Flash floods damage crops worth Tk 100 crore in Kurigram

Crops on around 8,027 hectares of land have been damaged due to the recent floods in Kurigram district.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, in nine upazilas of the district, 80,000 farmers have been affected by the recent floods and crops worth Tk 127 crore have been damaged.

Mofizal Haque, a farmer from Sadar upazila, said the seedbeds that he prepared have been washed away.

“I am preparing new seedbeds again. I have no way to recoup these losses,” he said.

The damaged crops in the district include Aman seedbed, jute, Aush paddy, sesame, vegetables, peanuts, banana, corn, chili, ginger, turmeric and lentil.

Around 312 hectares of Aman seedbed, 2,500 hectares of Aush, 3,800 hectares of jute, 114 hectares of sesame, 1,600 hectares of vegetables and 18 hectares of quinoa have been damaged in floodwaters. The Agriculture Ministry has provided Aman seeds and fertilisers to 7,000 farmers in the district.

Nikhil Chandra, another farmer in the area, said, “No matter how hard it is, we have to plant paddy again with a loan.”

Kurigram DAE Deputy Director (Acting) Md Samsuddin Mia said they have provided seedlings and fertilisers to the farmers and some have already planted seedlings in the field.