Despite drought, SL rules out rice shortage

Sri Lanka has ruled out a shortage of rice until the harvest of the next cultivation season despite the impact of dry weather on the current crop, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement on Sunday. Quoting Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, the statement said that 503,000 hectares of paddy fields have been cultivated in the current season, with some of them affected by drought. The minister said there will not be a shortage of rice in the future as a successful harvest was received in the last cultivation season, Xinhua news agency reported. Sri Lankan meteorology department has forecasted that the dry spell will continue till the end of September. Rice is the staple food of Sri Lanka and is cultivated in two seasons a year in the South Asian country.