Crop cultivation going on as riverbeds dry up

RANGPUR, Dec 23: Farmers of Rangpur district have geared up cultivation of different varieties of crops along the riverbeds of Teesta, Ghaghot and other rivers during the current season.

Visiting different areas it was found that dried-up riverbeds in many areas under the district have taken an captivating eye-catching look as thousands of landless and poor farmers are farming different types of crops on the riverbeds.

DAE sources said, crop cultivation on these lands is taking place owing to drying up of the rivers and emerging of their beds with hundreds of Chars (shoal) resulting huge deposition of silts, sources also said.

Earlier, a vast tract of dried-up lands on riverbed remained uncultivated over the years but the scenario has changed now with introduction of modern technology.

Presently the farmers are getting able to grow crops even on fallow char lands on riverbeds using latest technology. Crops like maize, wheat, paddy, pumpkin, peanut, sugarcane, tobacco chilli, garlic, onion etc are being grown abundantly on riverbeds across the region.

Sabir Mia, a farmer of Nisbetganj village of Rangpur Sadar upazila told The Financial Express that said he has been growing potato and maize on dried up river beds for the last few years as it brings high yield and good profit.

Farmers claimed there is hardly any need to use chemical fertilisers on the crop field to grow the varieties as the land on the riverbed is very fertile. For this reason the growers used nominal organic fertilisers and invested a small amount of money for it, sources added.

Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) official sources said thousands of farmers are engaged in crop cultivation on the sandy lands of riverbeds and earning good profit.

Crop farming on sandy dried up riverbeds lands is playing a significant role in mitigating poverty of the people living along river basins under the region, sources added.

[email protected]