Cyclone takes a heavy toll on agri sector

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FE Report
The Thursday's severe cyclonic storm that hit a number of coastal districts caused extensive damage to standing crops in an estimated area of 142,176 hectares.
According to preliminary official assessment, at least 0.5 million tonnes of aman rice have been totally damaged in 80 upazilas of the affected districts.
With the estimated loss due to the Thursday's cyclone, the country's total aman output might fall short of target by over 1.6 million tonnes this season, a monitoring cell under the Agriculture Ministry said.
The country had sustained an estimated crop loss of 1.0 million due to the two phases of floods in the months of July and August this year, sources said.
The government had fixed the country's aman output target at 13 million tonnes for the current season.
According to the monitoring cell, the Thursday's cyclone, codenamed, SIDR, damaged crops on 142,176 hectares of land fully and on 354,850 hectares partially in Khulna, Satkhira, Khulna, Pirojpur, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Chandpur, Faridpur, Gopalganj, Chittagong and Shariatpur districts.
It further said a total of 556,914 families in 422 unions under 24 districts were badly affected by the devastating cyclone.
Apart from the losses to aman crop, the cyclone SIDR has also taken it toll on the livestock population and poultry birds, vegetables, spices and forests, both reserve and homestead.
According to the cell, at least 242,020 cattle heads and poultry birds were perished across the affected districts.
It further said the cyclone damaged more than 344,520 trees in the said districts.
Meanwhile, local frozen foods exporters claimed that the SIDR had dealt a sever blow to the country's one of the important export-earning sectors, the frozen food sector.
Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA) President Kazi Belayet Hossain told the FE that nearly 30 per cent of the country's shrimp enclosures (ghers) had been affected due to the cyclone.
"We have not yet made any assessment. The Association has started collecting information to knew the extent of losses that the shrimp sector has suffered due to cyclone within a few days," said the BFFEA President.
Meanwhile, an emergency meeting was held at the Secretariat with the Agriculture Adviser C S Karim in the chair to review the impact of the cyclone and set strategies for the rehabilitation of the affected agriculture sector.
The adviser asked the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) to asses the cyclone-related losses to the agriculture and place a report on the same before the ministry within the next 10 days.
After receiving the final assessment reports from the DAE, the ministry will put forward a proposal to the government, seeking necessary fund supports for launching a rehabilitation programme in the affected districts, the adviser told a group of newsmen after the meeting.
Admitting the damage to aman crop, he said the government will take necessary steps to recoup the losses through boosting the upcoming 'Boro' production.
Against the backdrop, the government will provide seeds, fertilisers and other agriculture inputs to the affected farmers in the next boro cultivation season.
Apart from that, it will also take steps to facilitate a massive cultivation of 'moong' in the coastal districts namely Bagerhat, Patuakhali and Bhola, where boro is not planted due to acute salinity.