low production, lack of water for irrigation and the non-agricultural impacts such as changing rural livelihood patterns, and social conflict due to agriculture and water issues were identified as major impacts from the study. It was recommended to have local site-specific adaptation measures to increase the adaptive capacity of smallholders, and enhance the farming system in the face of the climate-induced drought scenario.

Diyawadana et.al. (2017) studied on “Vulnerability of Smallholder Farmers to Climate Change: A Case Study from Hakwatuna-Oya Irrigation Scheme in Sri Lanka”. A system is said to be vulnerable when it is unable to cope with the adverse effects of climate change, including climate variability. Vulnerability is widely used in development and adaptation contexts. Policies, institutions and other types of interventions and initiatives from the government have a notable influence on the vulnerability of the population. Hakwatuna-oya major irrigation scheme in Sri Lanka was selected for the study to identify the socio-economic and socio-demographic factors affecting the vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climate change or variability. A composite index of vulnerability was developed and mapped the vulnerability according to the index from the study. The study found that vulnerable divisions account for 38 % of the land area and 41% of the population. Further, it was found that the vulnerability is influenced by many socio-economic factors in the area.

Kaleel and Nijamir, (2017) conducted a study on the impact of drought focusing on the Anuradhapura District in Sri Lanka. The district is one of the paddy providers and badly affected due to drought in Sri Lanka. The trend and cause for the drought need to be identified in advance for future remedial measures. The study aimed to identify the impact of drought in the district; direct and indirect factors causing drought, influence of drought in agriculture and suggest lessons to avoid the impact of drought in the study area.

Chaoqing Yu et.al (2017) have assessed the impact of extreme agricultural droughts in China. Agricultural food production in China is deeply vulnerable to extreme droughts. The study has aimed to address the issues around climate change, crop rotations, irrigation effects, and socioeconomic factors in broad scales. An integrated approach was used to assess past and future agricultural drought risks in China.  The study revealed that irrigation has reduced drought-related yield losses by 32%. The frequency of extreme agricultural droughts in China projected to be increased. Based on the findings, it was proposed that increased occurrence of severe droughts would double the rate of drought-induced yield losses in the largest warming scenario. It was recommended that policies for future food security should prioritize sustainable intensification and conservation of groundwater as well as geographically balanced water resource and food production.

Govind Katalakute (2016) studied on “Impact of Drought on Environmental, Agricultural and Socio-economic Status in Maharashtra State, India”. The agriculture sector is the backbone of Indian economy, which contributes a major share of GDP of the country. Last few decades agriculture losses have grown due to irregularity in monsoon and change in climatic conditions over Indian sub-continent. Maharashtra state is developed and industrialized state in the country contributing highest GDP in the Indian economy. The study aimed to assess the effects of droughts on environmental, agricultural and socio-economic status during the year of 2011-2016 in Maharashtra state. The state occupies 50% of the drought prone area. In Maharashtra state, the % to normal rainfall is gradually decreasing from the year 2011-2015. It shows large spatial variability in rainfall all over the Maharashtra state throughout the year confirms that Marathwada, Nashik, Amravati and Nagpur divisions received less rainfall in the year 2014 and 2015. Aurangabad division has marked as the lowest water availability in the reservoir of Maharashtra from the year 2012 – 2015. The overall agricultural yield in Kharif and Rabi season is decreased to a considerable extent in the 2014- 15, which is near about 50% deficit in pulses, oilseeds and cotton as compared to the year 2013-14. Individuals and communities of Aurangabad, Amravati and Nagpur divisions (Cotton belt) are under pressure to cope with drought and its consequences. The farmer suicide cases were reported in the year 2015 (2016 cases) as compared to the year 2011 to 2014.

