Farmers are disoriented by insect attack in Naogaon fields.  Agricultural officials who leave the field and face corruption 

M Rezaul Islam Naogaon:: Farmers are disoriented due to insect attack in Manda Naogaon. Local farmers complain that there is no proper guidance and good advice, but the agricultural officials are suffering from irregularities and corruption while leaving the field and sitting in the office. 

According to the sources of Upazila Agricultural Extension Directorate, although 16 thousand 110 hectares of paddy has been cultivated in the current season as per the target, the marginal farmers have now become disoriented due to the terrible attack of insects. Field after field of paddy fields are being destroyed by various deadly diseases including millibug, blast and currant (currant bug or brown grasshopper) insects. Farmers are fuming because of no action or advice from the agricultural officials at the field level in this extremely difficult time.

 There have been serious allegations of indifference, irresponsibility and collusion with illegal pesticide traders.

 On the surface, various fields including Khudiadanga, Motgari, Gahitakshetra, Deluabari, Mahanagar, Paranpur and Valain of Prasadpur Union have been seen, hundreds of hectares of rice are dying due to insect attack or drying up to straw. Farmers are using various pesticides available in the market to save the diseased paddy field but it is not getting any benefit. 

Farmers in the villages of Garhi Kshetra, Harez, Astan and Saidur; Farmer Ashraful of Paranpur village; Farmer Rafiqul of Ganeshpur and farmer Abu of Mahanagar said, “Insects have destroyed all the rice in the field. Even if we bought pesticides from the market and sprayed them, it is not working. If the production is not good, the money will not be raised.

 But till date no official of agriculture office or block supervisor has come to the field to look for us and has not given any advice.”

According to the complaint of the affected farmers, the amount of damage is increasing day by day due to the indifference and irresponsibility of the field level block supervisor (deputy assistant agricultural officer) and the upazila agricultural officer. Farmers’ grievances are more serious; They say that some of the field level officials and supervisors of the agriculture department are engaging in connivance and collusion with the fertilizer-pesticide dealers and illegal pesticide traders instead of performing their regular duties. Instead of field supervision, they are irregular,As they are busy collecting corruption and illegal money, they do not see this cry and lamentation of farmers. Farmers think that because adulterated and low-quality pesticides are sold in the market, spraying them is not working.

Farmers who have spent crores of rupees to cultivate Aman in the current season have only one demand—that the higher authorities intervene quickly. Save the marginal farmers from this sure destruction by protecting Aman paddy through immediate field level proper guidance, overall cooperation and effective action. Chairman of Prasadpur Union Parishad and President of Union BNP Principal Abdul Matin Mondal said, the farmers of my area have become extremely disoriented due to the insect attack. But there is no supervision of the agricultural officers and concerned. Chairman of Ganeshpur Union Parishad and General Secretary of Upazila BNP Shafikul Islam Babul Chowdhury said that many of the disoriented farmers are bringing complaints, they are not getting proper support from the agriculture officer. He also said that since this officer has been staying in the same upazila for a long time, he has been involved in various misdeeds including irresponsibility and negligence. Therefore, I request the attention of the concerned rescue authorities to save the farmers.

 In this regard, the upazila agriculture officer Shayla Sharmin said that everyone in the office was busy with the shortage of personnel. Even then, he claimed that my officials are constantly consulting and supervising yard meetings in the field. 

Conscious circles claim that 80 percent of the country’s people are dependent on agriculture. So Daisara requested the higher authorities to take effective measures to solve the problem quickly without replying and joking with the farmers.