In the last few days, continuous rains have caused severe damage to potatoes in Munshiganj district. Hundreds of farmers in the district are facing heavy loss. Out of 300 bighas of land of Tongibari upazila farmer Shahid Haldar, 70 bighas of potatoes field have been completely damaged.
Farmers in the area said that they had set a target of cultivating potatoes in 300 bighas of land. To this end, they started planting potatoes in 60 bighas of land. In the meantime, it was raining heavily. The dream of potato farmers of Munshiganj came to an end due to the continuous rain from 2nd December. The seed of the planted potato has completely rotted and now only dead plants are lying on the lands.
Similarly, about 18,000 hectares of land in Munshiganj's Sirajdikhan, Srinagar, Louhjong, Gazaria and other potato farming region have been rotted.
This has led to the marginal potato farmers in heavy despair. The affected farmers said that they do not have the financial means to buy and cultivate potato seeds again.
Anwar Mridha, a farmer of Chardumuria in Sadar upazila, said, "I planted potatoes in about 4 bighas of land.
In 3 days of continuous rain, all the potato seeds in my field have rotted. Now I don't have the money to cultivate for the second time.”
Meanwhile, the farmers of Baligaon of Tongibari, who were severely affected, said that they have been involved in potato farming for many years. This year, they have no target to cultivate potato again in the land as all the potato fields were damaged by the rain.
According to the local farmers, they already prepared the land and planted potatoes in 70 bighas of land. The rain started after that. The lands had been drowning in rain water for 3 days from 2nd December. Potato seeds planted in the land have been completely destroyed.
They have lost about 25 lakh Tk. Asked whether the District Agriculture Extension Department had inquired about the affected farmers, they said, "No one has come to inquire about the huge losses we have suffered."
“We did not get any assurance of help or cooperation. If the government had stood by us in this moment of danger, we would have benefited at least a little,” Affected farmers said.
Shahid Haldar, a farmer said, "Even if the government does not help me, I will have to repay the loan and prepare all the land and plant potatoes. Otherwise I will be in trouble. That is why I am preparing the land again for planting potatoes. This will double my production cost.”
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Regarding the damage caused to potato land by natural calamities, Deputy Director of District Agriculture Extension Department Md. Khurshid Alam said that it is not possible to immediately say the amount of loss.
The amount of damage can be said at the end of the survey. Regarding government incentives, he said, "I do not know of any official assistance provided to potato farmers in the past. However, if there is an incentive this year, it will be delivered to the farmers.”
