Despite having produced a substantial quantity of crops and fish farmers of Kishoreganj district feel the government is not paying enough attention to them.
The country’s major fish supplies come from the wetland lake known as haor of greater Kishoreganj where every year about 23,000 metric tons of fish is produced.
During the dry season the same highly fertile wetland is used for sowing rice paddy and it is reported that about 30 percent of Bangladesh's rice demand is met from this land of haor areas, which is why the place is also called one of the food warehouses in Bangladesh.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, aus paddy was planted on 21,450 hectares of land in 2018 and 22,500 hectares in the 2019 season. The following year 24,450 hectares of land was used for sowing aus paddy in the 2020 and 23,920 hectares in the 2021 season.
The four upazilas of Itna, Mithamin, Ashtagram and Nikli in Kishoreganj district are said to be inhabited by the main haor. The total cultivable land in these four upazilas is about one lakh hectares. ‘Boro Harvest’ was planted on 1,67,500 hectares in 2018-19 season, 166710 hectares in 2019-20 season and 166950 hectares in 2020-21 season in the district.
In the month of Baisakh, the whole field becomes golden with the golden color of matured paddy. However, in the month of Chaitra, the risk of flooding the only crop of the year in the haor due to the hill slope in advance haunts the farmers all the time.
Kishoreganj is called the haor inhabited district. It includes Itna, Ashtagram, Mithamin, Bhairab, Bajitpur, Kuliarchar, Katiadi, Nikli, Kishoreganj Sadar, Pakundia, Hossainpur, Karimganj, Tarail.
There are 97 haors in 13 upazilas. The soil of the haor is very fertile as it is alluvial and produces a lot of paddy. Paddy is the only crop produced in this area. Besides, the demand of the people of Kishoreganj for vegetables is met from the haor.
Meanwhile, many farmers experienced pest attacks along with rats which is known for partially destroying crops discouraging many farmers to cultivate rice or other crops.
The farmers also said that there used to be many small rivers crisscrossing around in the haor areas providing enough water for irrigation during the dry seasons but most of the those rivers and their tributaries have lost depth due to siltation and so farmers are forced to wait until monsoon to cultivate plants
Official sources said that about 5-6 hundred acres of crop land remains uncultivated every year due to water crisis.
Local agricultural researchers believe that if immediate initiatives are not taken many farmers and day labourers associated with regional agriculture, may lose interest and leave profession. Many of the farmers have appealed for government support to enable their livelihood by extending technical and financial help.
Khairul Islam, general secretary of Agrayatra Matsya Chashi Samabaya Samiti Ltd., who received the Prime Minister's Medal for Fisheries Production in 2016, said, “A large number of sanctuaries are needed to protect the fish resources. There are 11 sanctuaries in Kishoreganj. If more sanctuaries are set up, the endangered fish will be saved.”
He regretted that despite producing such a large number of fish, the government has not paid any attention to research on fish resources in greater Kishoreganj which is necessary to understand expanding the business.
District Fisheries Officer Ripon Kumar Pal said, “I am implementing the Fisheries Act to increase the production of natural fish. It is important to set up a sanctuary. introducing various training programmes to raise awareness and making sure that water bodies (jalmahal) benefit only the registered fishermen.”
Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension, Saiful Alam, said that the food needs of the people are being met and the district is contributing to the food security of the country. Warehouses and auto rice mills have been proposed under the Ministry of Food for storage of paddy. If the farmers are brought under the government programmes, there will be no labor crisis in the future.”
Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Shamim Alam said that the farmers are being given various agricultural incentives. Farmers are being given combined harvesters to reduce production costs. If the cost of production is reduced, the profit of the farmers will be higher and they will be motivated to increase the production. This will improve their standard of living.
The deputy commissioner said there was no problem in storing paddy. Farmers will be able to store their paddy at a fair price in the warehouses for relief. Various entrepreneurs have been asked for the Auto Rice Mill. In that case, if anyone is interested in auto rice mill, the district administration may arrange one.
