Rangpur:Much like in previous years, people living in riverine areas have resumed cultivating varieties of winter crops on char lands using intercropping methods in the Rangpur agricultural region, in the hope of improving fortunes.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, locals, and officials from the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) have reported that people have begun preparing land for cultivation on newly emerged chars and dried-up riverbeds, areas formed by the extensive accumulation of silt during floods.
Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region, Agriculturist Md Saiful Islam, stated that people living along the riverbanks in five districts have been cultivating various crops annually on over 82,000 hectares of char lands. These efforts have resulted in approximately 600,000 metric tons of crops being produced annually, valued at around Taka 1,200 crore, across the districts of Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, and Nilphamari.
Despite the adverse impacts and severe blows of climate change on the lives of people living in the riverine char areas, the production of a wide variety of winter crops has kept the local char economy vibrant and effectively improved their standard of living. Following the recession of floodwaters, eager farmers are now preparing to sow crop seeds on the riverbank areas, sandbars, and silt-laden riverbeds of the Brahmaputra, Teesta, Dharla, Dudhkumar, Ghaghot, Jamuna, Kartoa, and other rivers in the region.
Landless, poor, and marginalized farmers typically cultivate a variety of crops each year on these lands, including potatoes, squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, eggplants, green chilies, onions, garlic, maize, peanuts, sesame, tobacco, bananas, various pulses, and watermelons. They will begin sowing winter crop seeds in the coming days, with harvesting commencing from late December and ensuring completion by May before the onset of the monsoon season.
Krishibid Dr. Md Mamunur Rashid, a consultant for the Rupantar Project of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, Bangladesh, noted that crop cultivation in the char areas has become a highly profitable venture, bringing prosperity to many amidst the adverse impacts of climate change. Thousands of people across char villages and riverbanks are increasingly cultivating diverse winter crops on these char lands, primarily by employing intercropping methods.
Local inhabitants are growing potatoes, pumpkins, onions, garlic, green chilies, mustard, pulses, and various winter vegetables on the sandy chars and dried-up riverbeds. With assistance from the government through the DAE, many char families have achieved self-reliance through farming, improving their living standards and livelihoods.
Residents from Char Mohipur village in Gangachara upazila, such as Nur Islam, Golam Mostafa, Kabija Khatun, and Morsheda Begum, are preparing to sow seeds for winter crops on the Teesta riverbeds. Similarly, Baktar Ali and Momena Begum from Char Taluk Shahbaz village and Abdul Malek from Dhushmara Char in Kawnia upazila have resumed planting pumpkin seeds, encouraged by previous profits. Abu Saddam, Abdul Hamid, and Sajedul Islam from Char Debrikhola Jankarchair village in Nageshwari upazila are also preparing their lands for winter crops, anticipating a bumper harvest similar to previous years.