Sri Lanka: Sida’s contribution to the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) – Anticipatory Action window
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Sri Lanka is witnessing an unprecedented economic crisis. Challenges in public finance and the significant reduction in agricultural production compounded by rising prices and limited availability of fuel are disrupting livelihoods. The depreciation of the national currency by more than 70 percent since March 2022 is reducing households’ purchasing power, which may lead to food shortages in the upcoming months, severely affecting populations’ food security. Crop production of the 2021/22 Maha agricultural season (October–March) was nearly halved, and due to insufficient and increased costs of inputs, only a few farmers were able to cultivate their fields for the 2022 Yala season (May–September), leading to further production declines.
Thanks to the contribution of the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) to the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA) – Anticipatory Action window, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is acting now and will provide unconditional cash transfers to the most vulnerable smallholder farmers in Sri Lanka, with the goal of anticipating and mitigating expected food security impacts of the economic crisis. Cash is expected to help farmers cover immediate needs and meet the cost of inputs for growing highly nutrient green gram.