Plantation Sector Urged to Prepare for El Niño Impacts 🌧️

• Context & Objective: Plantations and Community Infrastructure Minister Samantha Vidyarathna has called for early, coordinated planning among stakeholders to mitigate potential El Niño impacts, safeguarding both plantation worker livelihoods and national production targets. • Climate Risk Assessment: Climate expert Prof. Ranjith Punyaratne briefed officials on how the El Niño phenomenon could alter rainfall patterns, elevate temperatures, and deplete water resources across Sri Lanka. • Sector Focus & Proven Tactics: Previous climate risk management strategies implemented for tea and coconut cultivation have yielded positive results. Officials agreed these practical measures must be deployed again. • Key Mitigation Strategies: Discussions focused on expanding modern technology and science-based solutions, including: • Soil and water conservation • Micro-irrigation technologies • Alternative livestock practices • Enhancing field officer capacity and improving timely weather data dissemination to farmers • Stakeholder Collaboration: The meeting involved key sector heads, including the Ministry Secretary, the Director General of Agriculture, and the Chairpersons of the Tea, Coconut, and Rubber Research Institutes of Sri Lanka, aiming to build long-term climate resilience.