Gaibandha farmers see hard days ahead

Two farmers at Khalshai village in Gobindagnaj cutting damaged aman plants for use as fodder (left) and a flood-devastated banana garden.. PHOTO: STAR

Pale and worried Rashid does not know how he will maintain his family for at least six months.

If IRRI is sown in the coming season, it will take at least six months from now to harvest it. "Right now, I have nothing to eat", he told this correspondent during a visit to the village after the Eid.

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Rashid had cultivated Aman on his two and a half bigha land. He said he could not take home even five kilograms of paddy as the latest onslaught of flood completely damaged the crop.

Similar is the situation with about 44,000 peasant families including 33,776 marginal farmers in six out of upazilas in Gaibandha district.

The Agriculture Extension Department (AED) estimates the crop loss at 41,650 tonnes worth over Tk 60 crore.

The flood in the first half of last month completely damaged paddy, banana and other crops on 1,22,130 hectare of land in the six upazilas.

The worst affected upazilas are Gobindagnaj and Palashbari.

Like paddy, banana is now a cash crop in Gobindagnaj and Palashbari upazilas. the flood damaged banana on 263 hectare of land, causing a loss of about Tk 10 crore.

According to sources in AED, banana was cultivated on 2,125 hectares in Gaibandha district this year-- 1,200 hectares in Gibindagnaj and 455 hectares in Palashbari upazila.

About 12,000 people in these areas are fully dependent on banana cultivation and 5,000 others are directly involved in its trade and other work. This has become a cash drop as a farmer can earn over Tk three lakh from one hectare of land by spending around Tk one lakh.

"I have been cultivating banana for five years on three bighas of land and earned good profits. But this year all of my banana plants damaged have been damaged by by floodwater", said Jahedul of Marirrhat village in Palashbari upazila.

"I had a plan to rebuild my dwelling house by selling the banana, but god was unwilling", he lamented.

Jasimuddin of the same village planted banana on one and a half bighas of land. But all the plants have been damaged.

AED Deputy Director Abdul Matin in Gaibandha said an emergency argi-rehabilitation programme including free distribution of IRRI Boro seeds and interest-free loan should be launched right now to same the marginal farmers.