Hundreds of bighas of Aman paddy in Dinajpur have fallen to the ground in the last three days of rain and gusty winds. In addition to Aman growers in different areas, early winter vegetable and potato growers have also been affected. However, officials of the agriculture department say that if there is intermittent rain, the water in the crop field will not be able to stay frozen for long. So the risk of loss is less.
Although the rains and gusts of wind that started last Monday afternoon did not cause any damage to houses and plants, hundreds of hectares of Aman paddy land in the district have fallen into the ground. Farmers used to cut these paddy and take it home in 10-15 days.
Now they are fearing big losses. On the other hand, vegetable and potato farmers have their hands in advance. At present, farmers are now facing losses in the hope of making a profit by cultivating potatoes in advance. On Wednesday, different areas of Sadar upazila were visited and it was seen that half-ripe paddy trees and vegetable fields were submerged in water. Many people are busy draining the water from the vegetable and potato fields.
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Mofiz, a farmer of Dinajpur Sadar upazila, said that the paddy will start ripening in 10-15 days.
But suddenly, in this rain and gust of wind, 60-70 percent of the land's Aman paddy has fallen to the ground. I don't know what will happen to this paddy now, how this loss will be compensated. Noni Gopal, another farmer in the area, said, "I have planted BRRI Sumon Swarna variety of paddy in advance on three bighas of land. The paddy is ripe in the field and I was planning to collect paddy in couple of days. This unseasonal rain is ruining my crops.
Even if the paddy can be harvested, the quality will be lost, farmers feared. Hossain, a farmer from Madhabbati area of Biral upazila, said, "I have grown vegetables and potatoes in advance in the hope of making a profit." But this rain ended it all. Potato fields are submerged in water. Potatoes that have been planted are rotting. Even in vegetable fields, the seeds are starting to rot in the water.
Pradeep Kumar Guho, Deputy Director of the district's agricultural extension department, said there could be some damage to paddy in lands that have just been harvested or not. Besides, the farmers may face some losses due to the accumulation of water in the potatoes. According to the agriculture office, Aman paddy has been cultivated in 2,38,350 hectares of land in the district this season.
Md. Shah Alam, Deputy Director, Department of Agricultural Extension, Dinajpur Region, came to observe the farmer's field and said, "By observing the field, we have seen that about 6,000 hectares of land has been damaged by paddy, vegetables and potatoes." The list of farmers' names has started. Negotiations will be held to compensate for the loss.