Post-war livelihood trends in northern and eastern Sri-Lanka

Using information collected through, key informant interviews, FGDs and Stakeholder Consultations, this report examines the livelihood shifts in the Northern and Eastern Provinces since the end of war in May 2009. We found that while farming and fishing, including animal husbandry, continue to remain important in these two provinces, for a vast majority of impoverished people remaining in these two provinces casual wage labor in an unstable labor market characterized by low wages, absence of continuous work and wages and other terms being dictated by the employers, have become the main source of livelihood, replacing farming and fishing, the two leading livelihoods in the area prior to the war and during part of the war period as well. The increased importance of wage labor in postwar era is connected with the construction boom in these areas associated with postwar developments as wells as difficulties encountered by the new settlers in restoring their former livelihoods disrupted during the war not only due to the breakdown of irrigation infrastructure, fishing harbors, support services, increased costs of production, and loss of land and equipment, but also due to increased competition for local fishermen from Indian trawlers and Sothern fishermen, and loss of the economic niches occupied by local producers over products such as red onions, chillies, tobacco and fish. Some environmental factors such as droughts and flash floods and threats from wild animals have also contributed to the decline of farming in parts of Vanni and the Paduwankarai region of the Eastern province in particular. Similarly over exploitation of some fishing grounds by the trawlers and environmental impacts of tsunami are among the factors that have adversely affected the local fishing industry. On the social side, factors contributing to the decline of farming and fishing include demographic imbalances as reflected in increase in female-headed households, disability and dependency and outmigration of people with capital and knowhow during the war.