Matia pledges help for flood-hit farmers

The government would provide paddy saplings to flood-affected farmers, as many seedbeds had been washed away by floodwater, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury said yesterday.

“Farmers would not be able to plant paddy saplings if floodwater submerge their land. The government will try its best to supply paddy saplings to the flood-hit farmers and different government agencies, such as BADC, have been prepared for this,” she said.

The minister said this while addressing a seminar on “Climate Change Adaptation Projects in Agriculture: Challenges and Lessons Learned” as the chief guest at the city's Cirdap auditorium. Bangladesh Climate Change Trust (BCCT) and the Ministry of Environment and Forest jointly organised the seminar.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, around 1,25,000 hectares of land went under floodwater this year and crops, mainly paddy, of around 20,000 hectares of land was completely damaged.

Blaming the developed countries for their failure to keep their promise over climate change adaptation, Matia said the government never waited for any countries for completing its environment-related projects.

Mentioning different climate-friendly initiatives of the government, she said the use of pesticides had largely declined as farmers were using three eco-friendly traps, including light trap and pheromone trap, to kill harmful insects.

The minister said the government last year imported Tk 183 crore less amount of pesticides mainly due to its success in controlling the use of pesticides. 

She criticised the method of setting up dams on river banks and suggested dredging rivers, which would increase the navigability of the rivers and the silt could be used for making dams.

Mentioning the success of reviving the Gorai river basin, the minister said that due to the initiative, floodwater remain under control in the Padma river basin than the Jamuna, Tista and other rivers.

Matia also said she told parliament that her ministry would not give any permission for deep tube wells, considering the gradual decline of groundwater level.

The government has been working to improvise the project of floating agriculture in different areas of the country, she said.

Forest and Environment Minister Anwar Hossain Manju said, “The environmental problem is a common problem for every country. It is not possible to tackle the problem with our own money.”

“We have sent some project proposals to the planning ministry ... The more projects we get, the better are the chances of ensuring success in this sector,” he said.

The minister criticised appointing of advisers in the projects as, he said, it costs a lot of money. Besides, he also focused on the transparency in operating climate change projects.

Deputy Minister for Environment and Forest Abdullah Al Islam Jacob, Agriculture Secretary Moinuddin Abdullah also spoke. Noted economist Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad conducted the programme.