Rice blast disease worries farmers

Rice blast, a fungal disease affecting paddy, is haunting hundreds of farmers who had cultivated the BRRI dhan 28 variety in Moulvibazar and Sunamganj districts.

Farmers are forced to cut the plants off to use as cow feed as there is no paddy left to harvest. In this situation, they are worried about their livelihood.

However, according to related sources, the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) is preparing a list of the affected farmers. The farmers will receive monetary assistance if the government approves the sanctions.

Rice blast, also known as rice rotten neck, is caused by fungal infection and is one of the most destructive diseases of rice. The agriculture department usually discourages farmers to cultivate BRRI dhan 28 as it is a relatively old variety and prone to diseases.

However, according to farmers, the seed shops sell this variety as high-yielding. Boro farmer Yusuf Miah of Sreemangal upazila cultivated BRRI dhan 28 on 15 bighas of haor area. He noticed the rice hulls were empty when the paddy started to ripen.

“I was unable to save my crop even with the advice from the agriculture officers. Hundreds of farmers from the neighbouring villages are also affected by this,” he said.

Zobair Miah of the same village said, “BRRI dhan 28 has betrayed me. All the hulls are empty, there is no rice in the field. I spent about Tk 75,000 on cultivation, and now I have to buy rice to eat.”

Anju Kar, a farmer from Noagaon village, said he cultivated BRRI dhan 28 on seven bighas of leased land by taking loans. Now he is about to go bankrupt.

Shamim Mia, a farmer from Yuchupur village, said about 90 per cent of his crops are affected by blast disease.

“The cost of the harvest will not be covered by the 10 per cent of rice that is still left in the field. Many farmers are either leaving the paddy as it is or using it cow feed,” he said.

Sreemangal upazila Agriculture Officer Md Mohiuddin said that Boro paddy has been cultivated on 11,451 hectares of land in the upazila. Among this, BRRI dhan 28 has been cultivated on 2,651 hectares.

“A certain amount of the total cultivated land is affected by blast disease. If the disease is noticed early on the rice can be protected. We advise two rounds of fungicide and the use of potassium fertilisers instead of urea,” he said.

However, he added that many farmers did not heed the advice and spray fungicides properly. “Those who listened to the agriculturists did not lose their crops. We also urge farmers to cultivate BRRI dhan 88 and 89 as these newer varieties are better than the older ones,” he added.

DAE Sreemangal’s Sub-Assistant Plant Protection Officer Rakendra Sharma said that according to their investigation, blast disease was found in 168 bighas of land.

“We were able to save the paddy on over 100 bighas of land with proper action. However, about the paddy of about 50-60 bighas were destroyed,” he said.

Moulvibazar DAE Deputy Director Samsuddin Ahmed said they are aware of about eight hectares of BRRI dhan 28 and 48 paddy fields being affected by rice blast disease in the district.

“This will not affect our overall production output. We are preparing a list of the affected farmers. They will be given the assistance if the government allocates sanctions for them,” he added.

Blast disease affects Sunamganj farmers

Meanwhile, the farmers in Sunamganj's Tahirpur upazila are also facing similar troubles due to an outbreak of rice blast disease.

The disease has been widespread in BRRI dhan 28 and 81 varieties, leading to significant losses for farmers in the Haor region.

This year, paddy was cultivated on approximately 18,600 hectares of land in 23 small and large haors of the upazila, with high-yielding paddy being predominantly cultivated.

The upazila agriculture office has reported that the spread of the disease is due to the temperature, which is hot during the day and cold at night.

White to grey-green lesions can be seen in the sheaf of paddy when it’s time to be ripened, said farmers of the area. Despite the farmers spraying fungicides on the Agriculture Department's advice, there has been little improvement.

Upazila Deputy Assistant Plant Conservation Officer Asaduzzaman, said they have given advice to a lot of farmers, and some of them have benefited while others haven't.

Tahirpur Upazila Agriculture Officer Hasan-ud-Daula, said they have advised the farmers not to harvest BRRI dhan 28. “But in many cases, farmers didn’t follow our advice. Our Sub-Assistant Agriculture Officers keep farmers informed and provide guidance,” he said.