Home ›› 05 Nov 2022 ›› Nation
Farmers in Jamalpur are facing losses for using pesticides indiscriminately in their crop fields without proper diagnosis.
A good number of farmers who used pesticides in crops without diagnosing diseases become victims of huge losses. In many cases, they consult with pesticide medicine shop owners and purchase various pesticides but got no results.
Green chilli cultivator Sahjahan at Bogabaid area in Jamalpur Sadar Upazila used seven kinds of pesticide in his field but got no remedy.
The farmer said he cultivated green chilli on 2.5 bighas of land this year. When bacterial wild disease broke out at his chilli field he contacted a pesticide shop owner who with the connivance of a pesticide agent prescribed him to spray seven kinds of pesticide one after another.
After failing to get a remedy he contacted an entomologist at Bangladesh Agriculture Research Station (BARI), Jamalpur who advised him to control the disease.
Another farmer Rasel Khan at village Tupkar Char in Melandah Upazila of the district who cultivated aubergine also faced the same situation. The farmer said five types of pesticide were sprayed in his field at the advice of the pesticide seller but it showed no result.
Entomologist, BARI, Jamalpur, Dr Abdul Mannan said without a diagnosis of disease farmers use huge drops of pesticide in their fields. In this way, the farmers are not only losing crops but also affecting soil organic structure and the environment. He said a section of unscrupulous pesticide traders and agents are taking advantage of the situation and selling pesticides to the farmers.
When contacted, Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension, Zakia Sultana said the staff of the agriculture department are always ready to help farmers if anyone seeks advice.
She said farmers should contact agriculture officers if any disease brakes out in their crops without going to pesticide shops. She urged the farmers to get help from agriculture experts by phone or in person in this regard.
