Total Aman loss due to cyclone estimated at over Tk 21b

FE Team | Published: November 30, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

S M Jahangir
The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) estimated the total losses to 'Aman' crop sustained due to the recent cyclone 'Sidr' at 0.82 million tonnes worth more than Tk 21 billion.
The preliminary Aman crop loss due to the Sidr was estimated at 0.6 million tonnes.
According to the DAE's latest assessment, the devastating cyclone has damaged agricultural crops on nearly 1.28 million hectares in the affected coastal districts.
Of the total, matured Aman crop on over 0.5 million hectares was totally damaged because of the severe cyclone, which hit the country's southwestern region on November 15 last.
The DAE has placed its loss-assessment reports to the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) a couple of days back following a directive from the ministry to this effect, official sources said.
An emergency meeting of the MOA, which was held on November 17 with agriculture adviser C S Karim in the chair, asked the DAE to asses the cyclone-related losses to the agriculture and place a report before the ministry within 10 days.
Official sources said the MoA will put forward a rehabilitation programme for the affected districts to the government in line with the DAE's loss-assessment reports.
Meanwhile, officials and analysts have already warned of a drastic shortfall in the country's overall foodgrain output mainly due to significant losses to the Aman crop caused by a series of natural calamities, including the recent Sidr.
Earlier, the country had sustained a total crop loss to the tune of 1.0 million to 1.2 million tonnes due to the two consecutive floods that badly affected Aman plantation in about 40 districts across the country.
With the crop losses due to the recent cyclone, the local Aman production might fall short of target by around 2.0 million tonnes this season, according to sources.
The government earlier fixed the country's aman output target at 13 million tonnes for the current season.
Taking such production shortfall into consideration, economists and experts have already cautioned that the country was set to face a food crisis in the near future unless the government immediately enhances its foodgrain stock through imports.
Against this backdrop, the government recently sought 0.5-million tonnes of food aid from its overseas development partners and international agencies to cope with the country's emerging foodgrain deficit.