Department of Agricultural Extension estimate shows that till the end of December 2017, mustard was sowed in 4.66 lakh hectares, down from 5.33 lakh hectares in 2016. Wheat could be cultivated in 2.90 lakh hectares against targeted area of 4 lakh hectares while in 2016 wheat was cultivated in 4.15 lakh hectares. Onion cultivation achieved only 35 per cent of the target till December 27 with the crop growing in only 75,251 hectares against the target of 2.15 lakh hectares. Maize cultivation achieved a little over 67 per cent of the target while masur achieved 68.29 per cent and potato 91.50 per cent.
In the second week of December, met officials recorded 1,951 mm rainfall whereas the average normal rainfall for the month is 10 mm. The government should have thought out a way for draining water out of agricultural land, but it failed to assess the situation despite repeated warning from experts. Experts have warned about extreme weather events continuing as untimely rain caused two early flash floods in the country’s north-eastern haor region in March and April, destroying Boro crops in 4 lakh hectares and eventually forcing the government to import rice first time in six years.
Increased temperatures and variations in rainfall are the most prevalent climate change elements affecting the lives and livelihoods of people in recent years. Experts emphasized for ensuring alternative livelihoods for the affected people instead of encouraging them in migration. The lack of preparedness to combat the impact, shortage of fund and technical knowledge, limited international assistance, and dearth in coordination between government and NGOs have to be addressed before the disaster hit.
As the country has become the poster-child of climate change affected country and the country is least responsible for climate change impact, the developed country should extend their hand in several adaptation programs. Notably, the Cyclone Sidr had exposed 3.45 million households to inundation. A potential return of similar cyclone could expose people to more than 3 meters of inundation affecting agriculture and lives for a long time.
So, Bangladesh has genuine reasons to be worried. We think, the government should invest heavily on flood, drought, excessive rainfall tolerant seed varieties of major crops in the coming days to ensure food security. It must address the situation before the disaster hits.
