Abstract:
Although much importance is given to the details of the impacts of the conflicts and of the conflicts themselves in international literature, farmers’ problems and survival strategies in a conflict situation have been rarely touched in Sri Lankan studies in the past except some small surveys for institutional interventions by international or local NGOs. This study provides an overall picture of the livelihood and vulnerability of farming communities in the Northern part of Sri Lanka with regard to key human security aspects. The objectives of this research lend themselves to both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, which covered the two village sites selected in the Vavuniya district of Sri Lanka: namely, Povarasankulam controlled by the government, and Kovil-kurukkulam, controlled by the militants, affected intensively from the 1990s till 2003/4. A variety of research tools were employed during data collection including focus group discussions, historical profiles, key informant interviews, and household surveys. The findings reveal that their human security should cover the impacts of the war such as all the menaces that threaten human survival, daily life, and dignity of the farmers. Their survival strategies could be possible within the means and operations available in their villages regarding living and earning conditions or in the conflict zones where a lot of restrictions were imposed; locally available simple raw materials were the inputs for livelihood and survival. The strategies depended mainly on the institutional interventions and approval of the military and militants. The findings can be related to addressing their problems in the future institutional interventions after the War and help to respond to the most critical needs of those low potential agricultural communities.
