Drive on to combat harmful pests in Northern region

FE Team | Published: March 30, 2011 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Yasir Wardad, back from Rangpur
The Integrated Pest Management (IPM) project is getting implemented in full swing in the country's Northern region, showing a huge possibility in reducing the use of chemical pesticides. The IPM project, once implemented with success, will reintroduce some environment-friendly indigenous methodologies for combating harmful bugs in this Boro season, officials and farmers said. According to the Rangpur regional office of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), over 806,000 hectares of land has been brought under acreage against the target of 769,000 hectares in this Boro season in the eight districts of Rangpur division. More than 75 to 80 per cent out of the land has so far been taken under the IPM project Phase-11, the DAE regional office, Rangpur said. Md Mahosin Ali, additional director of DAE Rangpur region, told the FE that all the farmers of the eight districts of the division were trying the IPM with the help of DAE. He said, "Conservation and augmentation of natural enemies (for pests) , using tolerant varieties of rice and incorporating mechanical controls like perching or planting branches as well as light traps are some important parts of the five components of IPM". The last component -'control by chemical pesticides' would be applied only to the affected crops, he said. Md Ajgar Ali, an Adhiar (share cropper) of six bighas of land at Charaikhola union of Nilphamari district told the FE that he had no idea about the elaboration of IPM but two or three components of the programme were known to him. "From early of my farming, I have seen my fellow farmers including me, planting some bamboo branches (locally known as Jhik) in the paddy fields where the birds could sit and eat the harmful bugs like rice stemborer (majra poka), rice hispa (pamri poka) etc," he said. Light trap was also a familiar one, but we gave up those techniques in 1980s when the then agriculture officials told us that the techniques were backdated, he added. However he said it takes him Tk 300 to Tk 350 for chemical pesticides in per bigha of land in boro season. On a visit to the areas of Dimla and Domar upazila of Nilphamari, Khansama upazila of Dinajpur, Debiganj of Panchagar district, FE found a wide area of land carpeted with green Boro crops. Tree branches were found standing on each and every parcel of land. "Most of the components of IPM are indigenous pest managements that were applied long ago by the local farmers" a DAE high official said. He said, "They gave up using those techniques two decades back but now it has been proved very scientific and cost-effective to combat harmful pests through these ancient techniques". All credit goes to the farmers, we are just providing support to them, the official said. This will make a significant reduction in the use of chemical pesticides, he added. According to the agriculture ministry, over 48,500 tonnes of pesticides was used in the fiscal year 2009-10.