Reza Mahmud :
Severe drought, price hiking of diesel, and energy and fertiliser crisis created huge threat of achieving goal of Aman and Boro paddy cultivation across the country.
Agriculture specialists therefore, doubt about food security in the country.
Sources said, the farmers have experienced severe drought this year in the full season of Aman paddy cultivation across the country, which pushed the country into uncertainty of attaining target of the paddy cultivation.
Farmers in most of the districts failed to cultivate Aman paddy in rain water. Most of them are cultivating Aman paddy by water irrigation instead of rain water.
Farmers claimed that the irrigation is also hampered due to insufficient electricity supply and for hiking price of diesel.
Farmers said that the seed beds are getting scorched by the sun, while the crop fields are bursting due to lack of rain.
“It is unusual to grow Aman paddy through water irrigation as this is rainy season. The drought compelled us to resort to irrigations, but lack of money pushed the cultivation under serious threat,” Ismail Hossain, a farmer from Bilnalia village of Faridpur Sadar upazila said.
He said government should ensure uninterrupted electricity supply for irrigation in paddy field in this season.
Mymensingh is the one of most paddy growers districts so far filled only about 10 per cent of its total target of Aman cultivation this season.
“About 2 lakh, 68 thousand and 320 hectors of land was the target for cultivating Aman his season. But only 25 thousand hectors of land were brought under the cultivation so far which was only 9 per cent of the goal,” said Agriculturist Md. Matiuruzzaman, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture Extension, Mymensingh district.
Situations from the other districts are also similar, sources said.
In the same time, the lack of adequate supply of fertiliser also made the thing more worsened.
Farmers accused the dealers of creating artificial crisis to hike the fertiliser prices across the country aiming to increase extra ordinary price hiking of the most essential item.
When contacted, Dr. Asaduzzaman, Research Director of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) told The New Nation on Saturday, “While the government increased price of per Kg Urea fertiliser at Tk 25 only, the dealers hiked Tk 5 to 10 in different areas in the country creating artificial crisis. The dishonest traders do not think about the country and its food security.”
He said, the government has to start strict monitoring of the fertiliser distribution.
The government also should be cautioned about spending the water as the upcoming Boro season in February also will be more drought hit.
Dr. Asaduzzaman said, those problems hinted that there would be food insecurity in the country if the government failed to address those.
The famers of the northern district Dinajpur blocked a road for not getting fertilisers from the dealers though they waited in the queue for hours on August 20.
A number of farmers in Kaharol Upazila of the district stood in queue in front of different dealer shops of Upazila Bazar since morning. Some of the farmers said that they waited for a long time in the line but finally they did not get fertilizers.
According to the information of the Directorate of Agriculture Marketing, the country has an annual demand of about 3.5 million tonnes of rice.
In the last financial year 2020-21, the total productions of Boro, Aush and Aman were 3 crore 46 lakh tonnes. In the financial year 2021-22, this production can be 3 crore 53 lakh 30 thousand tons.
