A farmer tries to stop a fire in an abandoned farming land amid a drought in Anamaduwa, Sri Lanka August 20,2023. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte
ANAMADUWA, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - H.J.M Seneviratne, 63, slices through yellowed paddy stems dried out by a drought that has destroyed over 95% of his crop and is threatening crisis-hit Sri Lanka's summer rice harvest.
The island's economy was crushed last year by its worst financial crisis in over seven decades, caused by a severe shortage of foreign exchange reserves that triggered widespread unrest and ousted its former president.