Berundharshani and Munasinghe, (2015) studied on the “Drought Resilient Farming System through Crop Diversification”. Drought is being seen as one of the major disasters in Sri Lanka and frequent water scarcities during dry season and even distribution of irrigation water through the canal network are two major challenges confronted by irrigation engineers. The study examined how to increase the net income of farmers by efficient water usage in dry season through crop diversification. The study aimed to identify an optimal crop mixes along the canal net-work that maximizes net income of the farmers while efficiently using irrigation water. The water availability along the canal was measured through the water flow measurements. The study found that crop diversification away from paddy can not only increase net income of farming but it also increases efficiency in water usage.

Gunawardhana and Lal Mervin Dharmasiri, (2015) have studied on “Drought Hazard and Managing Its Impacts through the Disaster Management Approach: A Study in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka”. Drought is a weather related hazard occurred due to both natural and manmade phenomenon. It creates numerous socio-economic and environmental problems. North Central Province is one of the provinces of Sri Lanka frequently undergo to drought. 73% of the people in the province practice agriculture as the major livelihood and they are frequently affected to drought. The study has aimed to introduce a model for managing impacts of drought for the province. The study has found that there were meteorological, hydrological, agricultural and socioeconomic droughts in the province. Various adaptation strategies were used by the farmers to cope with drought impacts where both on farm and off farm strategies are used. The model which has been developed from this study with the disaster management cycle of mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery could be used to manage the impacts of drought in the province.

Irina Ontel and Alina Vladut, (2014) studied on the impact of drought on the productivity of agricultural crops within the Oltenia Plain, Romania. The study has aimed to evaluate the effect of moisture conditions on the productivity of agri­cultural crops at various time scales. The agro-databases contain the productions of winter wheat, maize and sunflower for the period 1971-2013 were used for the study. The impact of the drought variability of yield on the agricultural crops was evaluated using Bravais-Pearson correla­tions test, which was statistically significant in the last half of the reference period, while the correla­tion in the first half of the period was not statistically significant.

Dellal and McCarl (2010) examined on the economic impact of drought on agriculture in Turkey. Agriculture is known to be the most affected sector from environmental threats due to its dependency to climate factors. Drought as one of the threats seen in recent years affects agricultural production. The effects of drought are based on frequency, severity, degree and on the vulnerability of the region and sectors. On the other hand climate change is one of the concerns of this century. The study aimed to determine the economic impacts of drought on Turkish agricultural sector at regional and national levels. The analysis is carried out using Turkish Agricultural Sector Model focusing on the major crops in Turkey.

Methodology

This study was conducted with descriptive and statistical methods; three different tools were used to gather information and the gathered data were statistically as well as logically analyzed and the findings were produced. The three different tools used to gather information were; Key Informant Interview (KIIs), Farmer Survey and the Stakeholder Consultations. The KIIs was used to gather information from different actors who deal with the farmers in the study area. A Farmer Survey was conducted with 50 randomly selected drought affected farmers. A well defined detailed questionnaire was used to gather information from the farmers. The key stakeholders from the district were consulted to review, validate the information and to find out the possible measures to mitigate the impact of drought in the area.

The well structured and pre-tested interview guideline and questionnaire with detailed questions to fulfill the expectations and maximize the inputs to have recommendations for better future of the small holder farmers were used to gather information on all aspects of drought and its impact on the small holder farmers in the target area.

The collected data were sensibly analyzed and the detailed study report is prepared. Further, the available documents at the departments were reviewed for accurate data on the damages made by drought on small holder farmers in the study area. More importantly, references were made from the studies conducted within Sri Lanka and abroad on the subject matter were reviewed for better understanding on the situation.

Results and Discussion

This section of the report describes the details on gathered data from the key informant interviews, farmer survey and the stakeholder consultation from the districts. The data collected were analyzed, tabled and presented by classified sub titles for the target area. The analyzed data is presented in the following sub titles to fulfill the expectations;

· An overview of worst affected farming households

· Loss of essential harvests

· Most affected farming activities

· Crops with more and less resilience to recent drought

· Effectiveness of drought resilient crops in terms of economic and livelihood point of view

· Alleviation of water shortages and safeguarding faming income during future droughts

· Potential existing sources of water

· Support measures for different types to strengthen their resilience

An overview of worst affected farming households

The survey finding revealed that there were eight thousand five hundred and ninety seven (8,597) smallholder farmer households were badly affected by the drought in the year 2018. According to the data from the Provincial Department of Agriculture, the number of smallholder farmers affected by the recent drought for the past three years is comparatively high in Kilinochchi District. The data from the department revealed that among the total affected farmers in the province, 30% are from Kilinochchi District and it is significantly high.

