.webp)
About 15,268 hectares cropland of Aush paddy have been damaged due to recent floods in four districts of Sylhet.
According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources, this season Ropa Ayush paddy cultivation target was set at 1,80,000 hectares of land in Sylhet division. Of this, 15,268 hectares of paddy fields have been completely damaged by the floods, resulting in a loss of over Tk 188.74 crore.
Agricultural experts said that production may be significantly lower than the target for the current season.
Farmers said that the time for Ayush cultivation has passed. The fields where the crops were damaged cannot be used for Ayush cultivation this season. There are no seedlings left either. The planting of Aman paddy is now almost in its final stage.
Ayush seedbeds of only two districts- Sylhet and Moulvibazar have been damaged in the division. In Sylhet, 1,093 hectares of seedbeds have been damaged, while in Moulvibazar, 30 hectares of seedbeds have been damaged.
District-wise statistics shows that 9,057 hectares of Ayush paddy fields have been damaged in Sylhet, resulting a financial loss of over Tk 102.70 crore. Additionally, 4,755 hectares of Ayush paddy fields in Moulvibazar, 463 hectares in Habiganj and 1,013 hectares of Ayush paddy fields have been damaged in Sunamganj.
Sylhet DAE Additional Director, Md Matiuzzaman, said that the agricultural sector has suffered significant damage due to the floods. The assessment of losses is ongoing as the floodwaters recede. A list of affected farmers will be prepared and sent to the ministry.
Sylhet district
Sylhet DAE Deputy Director, Mohammad Khair Uddin Molla, said, “20,440 hectares of land were used for cultivating Ayush seedbeds, vegetables, and Aman rice in 13 upazilas of the district. Of this, crops on 15,506 hectares have been damaged by floodwaters and a total of 98,653 farmers have been affected in the district. The loss in the agricultural sector due to the floods amounts to Tk 275.21 crore. Financial incentives have been provided to Aman rice farmers, with more to be given in the future.”
Sunamganj district
Bimol Chandra Shom, deputy director of Sunamganj's DAE, said, “Ayush crops were cultivated on 7,600 hectares of land in Sunamganj district in the current season. Of this, 1,700 hectares have been submerged by floodwaters. The floods have caused an estimated loss of approximately Tk 11 crore of Ayush crops of 4,000 farmers in Sunamganj. The process of listing the affected farmers is ongoing.”
Moulvibazar district
According to the Moulvibazar DAE sources, this season, Ayush seedlings were planted on 30,101 hectares of land in the district. The recent floods have affected 5,162 hectares of Ayush fields across seven upazilas in the district. Of this, 610 hectares in Kulaura, 152 in Sadar Upazila, 115 in Rajnagar, 3,700 in Juri Upazila, 95 in Kamalganj, and 400 hectares in Barlekha have been damaged.
Md Shamsuddin Ahmed, deputy director of the Moulvibazar DAE, said that floodwaters have still not receded in many areas of the haor region, and it will take time to determine the full extent of the damage.
In addition, 463.2 hectares of Ayush fields have been damaged by floods in Habiganj, affecting 3,463 farmers.
Farmer Arab Ali from Buridahar village in Companiganj Upazila, said that he had taken a loan of Tk 20,000 to cultivate Ayush paddy on 60 decimal of land. After planting the rice, floodwaters came and damaged everything.
Farmers said that it will take time for them to recover from the loss occurred due to flood. They also expressed their concern over marginalised farmer and asked the concerned authority to arrange the government assistance as early as possible.
