Home ›› 14 Aug 2022 ›› Nation
Unprecedented price hikes of diesel, fertiliser and frequent power cuts have aggravated the suffering of the farmers, increasing their cultivation costs which might lead to a deficit in crop production in the northern region.
Agriculturalists and experts opined the farmers have to bear the brunt of the soaring price situation that compels them to spend additional money on crop farming. They are likely to spend around Tk 1,000 extra per bigha Ropa Aman plantation in the northern districts.
Local sources said the farmers in the region have failed to transplant the seedlings of transplanted Aman (T-Aman) rice on time due to recurrent floods, scanty rainfall, and extreme heat wave in the year. They have to face difficulties counting much for supplementary irrigation to transplant the lands and apprehending of shortfall of Aman production for delayed transplantation
Farmers said soaring prices of essentials have made their lives miserable. Load shedding and the increasing price of fuel and fertiliser have mounted their sufferings as they are losing buying ability.
Officials at the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said a target of producing about 18.08 lakh tonnes of clean Aman rice (about 27.12 lakh tonnes of paddy) from over 6.15 lakh hectares of land has been fixed in all five districts – Rangpur, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari and Gaibandha of the region.
Of the targeted lands, around 60 per cent have been transplanted which was almost done by irrigation. There are about two lakh hectares of land remaining uncultivated. Around 60,000 diesel-run pump machines are being used to prepare the lands for transplantation which costs about 77 lakh litres of diesel to run the pump machine in the current Aman season. The farmers are in a hectic move to complete the transplantation by supplementary irrigation.
Rangpur DAE Deputy Director Obaidur Rhaman said the department has taken massive programmes to complete the transplantation on the targeted lands. It starts all irrigation units to cultivate the lands in the region.
“Our agriculture officers are holding regular meetings with the farmers in different areas to support them. We have almost completed 83 per cent of transplantation,” he added.
Afzal Miah, 65, a farmer at Imadpur village under Mithapukur upazila of Rangpur district, said he has planned to cultivate T- Aman paddy on his 12 bighas of land. But he could plant only six bighas of land as the lands went dry for scanty rainfall. He prepared seedbeds for transplantation but half of his seedbeds have been damaged due to the heat wave in July. He has to buy additional saplings and use a diesel-run machine to complete the transplantation.
He is apprehending a considerable loss in farming as he has to spend additional money to buy seedlings and diesel.
Shafiqul Alam, 55, a farmer of Godha village under Nilphamari district, said the farmers are overburdened as the farming has now become very costly due to recent fertiliser-diesel price hike and increasing labour costs.
He had planned to cultivate Aman paddy on his 10 bighas of land but failed to transplant the field on time in the absence of sufficient rainfall. Finding no alternative he managed to irrigate his land by diesel-run shallow machine. The diesel and fertiliser price hike has created a severe blow to the farmers. He has to spend an additional Tk 1,000 per bigha cultivation.
Senior Agriculture & Environment Coordinator, RDRS Bangladesh, Mamunur Rashid said delayed transplantation might hamper achieving the production target as aged seedlings above 40 days reduce the yield.
Most of the Aman rice seedlings are high-yielding varieties (HYV) that need to be transplanted in a certain period within the optimum age (25-30 days). If the days exceed, the yield of the crop will decrease. Farmers have failed to transplant as there was no sufficient rainfall in the region for almost a month.
Professor Dr Mohammad Ashraful Islam, Dept of Agricultural Extension Education, Sylhet Agriculture University said farmers are under pressure as the cultivation cost has shot up sharply. Cash assistance is urgently needed to keep the farmers in production.
Small and marginalised farmers who account for 80 per cent of the total farmers in the country have become the worst victims. The food security in the country will be threatened if the farmers cannot produce rice.
He urged the government to give subsidies to the farmers.
When asked, Additional Director DAE Rangpur region Agriculturist Md Emdad Hossain Sheikh said, “The farmers are about to complete the transplant of Aman rice seedlings on the lands in all five districts of the region. We are supporting the farmers to complete the transplantation of the seedlings.”
