Floods ravage 50,000 hectares of cropland

Crops of around 50,000 hectres of land have been damaged by the recent floods in three districts of Chattogram division, according to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE).

In Chattogram and Cox's Bazar districts, floods ravaged seedbeds, paddy fields, vegetable and fruit plantations of around 46,000 hectares of land, said Arabinda Kumar Roy, additional director of DAE in Chattogram.

"The assessment of the extent of damage to the croplands is still going on. The figure may increase further after completion of the assessment," he told The Daily Star recently.

Many farmers have become helpless after losing their crops and seedbeds.

"My land will remain uncultivated in this season as my seedbed was ravaged by flood water," said Mohammed Akbar, a paddy farmer from Fatehpur union of Chattogram's Hathazari upazila.

The flood has left him desolate and amid uncertainty regarding how he will make a turnaround from this difficult situation.

Mohammed Selim, a farmer from Fatehpur union under Hathazari, cultivated gourd on 0.20 acre of land and invested Tk 20,000 for the cultivation. The flood damaged his crop significantly, leaving him at a loss.

"I don't know how I will provide for my family as I earn a living by selling my crops," he lamented.

"I prepared paddy seedlings on half-acre land. But half of the seedbed got damaged as flood waters remained stagnant for five days," said Jamal Hossain, a farmer from Sadaha union under Satkania upazila.

However, agriculture officer Arabinda Kumar Roy said, "We will provide additional seeds and other necessary incentives to the affected farmers so that Aman production does not decrease."

Md Al Mamun Sikder, DAE officer in Hathazari upazila, said, "Farmers can overcome flood damage by planting seedlings of late varieties of paddy as these varieties are harvested later."

In Rangamati, crops on 3,539 hectares of land have been damaged by the recent floods, said Bijoy Kumar Joardar, assistant commissioner of Rangamati district administration.

"The damaged crops include Aus paddy, Aman paddy, ginger, turmeric and fruit gardens," said Md Moniruzzaman, deputy director of DAE in Rangamati.

"We are preparing the list of affected farmers. We will try to provide seeds to them from Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC)," he told The Daily Star.

"I invested over Tk 1.5 lakh to cultivate bitter gourd, cucumber, ginger and turmeric. But all of my crops have been damaged by flood waters. Even my cropland is still inundated," said Nilu Kumar Chakma, a resident of Jurachari Sadar upazila.

Contacted, Rangamati Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Mosaraf Hossain Khan said the district administration would take necessary measures to provide special incentives to the affected farmers.

Over a dozen farmers in the same upazila talked to The Daily Star yesterday. Crops of over 100 decimals of land have been damaged by the flood, they said.

"Cultivating these crops is the main source of earning our livelihood. Now, all of our crops have been damaged. We don't know how we will manage for the rest of this year and the next," said Rupom Chakma of Jurachari Sadar upazila.

Torrential rain and tidal water caused the sudden deluge that wreaked havoc in the southeastern region of the country, affecting over one million people since the beginning of this month, according to media reports.

[Our correspondents from Chattogram and Rangamati contributed to the report.]