Prolonged monsoon worries farmers in Pabna

Md Mehedi Hasan, a farmer from Shahapur village of Ishwardi upazila in Pabna, planted two bighas of banana this season. Earlier this month, a rise in the Padma submerged the plantation and damaged the crop.

He is among the farmers affected by the prolonged monsoon, with rising river waters and continued rain disrupting cultivation and delaying the planting of early onions.

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According to the district Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), 187 hectares of farmland in Pabna Sadar and Ishwardi upazilas were submerged along the Padma early this month. Crops on 41.4 hectares were completely destroyed, causing an estimated loss of Tk 3.46 crore.

The damaged crops include 13.75 hectares of mashkalai (black gram), 7 hectares of chilli, 13.4 hectares of vegetables, 3.25 hectares of banana and 4 hectares of paddy.

“The Padma rose quickly, approaching the danger level and flooding banana, mashkalai and vegetable fields in the riverbank shoal areas,” said Md Ashikur Rahman, a sub-assistant agriculture officer at DAE Pabna.

Although water has receded from most affected areas, the damaged fields cannot be replanted immediately, he said.

Md Shibbar Hossain, a Water Development Board official, said upstream runoff from the Ganges basin caused the river to swell at the beginning of the month. The water, however, remained below the danger level and has since been receding.

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Photo: Star

Meanwhile, continued rain is delaying the cultivation of Kondo, or early onion, across the district.

Md Kamruzzaman, an onion farmer from Durgapur village in Sujanagar, usually plants 8-10 bighas of Kondo onion by mid-September.

“This year, the soil is far too wet to plant anything. If I can't start planting this month, I will have to skip the early variety entirely,” he said.

Md Selim Morshed, another farmer from Haatkhali village, said the ideal planting window is between September 15 and October 15, but continued rain makes planting risky as seedlings can be damaged.

DAE has set a target of cultivating more than 9,000 hectares of Kondo onion this year, but no planting had begun as of today.

“Normally, farmers have a portion of the early crop planted by mid-September. If the weather improves, planting may begin by late this month or early next month, but achieving our production target will be a challenge,” Ashikur said.