The Hon. (Dr.) Nalinda Jayatissa

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, I table the answer on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation.

¶ 02 (a) (i) Recently, the Ministry has not conducted a nationwide assessment specifically on crop damage by wild animals. While losses from natural disasters such as droughts and floods are assessed, a national-level continuous loss estimation for damages caused by animals such as porcupine, monkeys, peacocks, wild boar and elephants is not carried out. (ii) In 2022, the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute conducted a semi-annual aggregate assessment on wildlife damage in agriculture, using data from 464 Agrarian Development Areas provided by the Department of Agrarian Development, covering paddy and other crops for Maha 2021/22, and coconut and other perennial crops from January to June 2022. Detailed tabulations by crop/category and affected area are included in the background report placed in the Library. (iii) As per the Committee on Wildlife Damage Management of the Ministry, common and problematic species can be categorized as: - Species entering from above-crop level: macaques, purple-faced leaf monkeys, palm civets, peafowl; - Species entering at ground level: porcupine, monitor lizards, etc.; - Species difficult to manage at farmer level: elephants; - Species with some manageability at farmer level: giant squirrels, wild boar.

¶ 03 (b) Not applicable.

¶ 04 2015 ONWARDS: CHINESE INVESTMENTS – DETAILS