Cultivation of transplanted aman (T-aman) paddy in several districts across the country is facing a setback due to inadequate rain during the ongoing monsoon.
In the last two weeks, eight northern districts witnessed a scanty rainfall, reports our Nilphamari correspondent EAM Asaduzzaman.
A large number of farmers who harvested late variety of boro paddy and jute now cannot transplant aman seedlings for want of water while already transplanted seedlings in many areas are turning reddish as cracks are developing in the dried up lands.
The official target to cultivate aman paddy this season was set at 10,24,068 hectares of land to produce 27,64,983.6 tonnes of rice in eight northern districts of Rangpur, Dinajpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Thakurgaon and Panchagarh, said sources at the regional office of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources in Rangpur.
Due to want of rainwater, farmers are yet to transplant aman seedlings in 20 per cent of the targeted fields although there is only one week left before the end of the peak aman transplantation season (from the first week of July to mid of August), they added.
"For the last two weeks the rainfall in the district is only 2mm. Although there was much rainfall in June, the region saw scanty rainfall from mid July to first week of August in the peak harvesting season, said SM Sirajul Islam, deputy director (DD) of DAE in Nilphamari.
Visiting several villages like Mirganj of Nilphamari, Chandanbari of Panchagarh and Angarpara in the district, it was found that many farmers, who have already tilled their lands, were waiting anxiously for rain for transplantation.
In some crop fields, where transplantation was completed earlier, saplings were turning reddish while at many places saplings in the seedbeds became too old to be transplanted.
If farmers fail to transplant aman saplings within 35 days after sowing, it will result in poor yield, said Sanarul Islam, sub assistant agriculture officer at district DAE office.
After transplanting aman saplings, 3-4 inches water is to be kept on the land at least for a couple of weeks but it could not be done due to lack of rainfall, said several farmers including Atiqur, Anwar, Tayeb, Sirajul and Mojibar.
Firoz Ahmed, DD at regional office of DAE in Rangpur, however, claimed that despite less rainfall there is nothing to worry as more than 80 per cent transplantation had already been completed in the region.
"We have directed field level officials to arrange irrigation facilities to farmers through deep tube well and shallow pumps. By this time 1,160 deep tube wells and 21,248 shallow pumps at either government or personal level have started providing service in the region,” he said.
Our Thakurgaon correspondent Quamrul Islam Rubaiyat reports: DAE officials are holding meetings and conducting campaigns to make farmers aware about different methods of combating the ongoing drought-like situation in Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts.
The DAE has set a target of cultivating aman paddy on about 1 lakh 25 thousand hectares of land with a production target of 3 lakh 39 thousand 388 tonnes of rice in the district.
About 1 lakh 22 thousand 355 hectares of land have been already been cultivated with transplanted aman seedlings, officials said.
In Panchagarh, DAE set a target to cultivate aman on 85,700 hectares of land with the production target of 2 lakh 27 thousand 85 tonnes of rice. About 81,000 hectares of land have already been brought under aman cultivation.
Last month there was only half of the required rainfall in Thakurgaon district.
While visiting Kanikoshalgaon, Akcha, Ruhea, Akhanagar villages in Thakurgaon Sadar upazila on Sunday, this correspondent saw cracks in the transplanted aman fields as the areas remained rainless for the last two weeks. Solvent farmers were irrigating their paddy fields with shallow machines while marginal farmers, failing to bear the high cost, waiting for rain.
"The field level sub-assistant agriculture officers have been asked to motivate the farmers to operate their shallow machines and other pumps for irrigation on the T-aman lands," said Zahedul Islam, crop specialist of Thakurgaon DAE.
Our Natore correspondent Bulbul Ahmed adds: Aman farming in the district will be costly this season as farmers have to depend on ground water for irrigation.
The area of cultivation of the paddy this season sees a decrease by 45,968 hectares of land in eight districts under Rajshahi division as lack of rainfall, coupled with the backdrop of low price of the paddy last season, high cost of fertilisers, seeds, and other agricultural inputs discouraged the farmers, DAE sources said.
Aman was cultivated on 7,86,296 hectares of land in 2011 but it came down to 7,40,328 hectares of land this season in eight districts under Rajshahi Agricultural Zone, DAE sources said.
Several farmers have expressed fear that planting of older seedlings and belated aman farming may hamper the production this year.
“Many farmers are keeping their land fallow in fear of loss. We will cultivate alternative crops like banana, gram and sugarcane in the fallow lands next season," said Babul Akter, a farmer of Ekdala village in the district.
Sharful Islam Khokan, a farmer of the Chalanbeel area under Singra upazila, said only the farmland owners in low-lying areas are planting aman this year as its cultivation has turned unprofitable.
"Climatic changes are contributing to such decrease in rainfall. The authorities must take immediate measures to increase irrigation facilities and take steps for efficient use of surface water and rainwater, especially through preservation during heavy rainfall," said agriculture expert Delowar Hossain, also former deputy director of DAE.
Mozammel Haq, additional director of DAE in Rajshahi region, emphasised minimising misuse of surface water while supplying it to lands and preserving rainwater.
Similar reports have been received from several other districts including Rangpur and Jhenidah.
