Cyclone Fani destroyed crops worth over Tk 385m, says agriculture minister

Cyclone Fani has destroyed crops worth Tk 385 million, says Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque.

Briefing the media at the Secretariat on Tuesday, the minister said the storm partially damaged the harvest of Boro, vegetables, corns, jute and betels across 63,000 hectares of land in 209 upazilas of 35 districts in Bangladesh.  

Of the damaged crops, Boro harvest on  55,609 hectares of land, vegetables on 660 hectares, corns on 677 hectares, jute on 2,382 hectares and betel leaves on 735 hectares of land have been destroyed, he added.

At least 13,631 farmers have been affected by the cyclone, Razzaque added. The government will undertake short- and long-term initiatives to compensate the farmers for their losses.

The storm hit Bangladesh through south-southwest and moved into central districts on Saturday morning packing a wind speed of 80kmph after lashing India with sustained wind speed of about 200kmph.

Plants of ripe paddy in some areas of Satkhira, Khulna, Bagerhat, Naogaon, Rajshahi and Jamalpur districts tilted during the storm about a week before the harvest season of Boro, farmers and officials said.

But, Department of Agricultural Extension or DAE Director General Mir Nurul Alam told bdnews24.com on Sunday the storm “could not cause much damage” to crops as it had lost strength before reaching the country.

Bangladesh farms Boro crop on 11 million acres of land and harvest 18 million tonnes, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.