Rains hit early-winter crops

Heavy rainfall over the past three days, triggered by late-monsoon low, has taken a toll on the agriculture sector, exacerbating existing concerns over soaring vegetable prices.

Farmers who planted early winter crops, including potatoes, onions and green chillies, say they face significant losses due to varying degrees of crop damage.

Regions such as Rajshahi, Pabna, Kushtia, Mymensingh, Rangpur, Nilphamari, Dinajpur, Manikganj, Munshiganj, Shariatpur, Madaripur, Gopalganj and Lalmanirhat witnessed heavy rain, resulting in waterlogging and river erosions.

The combination of rain and strong winds has inflicted severe damage upon vegetable, chilli and potato fields in Dinajpur, Rangpur, Pabna, Kushtia, Dhaka and Faridpur regions.

In Nilphamari, Rangpur and Dinajpur, where farmers were expecting potato harvest in early November, now find themselves with waterlogged fields.

The rain has taken a severe toll on chilli fields in Jamalpur, Pabna, Rangpur, Bogura, and Rajshahi regions.

In early October, the monsoons gradually recede, ushering in the arrival of winter winds. But an unusual pattern emerged this year as the country has been experiencing heavy rainfall for the past three days. Some areas were witnessing rains for around a week.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Rangpur Regional Office, nearly 62,000 hectares of land came under early varieties of potato farming by October 1. It said 15 per cent of the fields have been severely damaged, while 30 per cent witnessed medium to partial damage, indicating a potential drop in production.

The Field Service Wing (FSW) of DAE has set a target to produce 14.5 million tonnes of vegetables on 0.62 million hectares, 110 million tonnes of potatoes on 0.48 million hectares and 4.0 million tonnes of onions on 0.26 million hectares of land this Rabi or winter season (October to March).

Referring to partial reports, a Field Service Wing official said some 30,000 hectares of vegetable fields have been affected.

He said the situation in Kishoreganj district is severe, where almost all vegetable fields were submerged between Thursday and Friday.

Badal Chandra Biswas, director general of DAE, said while the rain might benefit the paddy variety Aman, it could harm other crops.

He said assessments are going on to determine the losses, which will be disclosed on Sunday.

The meteorological office reported that the central region, including Dhaka and north-eastern areas like Mymensingh and Sylhet, experienced the highest rainfall in the last 24 hours between October 05 and 06.

The highest recorded rainfall was at Nikli in Kisoreganj, measuring 476 mm, a record for the year according to the met office. Mymensingh and Netrakona experienced 342 mm and 311 mm of rainfall respectively, while Jashore had 99 mm, Cox's Bazar 91 mm and Dhaka 80 mm during the same period.

Rainfall intensity decreased in Rangpur during the daytime on Friday, but it began to rise again in the evening, as reported by the Bangladesh Meteorological Department Rangpur office.

Md Javed, a farmer at Kundopukur in Nilphamari Sadar upazila, told the FE Friday that his potato field was still under the water.

He said, "I was expecting to collect desi potato (pakri variety) from the first week of November but if water remains for another day, most of the plants would die."

Vegetable farmers in Savar, Manikganj, Jessore, Jhinedah, Kushtia, Bogura and other key regions face a nightmare during the prolonged rain, said DAE sources.

Professor Rashidul Hasan, a farm economist, warned that prices of vegetables, potatoes, onions, green chilli and other crops might see further increases if farmers are unable to recover.

Onion, spices and vegetable prices have already surged significantly compared to a year ago; potatoes are up by 70-80 per cent, onions by 60-65 per cent, green chillies by 100 per cent and vegetables by 35-40 per cent, according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh and the Department of Agricultural Marketing.

Professor Rashidul called for government assistance to the farmers for re-cultivation once the water recedes. "It could help minimise production losses."

In its Friday evening forecast, the meteorological office forecasted rain at most places in the Mymensingh and Sylhet divisions, at a few places in Dhaka, Barishal and Chittagong divisions and at one or two places in Rajshahi, Rangpur and Khulna divisions.

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