Rice Today, IRRI: Jan 22, 2018

Shahreen Haq

Figure: BRRI dhan51 can survive under floodwater for up to two weeks while most rice plants die in a matter of days. (Photo by Md. Ahadat Hossain)

In Bangladesh, water is both celebrated and feared. Jitendra Nath Sarkar, a 60-year-old farmer in Kurigram District of Rangpur in the northern part of Bangladesh, is all too familiar with the nourishing nature of the rain and rivers—and the frighteningly destructive force of their raging floodwaters.

In August 2017, an unusually harsh monsoon brought the worst floods in 40 years, affecting 41 million people across South Asia. These floods have devastated Bangladesh’s rice sector─ representing the country’s single most important crop. The government estimates that 61,877 hectares of cropland were “completely damaged.” Because most of these farmlands were left submerged, a food shortage looms in the coming months.

A father of two, Mr. Sarkar is the sole breadwinner, making his family totally reliant on the income he earns from his boro or winter crops. Mostly, these consist of boro rice. If the rice crop fails, he will be unable to meet his family’s basic needs. He cultivates around 3 hectares of land and his crops are often damaged by floods that occur almost every year during the aman season. It is a risk that he, along with thousands of farmers living in flood-prone areas, is willing to take each season. The farmers wait in anticipation, hoping the impact of flood will not cut too deeply into their meager income. When the floodwater does arrive, Mr. Sarkar waits for 10 to 15 days for the water to recede to assess the damage to his field. He is often forced to re-plant it, causing him to incur more expenses. The late planting also results in low production.

Mr. Sarkar and the hundreds of thousands of poor farmers like him have little choice but to endure the hardship and helplessly watch their crops and their already meager future wash away.

See more: http://ricetoday.irri.org/as-floodwaters-recede-farmers-hopes-emerge-in-bangladesh/