RANGPUR: Thousands of landless and char people are expecting bumper production of various crops cultivated on the dried up riverbeds and char lands in Rangpur agriculture region this season, reports BSS. Talking to BSS, the char people expressed happiness over getting excellent crop yield at this initial stage of harvest on the dried up river beds and char lands of the Brahmaputra, Teesta, Dharla, Kartoa, Ghaghot, Jamuna and other rovers and tributaries this season.
According to sources in the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), crop cultivation on the shoals, dried and silted up riverbeds and char lands has been increasing every year due to massive deposition of alluvial soils.
Crops like Boro rice, onion, garlic, maize, wheat, vegetables, groundnut, squash, ‘china’, ‘kawn’, pulses, ‘gunji till’, tobacco, pumpkin, gourd, corn, pulses, mustard, other oil seeds, and watermelon have been growing excellent on these lands every year.
The poor and landless char and riverside people, small and marginal farmers brought over 80,000 hectares of land, including 55,500 hectares of char lands, under crop cultivation this year in the region.
“The farmers cultivated crops on over 55,000 hectares of char lands in five districts under Rangpur agriculture region this time,” said Horticulture Specialist of the DAE Agriculturist Khondker Md Mesbahul Islam.
“The char people already completed harvesting of mustard though harvest of other crops on dried-up riverbeds and char lands would complete before commencement of the next rainy season,” Islam added.
Agriculture and Environment Coordinator of RDRS Bangladesh Mamunur Rashid said that crop cultivation on the shoals, dried up riverbeds and char lands became possible due to massive deposition of alluvial soils following climate change impacts.
‘Some 17,000 families have achieved success by cultivating pumpkin alone on 6,000 acres of sandy-barren char lands so far with assistance of different NGOs since 2009 in five districts under Rangpur agriculture region,” Mamun added.
Char dwellers Akbar Hossain, Nurul Alam and Aklima Khatun, of village Char Montola, Sonavan of Kheruar Char, Afsar Ali and Hashem of Char Goynar Patal under Chilmari upazila said they were expecting bumper crop production this year.
Azizul Haque and Sultan of Char Korai Barisal village in Kurigram, Mahbub and Morsheda Begum of village Paschim Mohipur under Gangachara upazila in Rangpur also expected bumper yield of their crops cultivated on the riverbeds this season.
Regional Additional Director of the DAE Shah Alam said crop cultivation had been taking place on sandy char lands and silted up riverbeds with emergence of shoals producing huge crops improving livelihoods of the people living there.