The Boro farmers in Jhenaidah have been fighting against dense fog to protect their seedbeds and newly transplanted sapling when the country was caught in severe dense fog in last one week. They have completed almost 10 percent of transplantation while the major 90 percent yet to be completed, said the farmers and the officials of the de2partment of agriculture extension (DA) in Jhenaidah Khamarbari.
Farmer Abdur Rahman of Shailkupa Mathpara under the municipality when contacted at his fog affected Boro plot said all the farmers like him were in trouble when the dense fog has been affecting their seedbeds or newly transplanted Boro plots. Some of them have been protecting the same covering the entire plot with polythene. And the farmers those who have not enough money to purchase the polythene removing the fogs with stick.
A number of Boro farmers at village Kalichanranpur in Jhenaidah sadar upazila had expressed the same opinion.
According to the office sources of the department of agriculture extension (DAE) in Jhenaidah, they had set target to produce 376,940 tones of Boro rice on a total of 92,260 hectares of land in the season where each hectare will provide 4.70 tones of rice. The farmers brought their 89,150 hectares of land in the district next season. The farmers will continue their transplanting activities till mid February so that the desired area might be covered.
They had prepared over 5,500 hectares of seedbeds in the season as against their demand for 4,613 hectares. Excessive saplings usually they had been selling to the farmers of neighboring Magura, Chuadanga or other district farmers, DAE sources said.
Upazila agriculture officer (UAO) in Shaikupa upazila Anisuzzaman Khan when contacted said the farmers in the district are very sincere, active and caring in producing crops. Further, the filed level DAE officials have been encouraging them to apply modern technology and equipment. They have been also making the farmers aware to protect the crops from the attack of pest and diseases for the betterment of the farmers.
