RANGPUR, Sept 22, 2021 (BSS) - The recent flood has damaged standing crops
on 4,472 hectares of land causing production losses of 25,461 tonnes of
various crops worth Taka 49.94 this season in Rangpur agriculture region.
"The floods affected 1,48,094 farmers of three districts by damaging the
standing crops in the region," Agriculturist Bidhu Bhusan Ray, Additional
Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Rangpur region,
told BSS today.
The flood-affected districts are Gaibandha, Kurigram and Lalmonirhat in
the region, while no crop damage was reported from Rangpur and Nilphamari
districts.
The flood damaged standing crops including Aman rice seedbeds,
Transplanted Aman rice and different varieties of vegetables.
The flood has damaged Aman rice seedbeds on 67 hectares of land causing
losses to seedlings worth Taka 70.35 lakh and affecting 28,694 farmers in
these districts.
The deluge has damaged Transplanted Aman rice on 4,324 hectares of land
causing a production loss of 11,761 tonnes of clean rice (17,641 tonnes of
paddy) worth Taka 46.30 crore and affecting 1,14,565 farmers.
"Besides, the flood has caused production losses of 970 tonnes of
vegetables worth Taka 1.94 crore on 81 hectares of land affecting 4,835
farmers in these three flood-hit northern districts," Ray said.
Officials of all agriculture related departments, organisations and
institutions and some NGOs have visited the flood-affected areas and
suggested the flood-affected farmers ways to tackle the situation.
The flood-affected farmers are transplanting late varieties of Aman rice
seedlings anew at fewer places and taking preparation for cultivation of
substitute crops on the flood-affected croplands.
"We have already sent the information of flood-hit farmers to the
government and are expecting to get allocations to assist them in recouping
little crop losses they incurred during the recent flood," Ray added.
Besides, flood-affected farmers are cultivating late 'Ganjia' variety of
Aman rice using their own seeds and will cultivate early varieties of
vegetables, 'Mashkalai', maize and other crops on their affected croplands.
Talking to BSS, farmers Sultan Mahmud of village Char Korai Barishal and
Saidar Rahman of Char Boraibari village of Kurigram said the recent flood
submerged their Aman rice crop on 40 decimals and 210 decimals of land
respectively.
Farmers Azizur Rahman of village Pateswari and Anwar Hossain of village
Boraibari in Nageshwari upazila of Kurigram said floodwater submerged their
Aman rice crop on 70 decimals and 66 decimals of land respectively.
Similarly, farmers Hashem Ali and Abu Shams of Prodhanipara village and
Fazlul Haque of Nayekerhat village of Nageshwari upazila in Kurigram said the
flood damaged their growing Aman rice and vegetables this time like the
previuos year.