Potato, Chili, Vegetables, and Semi-ripe Paddy Damaged by Rain in the Second Week of Kartik in Naogaon! Farmers in Distress.

Daily Bijoy News, Naogaon Correspondent:

Farmers in various upazilas of Naogaon district fear damage to semi-ripe paddy (Aman rice), potatoes, chilies, and vegetables in the second week of Kartik. Last year, farmers in Naogaon incurred losses by cultivating potatoes. To recoup those losses, farmers started early potato cultivation this year. However, due to the influence of a depression in the Bay of Bengal, water has accumulated in crop fields after several days of rain in various upazilas of the district. In the fields where early potatoes have been sown, there are concerns of significant damage as the sown potato seeds may rot due to waterlogging. This has caused worry among potato cultivators. Additionally, there are fears of damage to transplanted Aman paddy and early winter chilies and vegetables.

According to the District Agriculture Extension Department, Aman paddy has been cultivated on 1 lakh 93 thousand hectares of land in the district. Early winter vegetables have been cultivated on 1,845 hectares of land. The target for potato cultivation has been set at 21 thousand hectares of land.

A visit to various areas on the ground revealed that land had been prepared for potato cultivation in some places, while seeds had just been sown in others. Rainwater has accumulated in the fields. Farmers are trying to drain the water to save their crops. Not only the potato fields, but plants of early winter varieties of cauliflower, cabbage, tomato, chili, brinjal, radish, and various other greens have also been flattened. Farmers are making efforts to protect the vegetables in fields that are still in good condition. Furthermore, semi-ripe paddy in the fields has bent over and is lying in the water.

Talking to farmers, it was learned that due to not getting a good price for potatoes last year, farmers started early potato cultivation this year hoping for better profits. However, several days of rain have led to water accumulation in the potato fields. Consequently, if the sown seeds rot in the rainwater, they will face significant losses. On the other hand, uncertainty looms over when seeds can be sown after draining water from the unprepared land. The problem of root rot has also appeared in winter vegetable fields. Farmers fear major losses if the water is not removed quickly.

Jainal, a farmer from Kalikapur Dangapara area in Atrai upazila, said, "I suffered a big loss last year by cultivating potatoes. I thought if I planted potatoes a bit early, I would get a good price. Hoping for that, I planted potato seeds on one and a half bighas of land less than a week ago. Then it rained. Now, due to stagnant rainwater, it's uncertain if the plants will grow properly. I don't know what to do..."

Ashraful Hossain, a farmer from Bharsho area in Manda upazila, said, "There is some risk in early potato cultivation. Seeing some people in the area planting potatoes, I also planted on one bigha of land a few days ago. Intermittent rain for several days has caused water to accumulate in the potato field. There is a fear that the sown seeds will rot because of this."

Ratan Mollah, a farmer from Barshail area in Sadar upazila, said, "I sowed potato seeds just a few days ago. Then it rained. It's still getting cloudy occasionally. Drizzling rain is also falling. If the potato seeds sown underground get a little water, they rot and are destroyed. So, there's a fear that most of the potatoes in the field will rot."

Sushil Mistri from Hapania area said, "The paddy has started to ripen. But several days of rain and gusty winds have caused the Aman paddy plants to bend over to the ground. There is still a lot of water accumulated in the crop fields. If the water is not removed quickly, there will be a lot of damage."

Indra Mia, a vegetable farmer from Krittipur area, said, "It has been drizzling for several days. This has caused rot at the base of cauliflower and other vegetable plants. There is doubt about whether farmers will even be able to recover their investment costs due to this untimely rain in the second week of Kartik."

Bidut Sarkar, son of Dhiren Sarkar from No. 9 Chaumashia Government Para, No. 9 Cheragpur Union, Mahadevpur upazila of the district, said, "This Kartik's untimely rain is causing distress for most ordinary farmers. Who will come forward in this difficult time? I took loans and transplanted Swarna 5 paddy on 3-4 bighas of land, but what a twist of fate! All my paddy is bent over on the ground. My hopes are dashed. How will I repay my loan burden? My cousin brother Shukumar Sarkar is in the same situation."

Ujjal Kumar said, "My paddy on 3-4 bighas of land is also lying flat on the ground. The ripe paddy is also floating in the water. No yield can be expected from this paddy. The total cost for fertilizer, pesticides, land preparation, planting, and labor is about 10-12 thousand taka per bigha. Now everything is topsy-turvy. How will this loss be compensated? Who will compensate for the loss?!"

The Deputy Director of the District Agriculture Extension Department, Homayra Mandal, said, "Although it rained, there was no heavy downpour. Potato planting has just started. The fields where potatoes were planted 8-10 days ago will not be damaged. Besides, winter vegetables and paddy are not expected to be severely damaged. Rain is somewhat a blessing for the paddy. If the water recedes from the fields, there will be no problem."

Daily Bijoy News/ Ujjal Kumar Sarkar