Flood Aftermath: Free fertiliser, seeds for 7.76 lakh farmers

The government will distribute seeds and fertilisers free of cost to over 7.76 lakh flood affected small and marginal farmers in haor areas and mid-northern districts of the country under an agriculture rehabilitation programme. 

The farmers will be given seeds of different crops along with non-urea fertilisers in compensation for crop loss due to prolonged floods, said Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury in a written statement.

The programme will cost the government Tk 137 crore, she said at a press conference at her office yesterday. 

Under the programme, some 6 lakh farmers of six haor districts -- Sylhet, Sunamganj, Hobiganj, Moulvibazar, Netrokona and Kishoreganj -- will get seeds, Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) and Muriate of Potash (MoP) fertilizers worth Tk 117 crore and Tk 1,000 in cash each for cultivating crops on a bigha of land.

Each one of them will receive 5kg boro rice seeds along with 20 kg DAP and 10 kg MoP fertilisers, Matia said, adding that the programme was aimed at bringing six lakh bighas or 80,162 hectares of land under cultivation and producing nearly 3.25 lakh tonnes of rice.

Apart from farmers in the haor region, 1,76,202 small and marginal farmers in 18 flood affected mid-northern districts will be given free wheat, maize, mustard, peanuts, khesari, vegetable, boro rice seeds and DAP and MoP fertilisers at the cost of Tk 20 crore during the Robi season.

The flood affected districts are Naogaon, Kurigram, Jamalpur, Dinajpur, Bogra, Tangail, Sirajganj, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Natore, Nilphamari, Gaibandha, Thakurgaon, Lalmonirhat, Panchagarh, Joypurhat, Sherpur and Brahmmanbaria.

Earlier, the government announced Tk 58.75 crore incentive programme for more than 5.41 lakh small and marginal farmers of 64 districts to encourage them to cultivate 10 crops on a bigha of land each.