Loss of essential harvests

The table below details the loss of essential harvests during the past three years in Kilinochchi District. The output of the farmer survey categorized into percentage and described in the table. The number of farmers who lost their essential harvest during the past three years is tabled by percentages.

Table-01: Loss of essential harvests

Source: Farmer survey

Further, the findings of the farmer survey revealed that the drought affected almost all the seasons during the past three years. Compare to Maha season, the Yala season which start from May and goes till September significantly affected in all the locations of the district. In most of the locations the farmers were not shown their interest on paddy cultivation during the Yala season in 2018 due to the loss which was previously experienced. The Maha season which start from October and goes till February is mostly cultivated with rain water, the crops got affected by drought in the latter part of the season due to very less rainfall in 2017 and 2018.

The table below details the expected and gained harvest for the past three years. The data shows that the expectation is not met in any of the year in the district.

Source: Farmer survey

Table -03 below details the profit loss on crops for the past three years by percentage. The profit loss is significantly high in Kilinochchi district when comparing with other district in the province during the past three years and this was confirmed by the Provincial Department of Agriculture as well.

Table-03: Profit Loss on Crops (%)

Source: Farmer survey

Most affected farming activities

The crops affected by drought are given in the table below. According to the data collected, mostly the vegetable, fruits and Other Field Crops (OFC) cultivation are affected in all the locations of the district by the drought. The damage is significant on paddy cultivation. In all the locations paddy cultivation is affected badly and contributed for a huge loss for the farmers. According to the farmers mostly they have dropped the paddy cultivation as per the advice from the officials to avoid or to reduce the losses.

Table-04: Most affected farming activities

Source: Key informant interview

Crops with more resilient to recent drought

Most of the crops cultivated in Kilinochchi District are not much resilient to high temperature. But the Department of Agriculture and the Agrarian Service Centers introduced different varieties to suite for high temperature in the area. Mostly the varieties are drought resistant. The table below details the crops which are more resilient to recent drought.

Table-05: Crops with more resilient to recent drought

Source: Key informant interview

Crops with less resilient to recent drought

Most of the crops cultivated in the district are not resilient to drought. The less resilience crops are badly affected by the recent drought. Except the specialized varieties introduced by the department, all the other varieties are mostly affected. The table below details the less resilient crops which are affected by the recent drought.

Table-06: Crops with less resilient to recent drought

Source: Key informant interview

Effectiveness of drought resilient crops in terms of economic and livelihood point of view

According to the survey findings, the drought resilient crops are not much effective in terms of economical and livelihood point of view. The small holder farmers are not familiar with these crops and the market potential is also not enough. Mostly the farmers do not know the treatment and maintenance of these crops. But some crops are traditionally used and the farmers get enough harvest and earning from them. The authorities need to work more on this and help the farmers technically to get maximum benefit out of these crops. Further, they need to do more researches and introduce more drought resilient crops, so that the farmers will have more choice and pick the crop as they wanted.

Alleviation of water shortages and safeguarding faming income during future droughts

The stusdy findings revealed that the impact of drought has been badly affecting the farmers for the last five years especially in the Kilinochchi District. Since it has created many negative impacts, the officials and the agencies who deal with the farmers in the region have made efforts to introduce new farming practices and water usage techniques as preventive methods.

Bonds system and channel systems are introduced as soil conservation practice. The overflow (flood) system has been introduced as the new water usage method. The efficient irrigation methods such as sprinkler watering system and micro irrigator system are used to minimize the water usage.

