Flags are flying over Aman paddies and other crop fields in Ranisankail upazila of Thakurgaon. Surprising as it looks, farmers have put them up to drive rats out of their fields. Made by tying polythene to the top of a stick on the advice of the agriculture department, the flags have helped farmers in the upazila, who say they work better than pesticide.

Aman crops are growing all over Ranisankail. In some fields the rice is at the booting stage, in others the panicles are emerging, and the agriculture department expects a bumper harvest. But a rat attack on the Aman fields has left farmers at a loss. In several areas rats were seen cutting down rice plants as soon as evening fell, so farmers have put up polythene flags to protect their crops.

In Hatgaon village of Hosengaon union, polythene had been hung over most of the rice fields. Asked why, farmer Halim said: "I have planted one bigha of rice and I hope the crop will be good. But suddenly rats attacked the field and damaged many plants. They cut the base of the stems and dig many big holes in the field. During the day they attack less because people are around, but at night the damage increases. That is why we are using polythene. Rats move away when they hear a sound. At night the polythene flutters in the wind, and the rats run away from the noise."

According to the upazila office of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Aman was grown on 21,450 hectares last year. This year's planting has exceeded last year's target, with Aman grown on 21,455 hectares in the upazila.

Rats breed very fast. In favourable conditions one pair can produce about 3,000 rats in a year. They can conceive again within two days of giving birth, and young rats can breed within three months of birth. A rat lives two to three years. Rats damage rice, wheat, maize, nuts and fruit, especially vegetables, coconut, guava, sapodilla, lychee, mango, bottle gourd and sweet potato. When rice and wheat come into ear, they cut the stems at a 45-degree angle, drag them into their burrows to build nests and eat them. Rats destroy four to five times more than they eat, and spread about 30 kinds of disease.

Agriculture officer Sanjay Debnath said rats had appeared in Aman fields in some parts of the upazila. Farmers have been told to fly polythene flags as well as using pesticide, and he said the flags are helping them.

Source: Amader Shomoy. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.