It is time for farmers to harvest the Boro crop, but in Mithamoin and Itna Upazilas of Kishoreganj, they are a worried lot now.
Published : 17 Apr 2014, 11:34 AM
Three hailstorms this week and blight have damaged Boro paddy in at least 30 villages of these two Upazilas -- in some places more than half the standing paddy crop is lost.
Boro paddy in 10 villages was most severely affected due to the hailstorm that lasted for about one hour on Saturday, said Ghagra Union Parishad Chairman Bulbul Chowdhury.
“Earlier we witnessed a good yield. But this year 50 percent of paddy has been damaged by the hailstorm,” he said.
Besides, there was blight in the paddy in some villages, he said.
Chowdhury urged the government to provide assistance to the farmers of the district.
Phul Miah, a well off farmer of Itna village, said he had cultivated Boro on 18 acres of land but most of the paddy was damaged due to hailstorm.
“I won’t get more than 4000 kgs (approximately) paddy against an expectation of 10,000 kgs,” he said.
In some villages paddy was affected with blight.
Around 40 percent of hybrid and 80 percent of Bri-28 varieties of paddy got affected in some unions.
Farmer Sheikh Farid Uddin of a village in Itna Upazila said most of his paddy cultivated on four acres of land was damaged by the blight.
“I think I won’t get even 500 kgs of paddy against an expectation of 3,000 kgs,” Farid said.
Many farmers of neighbouring villages also appeared frustrated.
Osman Bhuiyan of Shimulbak village said there was blight for not making seedbed in due time and fault in sowing.
He blamed field level agricultural officers for not making farmers aware of that.