Abstract:
Ampara District plays a key role in
paddy production in Sri Lanka. However, there was
a noticeable decrease in paddy production during
the Maha season of 2021/2022. The purpose of this
study is to conduct a comparative analysis of the
decline in rice production in the South Coastal re
gion of the Ampara District during the Maha sea
son, which might be attributed to the fertilizer pol
icy implemented in 2021. Data for this study were
gathered using a structured questionnaire. Using
the stratified random sampling method, 145 farm
ers were selected from each Divisional Secretariat
in the coastal region of the Ampara District. This
study examines various aspects of paddy cultiva
tion, including yield, urea usage, production costs,
paddy prices, income, net profit, and cost-benefit
ratios. Data were analyzed using descriptive statis
tics, one-sample t-tests, paired-sample t-tests, and
combined variance methods. The analysis reveals a
significant decline in both paddy yield and urea us
age during the Maha 2021/2022 season compared to
previous Maha seasons and Yala 2021. The fertilizer
policy in 2021 caused a significant rise in the cost of
production, paddy prices, and urea prices. Average
income in Maha 2021/2022 was higher than in Yala
2021 due to higher paddy prices, with little income
variation between seasons and greater paddy price
variation in Yala 2021. Despite higher income, net
profit and return on investment were lower in Maha
2021/2022 compared to Yala 2021 due to increased
production costs. The fertilizer policy of 2021 im
posed harm on farmers (reduced profit and ROI)
but was somewhat recovered through the increased
selling price.
