Flood takes toll on crops
The recent floods have caused extensive damage to crops, especially Aman paddy, in Tangail and Gaibandha districts.
Our Tangail Correspondent reports: Different crops on around 22,000 hectares of land, including Aman on over 20,000 hectares, were damaged due to floods in eight upazilas of Tangail district.
According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in Tangail, Aman was cultivated on 1,14,000 hectares (transplanted Aman on around 82,000 hectares and broadcast around 32,000) of land in 12 upazilas under the district this season. Of it, transplanted Aman on around 15,000 hectares and broadcast on around 5,000 hectares of land were damaged by flood in eight upazilas.
"Ropa Aman paddy of my three bighas of land were fully damaged after the onrush of water from nearby Jamuna river two weeks ago," said Abul Kashem of Pathailkandi village under Kalihati upazila.
Aman paddy on two bighas of land of farmer Nazrul Islam, four bighas of land of Shah Alam and three bighas of land of Asmat Ali of the same village were also damaged in the flood.
Different vegetables on over 1,000 hectares out of total 9,000 hectares of land and lemon on 250 hectares out of total 850 hectares of land in the upazilas were also damaged in the flood, said officials of the agriculture department.
Agriculturist Abu Adnan, deputy director of DAE in Tangail, said the Aman paddy production target in the district may not be achieved this season due to the huge damage by the flood.
The vegetable growers and lemon orchard owners also face huge losses due to the flooding, he added.
The local Aman seedling traders incurred huge losses as their saplings remained unsold due to lack of buyers in the last two weeks.
“However, prices of seedlings are now increasing due to short supply for the last few days. A hundred bundles of seedlings were sold at Tk 300 only two weeks ago but now it is selling at Tk 500," said Mohammad Dulal Hossain, a seedling trader at Elenga Bazar in Kalihati upazila.
Our Gaibandha Correspondent reports: Transplanted Aman crops worth about Tk 14 crore have been damaged by prolonged floodwater in ten unions of Saghata upazila.
Acute crisis of Aman seedlings is prevailing in flood affected areas, as seedbeds were washed away by the surging water, said local farmers.
Poor and marginal farmers cannot procure new seedlings due to its high prices and there is no time for preparing fresh seedbeds.
According to upazila agriculture department, floodwater washed away transplanted Aman seedlings on 2,300 hectare of land. This time target was fixed for Aman cultivation on 11,700 hectare of land.
“Aman seedlings on my 50 decimal of lands was completely damaged by floodwater and there is still time to replant late variety seedlings, but I could not procure seedlings as the prices are high,” said Kamaluddin, a poor farmer of Durgapur village in Saghata upazila.
Amjad Hossain, a landless peasant of the same village, said he cultivated Aman on two bighas of land as a sharecropper on condition of getting half of the harvested crop, but all the seedlings were washed away by the surging floodwater.
The damage of crops might be worth about Tk 14 crore although the total assessment is yet to be made, said AKM Mobinuzzaman Chowdhury, upazila agriculture officer in Saghata.
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