Great Rice Country Drought

A dried field in Denchi no Kuni

The Great Rice Country Drought is the name of what has become known as the worse drought to hit the country of Denchi no Kuni in the last century. The drought was caused by record low amounts of rain fall between the years 2113 and 2115, caused by the shifting of wind patterns to flow north towards the Northern Sea rather than south. This is a normal shift of winds for the country that last seasonally at most. However, due to the unrelenting wind patterns the drought has caused hundreds of farmers to leave their fields in order to try and provide for their families. Over seventy five percent of the country's population was severely effected, along with above twenty percent losing house and home and forced to live on the streets and starve. Crops died and dried up and once lush fields of green were now unfortunate shades of brown.

Because of the country's heavy dependence on the exporting of rice, the entire economy of Denchi no Kuni went into a spiral, causing business owners and government officials to panic and look for a place to blame. The Kyoukage Resumo Brash, leader of the countries military and government, was blamed for his inability to take action to account for the loss in crops. In addition, his refusal to weaken and/or disband the countries ninja force in order to reallocate funding to feed the hungry people of the country was looked at as a play for power rather than a concern for national security. The approval rating of the Kyoukage plummeted as the hunger of the average citizen rose. Though the ranks of the Otogakure no Sato ninja were thinned due to a shrinking budget, they still were a strong presence in the country.

The city of Otogakure no Sato suffers from a severe case of citizen disobedience, with crime and thievery on the uprise, the ninja of the city have to do all that is their power to just keep the citizens from burning their own capital to the ground.

Relief Efforts

Otogakure no Sato has taken many steps in order to provide relief to their country.

Artificial Rainfall

Otogakure no Sato's first relief attempts were to cause artificial rainfall through the use of ninjutsu in the largest of farming communities. The original results were great, but over the following weeks the adverse effects on the surrounding ecosystems took their toll as the results of the drought grew exponentially. There was simply not enough moisture in the environment to support the concentration into a single area without considerations.

The Kyoukage created an investigatory team to study the patterns of artificial rainfall and create a rotational relief that would provide the lowest impact on surrounding systems. This resulted in what is known as the Emergency Rain Relief plan and has been in effect since late in 2013. It involves a rotating system of relief that provides small amounts of rainfall to keep crop production up to a minimal standard in select communities across the country. The relief is minor and results in a mere fraction of the countries normal crop production.

The use of artificial rainfall has created public backlash in a number of groups that claim that its use only prolongs the drought and that it prevents it from running its course. These groups range from scientific to religious roots for their believes.

Wind Pattern Shifting

In another attempt to "fix" the ecosystem, wind ninjutsu has been attempted to change the direction of the wind patterns to correct them back to normal. This has proven highly unsuccessful as the wind patterns are believed to start as far as the mountains of Rai no Kuni and continue out and over the Northern Sea. Though ninjutsu can change the course of local wind and move clouds, as soon as the ninjutsu is released the winds change back like the flow of a river.

Government Seizure and Redistribution

In the north near the Northern Sea many farms are able to irrigate their farmland and continue to produce crops. This causes in general for the northern portion of the country to have been better off in this drought than the southern portion, especially near the city of Surkh. Otogakure no Sato, in the intrested of the entire country, has enacted a heavy taxation on crops to be transported and distributed to starving communities in the south. Depending on the size and productivity of the farmland a taxation as high as 60% of harvested crops has been pushed onto the farmers and their families. Though effective, this has stirred many communities into frenzies against the southern lands.

External Relief

Otogakure no Sato has received aid from Hi no Kuni and Hara no Kuni in the form of food and basic supplies. Though these may seem completely altruistic acts they are done with the expectant that Dench no Kuni will repay in the future, further pushing the economy into debt.