Seed crisis for Boro farming looms large in B'baria
Tuesday, 20 November 2007
Our Correspondent
BRAHMANBARIA, Nov 19: An acute crisis of Boro seeds has been prevailing all over the district threatening the ensuring Boro cultivation, sources said.
According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources, a total of 1,04,200 hectares of land have been brought under Boro cultivation in the district during the current season. Of them, high-yielding varieties (HYV) will be cultivated on 88,500 hectares of land and local varieties on the rest.
A total of 4000 tonnes of Boro seed is urgently required to prepare seedbeds and achieve satisfactory production. Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) has allocated only five per cent of the total demand of seed, which is too inadequate to continue the cultivation, the sources added.
Upon visiting the local BADC seed sales centre of the town, it was found that farmers were returning home with empty hands as the authorities stopped seed distribution due to lack of supply.
Sources also said, seed crisis is prevailing as some of the farmers were compelled to consume their stored seeds as food during the recent prolonged flood.
The farmers said this year they are interested to recover their recent loss of crop production. If the present seed crisis continues, the Boro production target will not be achieved, they added.
Meanwhile, taking the advantage of the crisis, some unscrupulous traders are selling low-quality seeds which the farmers are forced to buy, as there is no other alternative.
BRAHMANBARIA, Nov 19: An acute crisis of Boro seeds has been prevailing all over the district threatening the ensuring Boro cultivation, sources said.
According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources, a total of 1,04,200 hectares of land have been brought under Boro cultivation in the district during the current season. Of them, high-yielding varieties (HYV) will be cultivated on 88,500 hectares of land and local varieties on the rest.
A total of 4000 tonnes of Boro seed is urgently required to prepare seedbeds and achieve satisfactory production. Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) has allocated only five per cent of the total demand of seed, which is too inadequate to continue the cultivation, the sources added.
Upon visiting the local BADC seed sales centre of the town, it was found that farmers were returning home with empty hands as the authorities stopped seed distribution due to lack of supply.
Sources also said, seed crisis is prevailing as some of the farmers were compelled to consume their stored seeds as food during the recent prolonged flood.
The farmers said this year they are interested to recover their recent loss of crop production. If the present seed crisis continues, the Boro production target will not be achieved, they added.
Meanwhile, taking the advantage of the crisis, some unscrupulous traders are selling low-quality seeds which the farmers are forced to buy, as there is no other alternative.