Amreto Sarkar from Rajshahi
Water scarcity is one of the notable problems in Northern region of Bangladesh. Farmers count huge loss in farming crops due to scarcity water. This problem is becoming more acute now a days due to less rainfall which impacts soil characteristics. Besides, the farming of single crop such as high yielding paddy which requires huge water the water level is going downward further, creating problem of drinking water and in agriculture production.
However, some farmers of the area have been trying different innovative things to solve the crisis of water. They have been trying to introduce less water intensive crops to release pressure on water. Farmer Md. Golam Mostafa (42) of Dubail village in Tanore upazila of Rajshahi is one among the innovative farmers. He has started cultivating sugarcane on his 5 bighas of land since last year. Sugarcane is such a crop once it is planted and well cared for, yields can be obtained from it continuously for 3-4 years. Again, it requires less water for growth.
If we think of paddy cultivation, we will see that paddy land has to be kept with standing water all the time. At least 8-10 irrigations are required for paddy cultivation. In Barind region, the amount of irrigation is more in case of paddy. Huge water is required to produce paddy. But if we think of sugarcane, we can see that from planting to harvesting, we have to irrigate the soil only 1-2 times. Irrigation of sugarcane is much less than that of many other crops. Sugarcane, mustard, lentils and peas can be cultivated as companion crops as these crops are also less water intensive.
It is to mention that sugarcane cultivation was first discussed at the monthly meeting of BARCIK and Dubail farmers’ organizations in the recent years. Later, Md. Golam Mostafa, a farmer from Dubail village, became interested in cultivating sugarcane. He collected seeds from different farmers of different areas to translate his decision into reality. Thus, he collected Lalbabu and Amrit Sagar varieties of sugarcane seeds from neighboring Mahonpur Upazila. He planted those seeds in his 2 bighas of land in last year. In the first year alone, he made of profit of BDT 28 thousand. In this regard, Md. Golam Mostafa said, ‘Sugarcane cultivation requires less water. It does not require much water, which is a very good thing for our region.’ Liaquat Ali, 45, said, ‘We used to cultivate Rabi crops and Aman paddy to reduce the use of water in crops. But only sugarcane cultivation can be the solution. Sugarcane requires only 1-2 irrigations throughout the year. It could be a very good solution for our region.’
Translated by Silvanus Lamin
