Rains inflict massive loss for bean farmers

PABNA, Nov 05: Three consecutive spells of heavy rainfall in Pabna's Ishwardi upazila have caused deadly yield loss of the early varieties of bean in the current season.

Under the impact of rains, most of the 910 hectares of land in the upazila was submerged, almost all the fields were infested with insects and the roots of plants rotted and their leaves become dry and turned yellow. Flowers fell off from most of the bean plants.

While 40-50 kgs of bean are collected daily from one bigha of land, even one kg of the crop is not available after flowering due to water stagnation. After water was drained out from submerged bean fields, most of the plants have revived due to soil maintenance and using pesticides and fertilisers.

Farmers are now regularly collecting beans from the fields and taking those to the market. As a result, relief has started coming among the rain-hit bean farmers. Still there is a hope that the price of the vegetable will rise.

According to the Upazila Agriculture Office, Ishwardi upazila is famous for bean cultivation where 1,400 hectares of land has been brought under farming of the vegetable this year; out of which, 910 hectares have been planted with early varieties of bean.

Ishwarid Upazila Agric-ulture Office has taken initiatives to provide incentives to all farmers including bean growers affected by the heavy rains, the official said.

Bean farmers said that Muladuli Union in the upazila has been growing beans commercially for about 20 years. Although beans are a winter vegetable, farmers have been cultivating early varieties of Rupban and Auto varieties for about 15 years in the hope of making a good profit.

Before the winter season, all the varieties of bean fetch higher prices in the market, farmers said.

This correspondent on Sunday visited bean fields in Ramnathpur, Sheikhpara, Faridpur, Goalbathan and Baghsala villages in Ishwardi and Atghoria upazilas.

Many diseased bean plants have started getting stronger for applying fertilisers and pesticides. The trees are blooming.

Farmers have started collecting beans from the fields and selling them. They are dreaming of recovering from losses if the prices are as expected.

Sohel Rana, a bean farmer from Baghasala village in Muladuli of the upazila, told The Financial Express that the fields were waterlogged due to continuous rains after the flowering of beans.

However, after tireless efforts and additional expenditure on drainage, pesticide spraying and maintenance, the fields have started to grow beans again.

"Now the market price of bean is good. Beans are being sold at Tk125 to Tk 130 per kg in the market. If there is no natural disaster, we can take some of it," he said.

"Rains have damaged fields and beans have not yet been harvested. The wholesale price of beans is Tk130 per kg," he said.

Sujan Sheikh, owner of Alam Traders, a vegetable grower in Muladuli market of the upazila, said heavy rains caused massive loss to farmers. If the fields had not been destroyed, at least 30-35 trucks of beans would have gone to different parts of the country including Dhaka every day but now only 20-22 trucks of beans are going.

"I hope there will be a rush in the sale of beans in the next two weeks. Now beans are selling at Tk 125-130 per kg," he added.

Ishwardi Upazila Agri-culture Officer Mita Sarkar told The Financial Express a majority of the bean fields in the upazila have been flooded due to heavy rains in the past two weeks. After recession of the stagnant water, cultivation has started in new areas.

Agriculture officers at the field level are assisting the farmers with various suggestions and Rabi crop incentives are being listed for the victims to encourage them to continue production.

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