Floods damage crops of Tk 350cr up to now
Floods have already damaged crops worth practically Tk 350 crore and so are going to pile up further losses on tens of thousands of farmers, according to an official estimate.
Growers of aus and aman rice crops, jute and summer vegetables in 14 districts suffered the biggest losses as the floods submerged almost 42,000 hectares of the cropland, said Alhaz Uddin Ahmed, director of the field services wing at the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).
"There is no scope of recovery of the crops that went underwater," he said.
The estimate of losing was prepared based on inundation from June 25 to July 9. As soon as the DAE had completed the primary estimates, the floods, caused by heavy rainfall and onrush of water from upstream, started submerging the localities and farmlands in the northern and central regions.
Until yesterday, crops on 62,000 hectares area in 26 districts were damaged by the floodwaters. This consists of the districts which were damaged by the flood in the first spell, said DAE officials.
The natural disaster hit the united states and farming at a time when the federal government has given a thrust to utilise every little bit of cultivable land to make sure enough food production in order that the country can manage food supply and fight the Covid-19 pandemic and never have to rely on global markets.
Within the plan, the agriculture ministry earlier allocated Tk 33 crore for distribution of seed and fertilizer among small and marginal farmers to inspire them to grow rice during the aus season and cultivate summer onion.
It widened aus rice acreage and yield targets, aside from increasing the cultivation of aman, the second-biggest rice crop contributing 39 % to the total 3.63 crore tonnes of rice output within the last fiscal year.
A banana grove awaits the same fate in close by Chargachha area. This can be the aftermath of the adjoining Jamuna river overflowing its banks recently. The photographs were taken yesterday. Photo; SK Enamul Haq
The ministry increased the aus paddy planting target by 17 per cent from the prior year's acreage.
The acreage for aus, which is harvested in July and August, crossed the prospective and stood at 13.36 lakh hectares, the best in two decades.
The ministry earlier raised the rice production target by 20 % to 36 lakh tonnes during the aus season and geared to improve the cultivation and yields during the current aman rice season by encouraging farmers to grow newly released improved types of rice.
Farmers plant the crop through the rainy season and harvest in November and December. The agriculture ministry reduced the costs of seeds.
As the floods continue to inundate, the DAE prepares to supply rehabilitation support to farmers.
"We will commence rehabilitation activities following the water recedes," said DAE Director General Md Abdul Muyeed.
"We have taken a three-pronged technique to support growers with seedlings," he said, adding that agricultural workers would inspire farmers to plant vegetables like bottle gourd in moveable bags.
To provide seedlings of aman crop, the DAE took a Tk 2.14-crore project to build up community seedbeds on 527 acres. The theory is to aid 35,000 farmers to grow rice on a single bighas of land, said Ahmed.
It would support a lot more than 1,250 farmers to grow seedlings on floating seedbeds.
The DAE will pilot a scheme of growing seedbeds in trays of rice transplanters to distribute seedlings among 1,600 growers, said Alhaz.
He said seedlings of late varieties of aman rice such as for example BR-22 and BR-23 will be ready to help farmers constitute their losses due to the floods.
The federal government aims to bring 58.95 lakh hectares of land under aman cultivation this year to create 1.53 crore tonnes of rice.
Until yesterday, farmers planted aman on five lakh hectares of area, including three lakh hectares of broadcast variety, according to the DAE.
