By B.V.R. Punyawardena
In spite of the technological advances made on improved crop management, irrigation, plant protection and fertilization; weather and climate remain the key factors of agricultural productivity in any country. Farming systems and agronomic practices in most agricultural regions of Sri Lanka have evolved in close harmony with the prevailing conditions of the respective climatic regions of the island. However, it has been made evident during recent decades that the heritage of farming experiences and accumulated weather lore of centuries are no longer useful in the process of agricultural planning at any level. The Climate of the island has undergone a change to such an extent that the expected rainfall does not come at the correct time and severely handicapping farmers during growing season. Variability of both summer and winter monsoon rains and rains of convectional origin has increased significantly during recent decades (Table 1). As a result, both extremes, i.e., water scarcity and excess water have become a recurrent problem faced by crop production in Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, increasing ambient temperature has also resulted in several direct and indirect negative impacts on crop growth. However, intensively managed livestock sector of the country is not so vulnerable to climate change compared to the food crops sector. But, the situation is obviously different for extensively managed livestock sector where it is purely dependent on the rain-fed pastoral systems. Meanwhile, additional pressure coming from ever-increasing population, poor terms of trade, weak infrastructure, lack of access to modern technology, and information and civil disturbances will restrict the options available for people to cope with the negative consequences of climate change (Punyawardena, 2002).
