Aus production to falter in Sylhet division
With 98 percent of harvesting already complete, Aus production this season in four districts of Sylhet division is likely to fall behind the targeted production of 4.71 lakh tonnes.
A drought-like situation caused by poor rainfall during the cultivation period in the region is the contributing factor behind the failure to achieve the production target, said farmers and officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Sylhet.
Under the circumstances, farmers were able to cultivate Aus on 1,74,471 hectares of land, which is around 84 percent of total 2,07,820 hectares of land that was set by the DAE as targeted area for cultivation this season.
The targeted area of cultivation last season was 29,033 hectares higher, according to DAE data.
Dilip Kumar Adhikari, additional director of DAE in Sylhet, said, "Various pragmatic steps undertaken by the government had encouraged farmers to expand Aus cultivation, but the production of the crop fell due to the drought."
The harvesting will be over within a few days if the weather condition remains favourable, said Kazi Lutful Bari, DAE deputy director in Moulvibazar.
Despite irrigation with water pumps, the scorching heat during the dry spell prevented seeds from germinating in the Aus fields, he explained.
Aus farmers in the region are now worried that their profit margin will decline drastically this time as the cost of their extensive irrigation has raised the cost of production.
Their decision to grow Aus this season again was based on the good profits from the crop last season, many farmers said.
The prime time for Aus cultivation is the first three months of the Bangla calendar when meteorological offices in Sreemangal and Sylhet registered record high temperatures in Sylhet division.
The heat spell continued into several more weeks of the following month and no rainfall was registered during the period, said Meteorologist Sayed Ahmed Chowdhury, the in-charge of the Met Office in Sylhet.
Farmer Ahmed Ali, from Kulaura upazila in Moulvibazar, said, "Aus saplings in my field were drying up due to the sweltering heat."
Another farmer from same area, Lalon Biswas, said his cost of production shot up due to constant irrigation.
Abdur Rakib, a farmer in Dattagram village of Rajnagar upazila, said he initially planned to cultivate Aus on 10 acres of land, but he finally managed to cultivate five acres after it rained lightly. "But now I am happy as the harvest has been good. It will be just enough for my family."
Kulaura Upazila Agriculture Officer Abdul Momin said over irrigating a field can do more harm than good and satisfactory production can be achieved if irrigation is done after sunset.
Photo: Mintu Deshwara
A worker in Mulvibazar's Kamolganj upazila using wind to separate undeveloped Aus grains before drying.