Farmers in Kurigram have been hugely hit, with the recent floods wrecking havoc on their crops. Agriculture is one of the mainstays of Bangladesh's booming economy, but the devastation to crops in the northern district has put the livelihoods of many farmers on the brink. In fact, the losses in the agriculture sector caused by the floods in Kurigram has been estimated at a whopping Tk 127.54 crore, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).  According to the DAE, a total of 80,035 cultivators have been affected by the floods, with 15,851 hectares of cropland in the district being partially or fully destroyed in the natural calamity. This season, the farmers of the district cultivated 34,310 hectares of agricultural land. But due to the flash floods and heavy downpour, around 15,851 hectares have been inundated. Of these, 7,351 hectares have been damaged fully during the fortnight-long floods. Read Also: Thousands still marooned by floods in Savar Apart from this, around 8,427 hectares of cropland have been damaged partially by the floodwaters. As a result, the production of a total of 35,055 metric tonnes of crops has been affected, which is 25.57% of the total crops. The Aush paddy and jute have been affected the most, followed by vegetables. Floodwaters have damaged 9,521 hectares of cultivated jute land of a total of 16,577 hectares, 3,580 hectares of Aush paddy of a total of 8,480 hectares, and 1,161 hectares of vegetables of 4,034 hectares of cultivated land in Kurigram. Read Also: Food, work shortage hits Kurigram flood victims hard The damaged crops in the district include Aman seedbed, jute, Aush paddy, sesame, vegetables, peanuts, banana, corn, chili, ginger, turmeric, onion, sugarcane and lentil. Shamsul Alam, a vegetable grower of Chararpar village under Kurigram sadar upazila, said, “I invested Tk 50,000 from my own pocket and borrowed Tk 30,000 from an NGO. Also, I borrowed Tk 20,000 from a local lender at a high rate of interest. I have suffered huge losses." Another farmer, Jabbar Ali of the same village, said, “We hoped to make big bucks this year. But the flash floods washed away our dreams.”   Contacted, Md Abdur Rashid, deputy director of Kurigram DEA, said, “We have informed the higher authorities after estimating the losses. The affected farmers will be brought under incentive packages." "We have already received an allocation to bring 7,000 farmers under incentives which will help them recover some amount of losses," he added.

Farmers in Sirajganj are apprehending massive losses after a norwester hit the district on Wednesday night and damaged crops on about 12,000 hectares. “We’re fearing a huge loss for the seasonal crops,” said Abu Hanif, the deputy director of the district’s Department of Agricultural Extension. Also read: 12 killed in Gaibandha, Faridpur as nor’wester lashes country Farmers are frustrated seeing their ripe Boro paddy lying flat on the ground after storm and rain. There isn’t much left to harvest, they said. The norwester also damaged maize, jute and vegetable plantations. Also read: Nor’wester destroys 250 houses in Bhola More than 200 houses in the district were damaged and many trees were uprooted, cutting off power supply for about nine hours. Hanif said they have sent a report on the damage to the ministry concerned. Also read: Nor’wester sweeps Joypurhat; 4 killed But it is unclear if any step has been taken to address the losses of the farmers.

Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque on Sunday said some 1 lakh metric tons (MT) of crops were damaged in rat attacks in 2018.