Untimely rain damages Tk 1.31b crops in Rajshahi agri region

Two days of unseasonal rainfall in early November caused extensive crop losses across four districts in the Rajshahi agriculture region, damaging over 19,500 hectares of farmland and affecting nearly 43,000 farmers, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).

Official sources said the rainfall caused losses worth about Tk 1.31 billion (Tk131.31 crore), with standing Aman paddy, winter vegetables, garlic, mustard, onion and potato fields sustaining worst damage.

Heavy downpours on November 1 and 2 inundated low-lying croplands in Rajshahi, Naogaon, Natore and Chapainawabganj districts, flattening paddy fields and submerging vegetable plots just before harvest time.

According to DAE data, crops on 1,649 hectares were completely destroyed, while another 13,860 hectares suffered partial damage. Among the affected crops, Aman paddy accounted for the largest share, with plants on 585 hectares fully destroyed and 12,501 hectares partially damaged. Vegetables were lost on 108 hectares, with partial damage on 434 hectares. Other major crops hit include garlic on 301 hectares, mustard on 453 hectares, onion on 60 hectares and potato on 42 hectares.

DAE officials said Naogaon and Rajshahi districts recorded the heaviest losses, as most of their transplanted Aman paddy fields were nearing maturity. 'The rain came at a critical time - just before harvest,' said Sabina Begum, deputy director of the DAE Rajshahi divisional office. She said that 42,899 farmers had been directly affected, many of them small and marginal growers who depend heavily on seasonal crops for their livelihoods.

Farmers in Tanore, Durgapur and Bagha upazilas of Rajshahi, and in Manda and Raninagar of Naogaon, said their paddy had lodged flat in the fields and could not be harvested in time.

Visiting Tanore, Paba and Mohonpur upazilas on Wednesday, this correspondent found many paddy fields were still waterlogged, with harvested sheaves lying soaked at field edges. Farmers were seen draining out standing water with hand pumps and small channels to prevent further sprouting.

Abdul Hannan, a 56-year-old farmer from Bidhorpur village under Tanore upazila, told that he had planned to harvest paddy from his eighteen kathas of land within a few days, but the field went under water.

'If I wait any longer, the crop will rot. I never saw this kind of rain in November before,' he said. Another farmer, Abdul Malek, said that he was forced to harvest half-ripe paddy as the crop had already started sprouting. "The yield will be less than usual," he said, fearing heavy losses. The unseasonal rainfall has also delayed the planting of winter vegetables, as many low-lying fields remain too wet for tilling and seed sowing. "We used to plant potatoes after harvesting Aman paddy. But this year we will not be able to cultivate potatoes as there is still knee-deep water in the field," Hannan said, adding that a large number of fields in their area would remain uncultivated due to the waterlogging. Agriculture officials warned that if rain recurs in mid-November, it could further delay Boro seedbed preparation and early winter crop sowing.

Rabbani Mandal, a farmer of Shialber village under Paba upazila in Rajshahi, said that his five bighas of land were still under water. "There are ponds all around, and there is no way for the water to recede," he said. Rabbani said that the government incentive was the only hope for poor farmers like them. "If the government stands by our side, we will be able to turn around again."

Otherwise, it will be difficult,' he said. Dr Md Azizur Rahman, additional director of the Rajshahi divisional DAE office, told that they had sent a report to the agriculture ministry on the losses caused by the rainfall. Asked whether any assistance or incentive would be provided to the affected farmers, he said that no decision had yet been made.

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