Power outages have taken a serious turn in different parts of the country, badly affecting Boro cultivation. Farmers are worried as irrigation of their Boro fields are being hampered due to frequent power cuts.
Farmers have been facing problem in irrigating their crop fields due to erratic power supply and voltage fluctuation since the onset of the Boro season.
Besides, hike in the prices of diesel and fertilisers is another concern for the farmers. The marginal farmers are bearing the brunt of the price hike of agri inputs.
As farmers are not getting smooth power supply, deep and shallow tube-wells cannot lift adequate water. Boro fields in different districts have already dried up but farmers have no financial capacity to irrigate their land with diesel-run shallow pumps.
According media reports, Boro is cultivated on about 50 lakh hectares of land across the country every year. Farmers depend on groundwater for irrigation of their land. Half of the 45 million tonnes of rice come from Boro yield. This year farmers faced problem in growing Boro seedlings due to unusual temperature.
Boro fields in different districts have already dried up
but farmers have no financial
capacity to irrigate their land with
diesel-run
shallow pumps
Many farmers cultivated Boro paddy by taking loan from NGOs and other sources. The farmers had informed the authorities concerned of the matter, but did not get any necessary support from them.
We all know that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is very supportive to the farmers. She always urge them to bring every inch of land under cultivation to grow more food. Her (Sheikh Hasina) government is taking pragmatic steps for development of the agricultural sector.
Like previous years, the government has also committed to ensure uninterrupted power supply for irrigation of Boro fields. State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid on several occasions also assured farmers of providing all facilities for irrigation of the Boro fields.
The power division must do everything necessary for ensuring smooth power supply so that irrigation of Boro fields are not hampered. The government will also have to take immediate steps to ensure smooth power supply for the farmers during this peak season. We should keep in mind that farmers have kept the wheels of the country’s economy moving.
