Field assessments show paddy fields, seedbeds and vegetable plots remain damaged or waterlogged as officials seek ministry support for farmers struggling with loans and lost income.
Recent floods waterlogging triggered by heavy rain and hill runoff have caused extensive damage to aus paddy, aman seedbeds and summer vegetables in Raozan upazila of Chattogram district, leaving 1,150 farmers fully affected and causing agricultural losses worth Tk4.16 crore, 88 thousand.
According to the Raozan Upazila Agriculture Officer’s Office, continuous heavy rainfall from July 5 to July 12 inundated large areas of the upazila’s 14 unions and nine municipal wards. Vast stretches of cropland went under water as floodwaters swept through the area.
With the rain continuing for days, vegetables and aus paddy were destroyed in the fields. Even after the floodwater receded, many farmers have been unable to resume cultivation because of lingering waterlogging and silt deposited on farmland. Many others are facing severe financial hardship after losing standing crops to the floodwaters.
Field-level assessments prepared by sub-assistant agriculture officers after on-site visits found that 143 hectares of the upazila’s 280 hectares of aus paddy land were affected by the disaster, with 93 hectares fully damaged. A total of 180 farmers lost 308 tonnes of crops, causing financial losses of Tk1.47 crore, 84 thousand in this sector.
Of the upazila’s 223 hectares of aman seedbeds, 112 hectares were affected by the disaster. Of these, 94 hectares were fully damaged. Losses in this sector stood at Tk50.04 lakh, affecting 460 farming families.
In the summer vegetable sector, 173 hectares of the upazila’s 435 hectares of cultivated land were affected by the disaster. Of these, 127 hectares of summer vegetables were fully damaged. With 1,093.2 hectares of crops damaged, 510 farmers suffered financial losses of Tk2.18 crore, 64 thousand in this sector.
In total, 1,150 farmers in the upazila suffered financial losses of Tk4.16 crore, 88 thousand due to the floods.
Papaya, ginger, turmeric, chilli, eggplant, yardlong bean, banana and other seasonal crops were also damaged by floodwaters in different unions of the upazila.
A visit to flood-hit areas of Raozan found that although the floodwater had receded, knee-deep water remained on large areas of farmland. Farmers said they were unable to resume cultivation because of waterlogging in agricultural fields.
Md Shukkur, a farmer said his family depended on crops grown on their land.
“Our household ran on the crops produced from our farmland. Now everything has been destroyed by floodwater. If the government does not provide necessary support, we will have to go without food,” he said.
Several affected farmers in Dabua said the crops in their fields had been ruined by the floodwater.
“We have no longer the capacity to start cultivation again. There is the pressure of loans, and on the other hand, our income has stopped. We cannot even imagine what the situation will be if we do not receive government incentives,” they said.
Raozan Upazila Agriculture Officer Md Masum Kabir said the authorities had assessed the losses from the recent floods and sent a proposal through the district to the ministry seeking incentives and necessary assistance for affected farmers.
“It was very difficult to assess the losses at the field level because road communication systems collapsed in different areas and farmland remained waterlogged,” he said.
He said the Department of Agricultural Extension in the upazila was providing advice and other necessary support to help affected farmers recover.
“The ministry is also monitoring the overall situation. The upazila agriculture office is providing necessary advice and assistance to farmers at the field level,” he said.
“We hope the affected farmers will receive incentives very soon. We will provide all kinds of support, including seeds, fertiliser and overall assistance, to help them overcome this loss,” he added.
