Crisis of Boro Saplings in Peak Season
Price shoots up 4 times, new seedbeds in dists
Crisis of boro saplings following damage of seedbeds due to prolonged cold wave accompanied by foggy weather in December and January is hampering boro farming in different areas during the ongoing peak season.
Boro farming is facing setback in seven upazilas of Gaibandha district as price of seedlings has shot up to four times, reports our Gaibandha correspondent.
Due to crisis of boro seedlings, it is now selling at Tk 500 per pawn (80 bundles) whereas last year it sold at Tk 120 per pawn.
With price of boro seedlings spiralling up, poor farmers are reluctant to cultivate boro this year as they cannot afford the high production cost.
This season there is target to cultivate boro on one lakh 70 thousand 436 hectares of land in the district this season and seedbed was prepared on 6,704 hectares of land, said officials of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in the district.
"I prepared boro seedbed to cover up five bighas of land but most of the seedlings dried up due to cold injury. Therefore, I could plant boro on only a one-bigha plot," said Hazrat Ali of village Tarapur under Sunderganj upazila.
"For cultivating the remaining lands, I have to purchase seedlings from the local market but quality of seedlings cannot be ensured. So, the production may fall," he said.
During recent visits to Dharmapur, Kapasia, Lalchamar, Sreepur areas under Sunderganj upazila, this correspondent saw solvent farmers guarding the seedbed erecting makeshift sheds from probable theft.
"I will plant boro on a bigha of land of my own. I had also a plan to cultivate more four bighas land of another person on crop sharing contact. But half of the seedlings have been stolen and I can replace it now," said farmer Nurul Islam of village Chapporhati in Sunderganj upazila.
This season farmers could not transplant early variety of boro seedlings due to prolonged biting cold during winter. Till now only 60 percent land have been brought under cultivation, but last year all the targeted areas went under cultivation by February first week, said DAE officials.
Our Dinajpur Correspondent adds: Delayed boro farming is likely to affect production in Dinajpur, Panchagarh and Joypurhat districts as farmers have to prepare new boro seedbeds following damage of saplings due to severe cold spells in early January.
Although Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) officials said 15 to 20 per cent of the seedbeds were damaged with cold injuries and the damage would not hamper attaining the target of the season.
However, several DAE officials unofficially said that about 30 to 40 per cent saplings in seedbeds failed to survive due to several cold waves with foggy weather in last January.
Farmers said the boro plantation in last year was completed within February but it is being delayed as most of the saplings could not survive due to cold wave with foggy weather.
Now they are worried about planting boro within optimum plantation time that ends in mid-March as saplings on new seedbeds will take about one month to grow.
During a recent visit to different places in the district, this correspondent found that a large number of farmers were busy in preparing their new seedbeds.
"My boro seedbeds on one acre land was damaged due to frequent cold spell in January. I am now preparing new seedbeds which will need at least one month to grow," said Kabir Uddin a farmer of Kantha Dighipara under Ghoraghat upazila of Dinajpur.
Many other farmers of different areas of these districts have similar tales to tell.
There target of boro production on 1,71,592 hectares of land in Dinajpur, 46,333 hectares in Panchagarh and 69,460 hectares in Joypurhat, DAE officials said.
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