The Agrarian Service Department had taken initiative to educate the farmers on better farming practices and water usage methods. The cultivation meetings were organized at the very beginning of each season and the farmers were educated and made aware on the remedies and pre-planning methods to face the drought.

The effective management systems were introduced by the Department of Agriculture and the Agrarian Service to confront drought. This is mainly used on vegetable and fruit cultivation. The water management with sprinkler system introduced for efficient usage of water. The farmers were given inputs to implement the system. But due to budget constrain and limitations only few farmers were given the inputs. In the cultivation meetings the farmers were given instructions to limit the cultivation extends. Further, the farmers were advised to use short term varieties, organic manures and compost application methods.

The Faculty of Agriculture of University of Jaffna has take initiative to pilot a drip irrigation project on banana cultivation at the university farm in Ariviyal Nagar in Kilinochchi. If it is success, the same will be introduced to the farmers through the Department of Agriculture. Further, there are many demonstration plots established on better irrigation systems. All these will be introduced to farmers if it is success. There are many researches ongoing at the moment by the university students and the successful findings will be shared among the officials on agriculture sector and will be disseminated to the farmers. This information was received during the study through Key Informant Interview.

Potential existing sources of water

The existing water sources for all the locations in Kilinochchi district have been listed below. The district has more sources from major and minor tanks when comparing with other districts in the province. Most of the smallholder farmers depend on these sources for their cultivation and when droughts prevail, the damage on crops also comparatively high in this district.

Table-07: Potential existing sources of water

Source: Key informant interview

There are numbers of different systems introduced to find solutions to the most vulnerable areas in the District. Rain water harvesting system, rain water storage system, renovation of field channels, construction and renovation of agro wells, renovation of major and minor tanks and cascade system development were introduced targeting the most vulnerable areas to find solution for the negative impact of drought.

Table -08: Methods of Irrigation for Cultivation

Source: Farmer survey

There are several methods used by the farmers for irrigation in the district for the cultivation. The study found that out of the total extent cultivated in the district, the agro wells and deep wells are feeding to most of the cultivated lands. The table-10 below details the methods of irrigation for cultivation by extent.

Table-10: Methods of Irrigation for Cultivation – Extent

Source: Farmer Survey

Support measures for different types to strengthen their resilience

The government authorities’ function in the province created different support measures to strengthen the resilience. The table-11 below details the different types of service provided by different authority in this regard.

Table-11: Support measures by authorities

Source: Key informant interview

The Department of Agriculture has introduced micro irrigation systems. Further, they have promoted OFC cultivation in Paddy lands. Downstream and head works renovation programs were also introduced to reduce the vulnerability and to face future droughts in the area. Cascade system development is in progress. Crop diversification, awareness creations and trainings on water management practices. Further the dept. has taken initiatives to promote micro irrigation systems in the area.

Conclusion

The conclusion is made based on the inputs received from the three key tools which were used to gather information on this study. According to the information gathered, drought has badly damaged the cultivation of smallholder farmers in the Kilinochchi District. It has impacted negatively on the farmer household’s livelihood and made them economically poor.

The severity of the impact and the problem faced by the farmers are comparatively different between farmers. The farmers in Kilinochchi District are mostly depended on major tanks, minor tanks, and irrigation channels for their cultivation; the drought has impacted significantly on them due to this situation.

The authorities, UN agencies and Other NGOs have really looked into this issue and responded to have different mitigation measures to find solutions to the negative impact of drought in the District. There were new species of crops which are tolerant to drought introduced by the Department of Agriculture as alternative measures. There were also certain species of paddy with less duration introduced to get the harvest within short period. Initiatives were taken to renovate major and minor tanks. Proposals were submitted for expansion of tanks in Poonaryn area to increase the water capacity. The new systems such as minor and micro irrigation were introduced to get maximum usage of available water. Inputs were provided for farmers to practice the micro irrigation techniques; trainings and awareness creations were made by the departments to make it effective. The Faculty of Agriculture of Jaffna University has taken measures in pilot testing and introduction of new methods and techniques on certain cultivation. The farmers were compensated for their damages by the Agricultural and Agrarian Insurance Board. But the compensation was not sufficient to recover the total damages.

