Home ›› 25 Jul 2022 ›› Nation
Acute scarcity of rainwater, caused by a prevailing heatwave, has been severely hampering the process of rotting harvested jute plants, frustrating the farmers almost everywhere in the northern region.
Farmers said if the situation prevails, they have to incur huge losses as there will be no way to extract the quality fibre from the plants amid the water crisis.
Moreover, they have to spend an additional cost to carry the plants to other places for rotting.
When visiting several places in the region, this correspondent found many of the farmers were piling up the jute plants bundle on their lands and waiting for the rainfall.
According to the officials and experts in the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Rangpur, around 70,000 farmers have brought some 51,627 hectares of land under jute cultivation in five districts of the Rangpur agricultural zone this year targeting to produce around 1,13,580 tonnes while 56,412 hectares of lands were brought under the farming in last year.
The district-wise cultivation includes- 9,255 hectares in Rangpur, 15,000 hectares in Gaibandha, 6,710 in Nilphamari, 16,577 hectares in Kurigram, and 4,085 hectares of land in Lalmonirhat.
Habibullah Miah, 55, of Nabdiganj village under Piragacha upazila of Rangpur district said, farmers normally sow the jute seed at the end of March and complete the harvesting by the end of June. He cultivated jute on some 8 bighas of land this year while it was 10 bighas last year. He completed harvesting and could not rot the plants due to the absence of rainfall for almost three weeks. He has piled up the jute bundles on land and is waiting for the rainfall.
Bachha Baou, 40, of Godha village under Kishoreganj upazila of Nilphamari district said, the farmers have been facing difficulties not finding water in canals and water bodies to rot the plants. He has cultivated jute on five bighas of land. He has just processed one bigha’s plant by ribbon rating measures but the jute sticks have been damaged. He is waiting for rainfall to process the rest of the plants. If the heatwave continues for a few more days, he has to incur huge losses in farming.
Nabab Ali, 65, of Rowmari upazila under Kurigram district said, he has cultivated jute on five bighas of land spending Tk 60,000 this year. He is expecting to get at least 45-50 maunds of production. He got Tk 2,000-2,500 selling per maund of the crop at the initial market of the last year. He hopes to get more profit this year. He has completed the harvesting but fails to rot half of the jute plants due to the lack of water in the ponds and canals even during the full monsoon. He is in doubt to get back his investment.
Badsha Miah, 40, a farmer at Mohidebpur village under Gongachara upazila of Rangpur district said, he cultivated the crop on three bighas of land spending Tk 35,000. He had to spend an additional cost of Tk 3,000 to carry his plants’ bundle to far places in the channel of the Teesta River for processing the plants.
AD DAE Rangpur region, Agriculturalist Md Emdad Hossain said, the department targeted to produce 6,77,619 bales of jute initially from 58,124 hectares of land in the region this season. The farmers however have cultivated the crop on 51,627 hectares of land finally.
Farming is very cost-effective and eco-friendly. The farmers usually get the benefit of cultivating the cash crop. But this year due to inclement weather jute plants are getting dried up in the field as the farmers fail to rot them.
“We have no hands on it as it is a natural calamity. Our field level officers are suggesting the farmers process the plants using ribbon retting technology,” he added.
Regional Director, Bangladesh Jute Research Institute, Rangpur, Dr Abu Fazal Mollah said, farmers, fail to save the golden fibre in the absence of rainfall.
Senior Coordinator Agriculture & Environment RDRS Bangladesh, Mamunur Rashid said If the situation continues, the farmers will have to incur huge losses as quality fibres cannot be extracted without proper rotting.
