Boro Saplings Crisis: Lalmonirhat farmers face setback

Boro farmers in the district are facing serious problem in the peak Boro cultivation season due to shortage of saplings, following damage of seedbeds during the prolonged cold wave coupled with dense fog this year.

Although Boro cultivation started in full swing, many farmers in the district have left their land vacant due to acute crisis of saplings.

They are now rushing from here to there to collect their required Boro saplings.

Farmer Ranjit Chandra Barman of Kamalabari village in Aditmari upazila said he prepared Boro seedbeds on 10 bighas of land this year, but half of the saplings have damaged and turned yellowish due to prolonged cold accompanied by dense fogs.

"Though I have planted Boro paddy on seven bighas of land. I am trying to collect more seedlings from others as three bighas of my land still remained uncultivated,"Ranjit said.

Another farmer of the village Mohammad Ali said due to acute sapling crisis, he planted Boro paddy on four bighas out of six bighas land this year.

"About half of my Boro seedlings on 10 decimals land have been completely damaged. If I failed to collect the saplings in time, I won't be able to cultivate Boro paddy this season," said Nazrul Islam, a farmer at Harati village in Sadar upazila.

"I covered my entire seedbed with polythene in a bid to save the saplings, but still many of those got damaged," he said, adding that, now he is trying to collect seedlings from his neighbours and relatives.

Officials at Lalmonirhat Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) said this year they have set a target to cultivate Boro on 70,000 hectares of land in five upazilas of the district.

Farmers said transplanting of Boro seedlings will be completed by the end of this month.

Lalmonirhat DAE Deputy Director Bidhubhushan Roy said many farmers planted Boro seedlings on more land than they require and those who are in crisis will be able to collect their saplings from others.