Aman cultivation hampered

In many northern and central districts of the country, farmers couldn't plant Aman seedlings because floodwater washed away most of the seedbeds. According to preliminary field assessment by the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), till the third week of this month, farmers could plant Aman on 40 lakh hectares across the country, around 16 lakh hectares short of the target. This is worrying news.

Since due to flashflood in haor areas and fungal attacks, 20 lakh tonnes of Boro rice was lost this year, Aman cultivation in the current season is crucial for the farmers to regain their losses and also to ensure the country's food security.

The government should immediately distribute Aman seedlings among the farmers of the flood-hit areas. It should develop a mechanism so that every Aman farmer could get seedlings and none is left out of the scheme. And this has to be done on an emergency basis as farmers would have to plant Aman by mid-September in order to achieve the targeted yield.

Additionally, the non-government organisations can play an important role here. They can take initiatives to help the farmers get seedlings and also provide them with other necessary support.

It is also important that the government learns from this year's seedlings crisis and makes sure that such crisis does not occur in the future.