DAE must stand by farmers’ suffering water shortage

It is very worrying to note that insufficient monsoon rain pushed farmers, especially in the northern region, to desperate conditions as they are turning to costly irrigation for their Aman rice production. Even that option is not always available because of frequent power outages. It is being reported in the national dailies that due to absence of rain, Aman seedbeds are drying up on the one hand and jute growers are failing to make jute retting to extract fibre on the other hand.

One of the reasons why farmers are increasingly becoming not interested in jute cultivation is scarcity of water in the time of need as well as unavailability of quality jute seeds. This season farmers are reportedly forced to dry up their jute stalks, as water for jute retting is not available. Still, many farmers in the North are waiting for rain and have not prepared their land for Aman cultivation.
Irrigation at an increased cost is not feasible for farmers. If around 19 per cent of paddy goes to water suppliers for irrigation, little will be left for the farmers from the yields. The cost of tillage, irrigation and labour – all combined, Aman rice cultivation is getting dreary for the farmers. They also cannot leave their land without cultivating Aman. When farmers are facing this hard situation, the surprising truth is the government’s Department of Agricultural Extension has not taken up any steps to mitigate the crisis facing the farmers.

Increased cost in production of rice is bound to impact its market price in these days of high food inflation and we do not think that the government is not aware of this predicament. As this year there is no alternative to irrigation, the government must act swiftly and give subsidies to farmers’ irrigation costs so that the rice market in the coming months does not become ever more volatile. To save the farmers is also a great duty of the government. The plain truth is if farmers do not remain well, the nation will not remain well.