“The issues we are going to face in the next three months is a good warning about what will happen in terms of climate change in the next 20-30 years. Our study at the Institute shows that in the next 20-30 years, small farmers in the Dry zone will suffer very much. Climate models also show that rice output in the Dry zone can drop by 15 percent or more.”
This begs the question, do we save water for drinking or let our agricultural fields which grow our food have it? The government in the meantime has warned that they would be shutting off water for agricultural purposes in certain areas given the shortage. Running short of drinking water thus has been a major worry all around but the National Water Supply and Drainage Board General Manager, G.A. Kumararathna speaking to the Daily News said they had not made assessments of reservoirs and rivers as of yet as the problem had not become grave thus far but they would look into having some controls in another six weeks. “We will look into controls during the latter parts of February,” said Kumararathna.
According to Amarnath Giriraj the best solution to deciding where the water should go could be planned using knowledge on the current water resource availability and its demand, which is efficiently monitored through water resource modelling and satellite data.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2017/01/18/features/104994/no-rain-no-grain
Population pressure and increasing water competition in a changing climate require us to take stock of the availability and use of water across scales. Water availability not only influences farmers’ commercial prospects but also irrigation-related enterprises and agri-businesses. Greater water scarcity could jeopardize irrigation and agricultural markets while excessive water use can lead to declining ecosystems, water quality and soil health. IWMI advises development partners and the public and private sectors on all aspects of water resource availability and use through a variety of advanced modeling and remote-sensing products and tools, including 
The ability of farmers to engage in or expand irrigation depends on the prevailing socioeconomic, ecological and political contexts, which are often complex, non-linear and changeable. Overcoming systemic barriers to farmer-led irrigation development while taking advantage of existing opportunities 
A lack of affordable credit, particularly for women and resource-poor farmers, is one of the main barriers to expanding farmer-led irrigation in low- and middle-income countries. But 
Scaling farmer-led irrigation requires strengthening human capacity and knowledge exchange among all actors and stakeholders involved. IWMI takes an action research approach, working with national and international research institutions, governments, extension agents and public and private organizations to co-develop the scaling ecosystem and strengthen capacity to drive scaling networks and collective action. We support the