The present government has been rendering all out assistance to the farmers across the country in growing adequate and safer food for the nation.
However, farmers of Jhenaidah have been allegedly deprived of services by the officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) when a harmful pest namely brown pest hopper (BPH), locally known as “Currentpoka”, has been eating up their standing Transplanting Aman (T Aman) plants.
Farmers said no field level staff of the DAE, known as sub assistant agriculture officer (SAAO) has reached them for months together. Finding no other alternative, the affected farmers have been rushing to the fertilizer and pesticides selling dealers and following their advices for controlling the severe pest attack.
When this correspondent visited Hetampur agriculture block in Manaharpur union, about two kilometres from Shailkupa upazila town, he talked to a number of farmers there. The farmers said their T Aman plots were almost mature and they expected to harvest them within next two weeks. Meanwhile, the Currentpoka have destroyed their dreams by sucking the water from the paddy plants leaving them razed to the grounds. Farmer Amiya Kumar Shikder said his entire plot of T Aman on 22 decimals of land were eaten up by Currentpoka within four to five days. As there was no agriculture officer in the area, he had followed the advice of local fertilizer and pesticides dealers and applied the pesticides, referred by them, to control the situation, but, that came to no effect.
They said as there was no field level officer, they went to the dealers of fertilizer and pesticides to save their crops, but alas! all their efforts went in vain and the plants turned yellow in colour within a few days. If they could be assured of proper advice from any DAE official, they might have been able to save their crops, the farmers added.
Not only at Hetampur agriculture block in Manaharpur union, this situation of the Currentpoka attack is almost the same at Hazramina and Bijulia villages of Manaharpur, Bahir Royerah and Gobindapur of Umedpur, Kripalpur of Abaipur and Hakimpur village of Hakimpur union. It has shattered the hope and aspiration of the T Aman farmers. They were devastated when Currentpoka had occupied the lands immediately before the crops became ready to harvest.
When contacted, Shailkupa Upazila Agriculture Officer (UAO), Akram Hossain said the position of SAAO at Hetampur agriculture block in Manaharpur union was lying vacant for last couple of months when the previous SAAO was transferred elsewhere. They are going to appoint a SAAO at an early date, he added.
The UAO further said they have been distributing leaflets among the farmers as a part of their publicity campaign even in remote villages to make the farmers aware against any such calamities.
