Three Northern Districts

Seed crisis ahead of boro season worries farmers

17 December 2009, 17:00 PM

Our Correspondent, Dinajpur

Farmers of Dinajpur, Panchagarh and Joypurhat districts are facing problem in preparing their seedbeds as Agriculture Extension Department (AED) has failed to ensure availability of sufficient seeds in the local markets. Most of the farmers have failed to start preparing their seedbeds although the boro season begins in mid-December and preparation of seedbeds in the region usually starts in end of November or early December, said field-level agriculture officials. The crisis has deepened due to the increase of demand for BR-28 variety seeds, AED officials said, adding that achieving the target of boro production is now a great challenge. Frustrated farmers are now purchasing seeds with higher prices from private seed producers to prepare their seedbed as the time for preparing seedbeds is running out. Several farmers taking to The Daily Star correspondent alleged that the employees of government-authorised outlets distributed the seeds in an 'unfair' way. Many of them had to return empty-handed despite standing in long queues for the whole day, they said. According to AED offices in Dinajpur, Panchagarh and Joypurhat districts, about 9,950 tonnes of seeds are needed as about 2,86,925 hectares of land was targeted for boro cultivation. Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) supplied 1,133 tonnes of seeds that has already been sold out. This year BADC fixed its seed price at Tk 250 per 10 kg bag. "I purchased BR-28 seed at Tk 520 per bag which is much higher than the government rate," said Asaduzzaman of Danihari village under Dinajpur Sadar upazila. Several other farmers of the district made similar allegations. Due to shortage of seeds, farmers of these districts could not collect the quality seeds supplied by BADC, even for double the price. Admitting the crisis of seed and its higher prices, deputy directors of Dinajpur, Joypurhat and Panchagarh AED offices said they have sought help of Seed Certification Agency to monitor the market to enable farmers get seeds for fair prices.