The farmers of six upazilas in Jhenaidah are saving around Tk 84 crore in the current transplanting Aus (T Aus) season due to the rainfall for the last seven days.
The farmers and the officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Jhenaidah Khamarbari said it will help the farmers cultivate the T Aus almost without pumped irrigation water from the water suppliers. The farmers will be able to save a huge amount of irrigation cost.
The DAE had recorded 70 millimeters rainfall in a week. Earlier, the DAE had recorded 81 millimeters rainfall in last six months.
A number of farmers at Khalishpur village in Moheshpur Upazila and Solemanpur of Kotchandpur Upazila in the district said they have reduced the area of rain dependent T Aus as there was virtually no rainfall in last six months. Slight rainfall in last June had shown the ray of hope which was disappeared faster leaving the Aus plots almost dried. The rainfall of the last seven days had satisfied them as the plots got adequate natural water.
They further said about 50 percent of the T Aus farmers were about to get supply of the irrigation water from the water suppliers at Tk 5,000 for each Bigha (40 decimals) of land in a season. The rain will save at least half of the cost and help make the T Aus farming profitable in the season.
According to a source related to the DAE, the farmers will save about Tk 84 crore in the T Aus season when the farmers were paying at least Tk 5,000 for each Bigha of land for irrigation water purposes.
The farmers will certainly be benefitted from the T Aus farming this season, they expressed their hope.
DAE sources said the farmers in the district had brought their 44,500 hectares of land under the farming in the season. Tk 35 to 37 thousand is cost for irrigation water supply purposes in each hectare of land.
Deputy Director of the DAE in Jhenaidah Khamarbari Sasti Chandra Roy said as the Aus farming is the rain dependent farming, the weeklong rain will make the Aus farming profitable this season due to optimum rainfall in last seven days.
