Poor aman output frustrates farmers in Nilphamari

Farmers harvesting aman paddy in Nilphamari. But its poor yield failed to bring smile in their faces this year. PHOTO: STAR

Because of moisture in field, full swing harvesting will be late by at least another week.

According to sources in district agriculture department, aman production is likely to fall short of target this year due to natural calamity and massive pest attack on paddy field. BR-11 and Sarna varieties of high yielding paddy are the worst sufferers, according to DAE Deputy Director (DD) AKM Sakhawat Hossain. He further told that farmers cultivated these varieties ignoring their advices. He revealed that pests attacked less than one per cent of paddy fields. He termed heavy rainfall and storms in October as a big blow in aman cultivation. He admitted that due to adverse situation, yield of paddy would fall to 2.30 metric tons instead of the target of 2.52 metric tons per hectare of land.

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Farmers have apprehended that one third of the total yield wound not be achieved this year.

Paddy on several hundreds hectares of land have been badly affected due to attack of diseases like Sheath Blight, Sheath Rot, prolonged drought in August, besides heavy rainfalls in October and pest attack. Application of additional pesticides caused sharp rise in its production cost. Moreover, pesticides were either adulterated or of low standard. So, the pesticides did not come to any help to combat diseases. Attack of brown plant hopper pests on paddy fields just before paddy harvesting has caused a blunder.

Nazrul Islam Modal, Plant Protection Specialist of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) told this correspondent that such insects are too tiny to be visible and develops in wet places. This year's weather was not favourable for aman farming, he said. Paddy plants died as the pests sucked paddy juice. The pests moved from one place to another quickly in group.

Abul Hossain, a farmer at Singdoi village in Sadar upazila told this correspondent, Brown Plant Hoppers attacked paddy plants when rice was about to be formed. 'Cattle even did not eat straw of dried paddy plants, said Abul.

While visiting different villages like Ramnagar, Charai Khola, Itakhola in Sadar upazila, Gayabari, Balapara in Dimla upazila and Kasiram Belpukur in Syedpur upazila, this correspondent found standing aman on several hundreds hectares of land had been damaged completely.

According to farmers, one bigha (30 decimals) of land yielded 15 to 16 maunds of paddy last year while this year the same land is likely to yield only 10 to 11 maunds of paddy.