Home and Agriculture Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury has called for the real extent of damage to agriculture in flood-hit areas to be determined quickly, and for the necessary support and rehabilitation to be provided.

The adviser made the call on Saturday (24 August) at a meeting with the heads of departments and agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture and senior ministry officials, held in the ministry's conference room at the Secretariat. Agriculture Secretary Dr Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mia was present.

"Our main priority is to ensure aman rice production in flood-hit areas in line with the target. If that is not possible, we must increase production of suitable rabi crops, including vegetables. For that, all cultivable land must be brought under cultivation," the adviser said.

He instructed the relevant ministry officials to ensure the supply of seed, fertiliser and other farm inputs, prepare seedbeds and set out overall preparations and tasks.

He said that during post-flood rehabilitation, officials must stay actively in the field and keep helping farmers to secure farm production. He directed the authorities concerned to ensure that field-level officers are regularly present at their workplaces.

If roads and other infrastructure cause waterlogging on farmland after the floodwater recedes, quick action must be taken, he said. Where needed, with help from the relevant departments, roads may be cut temporarily or other suitable means used to drain the water.

At the meeting, the agriculture secretary announced a decision that all officers and staff of the Ministry of Agriculture would give one day's pay to the Chief Adviser's relief fund to help flood-affected people. The adviser praised the decision and urged everyone to help as far as they can during the disaster.

The meeting took the following decisions on tackling the damage from the ongoing floods in different parts of the country:

• The actual crop damage in flood-hit areas must be assessed, especially damage to transplanted aman seedbeds, transplanted aman, standing aus rice and other crops after the water recedes. Rice, Bangladesh's main crop, will get priority. After the rice rehabilitation programme, an early winter vegetable programme will also be given for rehabilitation as needed.
• Arrangements must be made to prepare transplanted aman seedbeds as quickly as possible on high land owned by various departments, agencies and institutions.
• The DAE control room must continue collecting information on flood damage to agriculture.
• Information on transplanted aman seed stocks held by departments and agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture must be collected, along with information, in coordination with the ministry, on farm rehabilitation and support work by agricultural universities and other institutions.
• BADC, BINA and all other public and private institutions will collect aman seed and supply it immediately to the departments and agencies responsible for preparing seedbeds.
• As far as possible, seedbeds must be prepared in areas close to the flood-hit areas.
• Agriculture extension officers and sub-assistant agriculture officers in the field must be kept active from now on so that farm rehabilitation can start quickly.
• Block- and upazila-based rehabilitation plans must be made for flood-hit areas.
• The Agriculture Information Service must prepare documentaries on the overall farm rehabilitation programme, covering flood damage to agriculture and raising awareness among farmers in the field.
• The Additional Secretary (Extension Wing) of the Ministry of Agriculture will act as coordinator of the overall programme.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.