RANGPUR, Aug 3 (BSS): The prevailing drought-like situation during the past few consecutive weeks has been hampering cultivation of Transplanted Aman (T- Aman) crop at most places in the northern region, farmers and official sources said.
The officials and experts of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) and other agriculture-related organisations have been suggesting farmers for maintaining minimum wetness in already transplanted T-Aman fields by providing supplementary irrigations.
According to the DAE sources, the farmers have already completed transplantation of T- Aman seedlings on over 1.14 million hectares of land so far, 64.08 percent of the fixed target of cultivation of the crop on over 1.78 million hectares of land this season in the region.
Most of the 0.78 million shallow & deep tube wells, low lift pumps of farmers, Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) and Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) are in operation now for supplementary irrigation.
The government has fixed an extensive programme of producing over 4.72 million tonnes of clean T-Aman rice of high yielding variety (HYV), local variety and hybrid variety rice from 1.78 million hectares land during this season in the region.
Over 1.63 million hectares land will be brought under HYV T-Aman farming to produce 4.45 million tonnes rice, about 0.13 million hectares under local variety to produce 0.21 million tonnes and 16,391 hectares under hybrid variety to produce 54,090 tonnes Aman rice.
Talking to BSS, farmers Abdur Rahman, Sukumar Roy, Fanibhushan, Mominur, Abul Kalam, Hakim and others said they are facing acute water crisis now in transplanting Aman seedlings and saving growing plants in their already transplanted fields.
Horticulture Specialist of the DAE Khondker Md Mesbahul Islam said the drought like situation is prevailing at this peak hour of the rainy season when heavy monsoon rains usually paralyse normal life causing flash floods even 2-3 decades ago.
Agriculture and Environment Coordinator of RDRS Bangladesh Mamunur Rashid said the northern region experiences a drought-like situation now due to climate change following global warming as a result of unbridled emission of the green house gases.
Executive Engineer of Dalia Division of Water Development Board Mahbubur Rahman said they are providing supplementary irrigation now to the command area of the Teesta Barrage Project (TBP) in greater Rangpur and Dinajpur districts considering the situation.
