Brick kilns threaten soil fertility
Farmland fertility in the area of Hakaluki Haor is under threat as struggling farmers sell their topsoil to local brick kilns. In at least the four upazilas of Moulvibazar district the sale of topsoil continues unabated, without any action taken by government authorities.
“I used to expect about 10 maunds of paddy from my half bigha of land,” says farmer Fahadul Islam from Dildarpur village in Kulaura upazila. “Then two years ago I sold the topsoil to a brick kiln and since then the yield has halved.”
“I sold my topsoil to a brick kiln,” says Rajab Ali, 60, a farmer from Begbanpur village in Kulaura. “I did it when I faced a financial crisis.” According to farmers, the area's brickfields seek out topsoil every year.
“Topsoil is the main raw material for bricks,” says brickfield worker Moyna Mia from Bhuhai village in Kulaura. “Brickfield owners collect topsoil to a depth of two to four feet from farmlands, to make quality bricks.”
“Yes, we purchase topsoil,” agrees Md Mustafizur Rahman, the owner of company Sapla Brick, a brickfield enterprise in Kulaura upazila. “We need the topsoil for brick manufacture, and we pay proper prices to the farmers for it. We have never faced any objection from the agriculture department.”
“The soil that is used in brick manufacture is the fertile top soil,” says Sylhet branch general secretary of non-government organisation Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon, Abdul Karim Kim. “Continuous use of this soil in kilns leads to a fertility deficit in arable lands and with the passage of time these lands can lose their agricultural value entirely.” He urges the authorities to take immediate measures to stop the harmful practice.
“If lands lose their topsoil, paddy production reduces by half,” says Moulvibazar's deputy director of the department of agriculture extension. He says he will take necessary steps to prevent topsoil loss.
Comments