Creek barrage brings new hope to farmers in Khagrachhari

Barrages built on the creeks running down the hills of Khagrachhari brought welcome relief to the usual hard living of the population there by providing them with a chance to bring previously fallow lands under cultivation, raise ducks and cultivate fishes.
At least 3,000 farmers are benefited from 14 creek barrages built by the District Agriculture Extension Office in six upazilas in the hill district of Khagrachhari. As a result 500 hectares of previously fallow lands have come under cultivation and 2,500 metric tons of rice production has been added to the usual total production of 1.5 metric tons.
District Agriculture Extension (DEO) Office sources said they built the creek barrages between 2003 and 2007 to harness creek water for farming during dry seasons, for cultivating fishes, and to raise ducks in the swelled section of the creeks all year round.
According to the DEO Office, they built five creek barrages in Matiranga upazila, two in Mohalchhari upazila, one in Manikchhari upazila, two in Dighinala upazila, three in Ramgarh upazila, and another one in Laxmichhari upazila in the last five years.
They spent about Tk 26 lakh to build the barrages, each one of which cost about Tk 1.7 lakh to Tk 2 lakh on an average.
The creek barrages are bringing new hopes to the farmers of Khagrachhari district as some hundreds of hectares of previously fallow lands have come under cultivation, especially for boro rice.
The barrages also help to cultivate fish and raise ducks making the farmers financially solvent, the sources said.
There are over 64,000 hectares of cultivable lands in the district, only two thirds of which used to be cultivated for triple crops, failing to fulfill the demand for about 2.5 lakh metric tons of food grains for the district's 5.5 lakh inhabitants in a year, while the other third of the lands had been remaining fallow for many years due to a shortage of water in the hill areas.
To fulfill the population's demand for rice, the creek barrage method was followed in the hill district taking into consideration the fallow state of a large section of the lands, the geographic condition, and the remoteness of the area, the DEO sources said.
The Daily Star correspondent recently visited remote Lemuchhari under Mohalchhari upazila, and Echachhara under Matiranga upazila and talked to at least 20 farmers.
Mohammad Shahidullah, 45, a farmer from Echachhara under Matiranga upazila told this correspondent that at least 200 farmers in his area are benefited from the creek barrages and more than 100 hectares of additional lands have come under cultivation there.
They have also cultivated fishes and raised ducks in the swelled up water bodies, fulfilling their demand for food for at least two months, he said.
They were able to sell Tk 70,000 worth of fishes and Tk 20,000 worth of eggs and ducks because of the barrages.
The proceeds were divided among the members of a farmers' cooperative as all the water bodies at the creek barrages are under the supervisions of farmers' cooperative committees, he added.
Nalendra Tripura, a farmer from Lemuchhari said, due to the creek barrages built in his area, at least 275 farmers are benefited and at least 165 hectares of previously unused lands have come under cultivation.
"We have cultivated fishes in the water bodies created by the barrages, fulfilling our local demand," he said.
Amzad Hossain, sub-assistant agriculture officer of Matiranga upazila, said more and more farmers are now asking for creek barrages in their areas following the success of the method in their neighboring areas, he said.
Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, Mohalchhari upazila agriculture officer, told The Daily Star that the creek barrages brought new hopes for the hill farmers.
Deputy Director (DD) of Agriculture TM Monjurul Islam said, "We are happy with the success of the creek barrages. Farmers are becoming financially solvent and poverty in the society has ameliorated."
Because of the creek barrages about 500 hectares of lands which used to remain fallow during dry seasons, are now being cultivated. As a result more than 2,500 metric tons of food grains are being added to the usual food production in the area, meeting the food crisis for a few months in the hill district, Monjurul Islam said.
A two-member committee led by Rowshanara, joint secretary to the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs, on June 28 visited the areas where the creek barrages are situated and expressed satisfaction with the result.
Farmers of different areas demanded similar barrages in their own areas from the visiting committee, the sources said.
The idea of building the creek barrages was taken from our neighboring countries Malaysia and Thailand, the DEO Office sources said.