Reza Mahmud :
Salinity in water and soil increased in the coastal belt districts and beyond and thereby affected the country’s food production, sources said. Change in global climate is the reason of poor outcome.
Experts, local people and agriculture officials said that drought for years was the main reason for increasing salinity in water and soil of the coastal and adjacent areas.
“Increasing salinity in water and soil is a threat to the growing common crops in vast areas of southern districts,” Dr. Towfiqul Islam, Chief Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute told The New Nation on Tuesday.
He said, about 20,000 hectares of lands are adversely affected for the increasing salinity. The Chief Scientific officer said that the rice institute has introduced eight to 10 species of salinity tolerance rice for the farmers of the vast areas close to the Bay of Bengal. Experts said that salinity created adverse impact in the 19 districts covering 32 per cent of the cultivable lands of the country. Crops, which were once grown there in huge quantity are not being cultivated now due to the problem. The agriculture lost many varieties of paddy and other crops while the soil lost its fertility. As a result the farmers are suffering from poor production. Farmers of the coastal belt said that they lost different varieties of rice production. It has made them buyers of rice from once sellers.
Agriculture officials said that local farmers produced different rice varieties in Dakop, Koira, Paikgachha, Dumuria and Batiaghata upazilas of Khulna district years back.
But now, they, have limited their production within few varieties of salinity tolerance rice. Similarly the farmers in Satkhira, Bagerhat, Barishal, Barguna, Patuakhali, Jhalokathi, Pirojpur and Feni are facing hardship due to the reason.
“By the generations, different varieties of rice and other crops were grown in our lands. But the salinity has made us buyers of rice,” said Ahmedul Haque, a farmer, from Paikgachha of Khulna district. He said that they now consider salinity as a threat to their livelihood.
Md Atiqul Islam, Additional Deputy Director (Crops) of the Department of Agriculture Extension, Khulna told The New Nation, “The salinity is a threat to many crops in these areas.”
When contacted, Professor Dr. Md. Anamul Hoque, Department of Soil Science of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh told The New Nation, “Salinity problems affected the coastal belt of Bangladesh which is linked with 19 districts covering 32 per cent of the cultivable lands of the country where living more than 35 million people.”
When contacted, Rafiqul Islam Montu, an expert working on climate change of coastal region of Bangladesh told The New Nation on Tuesday, “Salinity is now increasing seriously. The water of rivers in Satkhira is hard to take in mouth due to high salinity.”
He said, rivers water of Kirtankhola in Barishal and Sugondha in Jhalokathi also are facing high salinity nowadays.