The initiatives were not sufficient enough as the assistance not reached all the smallholder farmers in the area. It was highlighted by the major actors in the area that the financial constrains have really contributed for insufficient response to drought. The DMC has taken measures to support the farmers with different kinds of assistance, but their responses were more on provision of dry food, drinking water and other relief items. The responses were not focused on farming activities and their future needs.

Recommendations

The recommendations are made based on the information collected from smallholder farmers and the inputs received from the key actors through KIIs and stakeholder consultations. The recommendations provide information on appropriate measures and practices that improve water usages in the District. Further, it also has ideas to reduce the vulnerability to future droughts and sustain the smallholder farmer’s livelihoods.

The following recommendations are made to reduce the negative impact of drought and the measures to mitigate the impact on smallholder farmers in the area;

· The water management in the province needs to be facilitated with proper systems to have better outcome from the available water.

· The smallholder farmers in the area need to be facilitated with crop calendar for climate changes by the officials responsible from the authorities.

· The money spent on relief items could be used for awareness creations on drought adaptation in a systematic manner.

· The government needs to focus on renovating the old and abandoned water sources from the area to mitigate the water scarcity issue.

· Consider cultivating OFC in paddy lands, organic, bio agro farming and mushroom cultivation to have alternative income from farming.

· The government and the agencies working in the area could provide grants to promote micro irrigation systems.

· The government or the agencies working in the area could focus on renovating and developing feeding tanks to reduce the water scarcity.

· Mulching and organic practice for fruits and perennial crops could be considered. The short age varieties on vegetables and fruits could be introduced. The artificial water pools for vegetable cultivation could be established. Drought tolerant crops could be introduced.

References

Berundharshani. T and Munasinghe.D.S, (2015), Drought Resilient Farming System through Crop Diversification: The Case of Huruluwewa, NBRO Symposium, pp.1-3

Kaleel.M.I.M and Nijamir.K, (2017), The Impact of Drought: A Study Based on Anuradhapra District in Sri Lanka, International Journal of Environment, Agriculture and Biotechnology (IJEAB), Vol-2, Issue-4

Gunawardhana L.M.A.P. and Lal Mervin Dharmasiri, (2015), Drought Hazard and Managing Its Impacts through the Disaster Management Approach: A Study in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka, International Research Symposium, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka

Irina Ontel. A and Alina Vladut. B, (2014), Impact of drought on the productivity of agricultural crops within the Oltenia Plain, Romania, Geographica Pannonica, Volume 19, Issue 1, pp. 9-10

Chaoqing Yu, (2017), Assessing the Impacts of Extreme Agricultural Droughts in China Under Climate and Socioeconomic Changes, AUG 100 – Advancing Earth and Space Science, p.689

Ram L. Ray et.al. (2018), Effects of Drought on Crop Production and Cropping Areas in Texas, Agricultural Environmental Letters, pp.1-3

Shankar Adhikari (2018), Drought Impact and Adaptation Strategies in the Mid-Hill Farming System of Western Nepal, MDPI-Environments, pp.1-2

Diyawadana et.al. (2017), Vulnerability of Smallholder Farmers to Climate Change: A Case Study from Hakwatuna-Oya Irrigation Scheme in Sri Lanka, Tropical Agriculture Research, Vol.28(3)

Govind Katalakute (2016), Impact of Drought on Environmental, Agricultural and Socio-economic Status in Maharashtra State, India

Dellal and McCarl, (2010), Economic impact of drought on agriculture in Turkey, Options Mediterraneennes, pp.169-171

Annual Report, (2017), Provincial Department of Agriculture, Northern Province

Quarterly Reports (2017 and 2018), Disaster Management Unit, Kilinochchi

Quarterly Reports (2016, 2017 and 2018), Department of Agrarian Service – Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu

Reports (2017 and 2018), Department of Irrigation, Kilinochchi

Vital Statistics-2018, (2018), Northern Provincial Council