Bulbul damaged crops worth Tk263 crore
The agriculture minister said his office had sent a proposal to the finance ministry, asking for incentives for the farmers affected in Bulbul
Cyclonic storm Bulbul has devastated more than 50,000 farmers from 16 coastal districts, damaging crops worth around Tk263 crore.
As soon as the finance ministry approves the compensation amount, the victims will be rehabilitated, Agriculture Minister Md Abdur Razzak said at a press conference at the secretariat on Tuesday.
He said, "Farmland covering 2.89 lakh hectares of land were affected while around 22,000 hectares were completely ravaged by the cyclonic storm."
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Winter vegetables, Ropa aman paddy, betel leaf orchards, mustard and khesari grains were mostly damaged due to cyclone Bulbul, he added.
According to the ministry, as much as 2.34 hectares of aman paddy, 16,800 hectares of winter vegetables, 1,400 hectares of mustard, 31,000 hectares of khesari grains, 195 hectares of lentil, 2,600 hectares of betel leaf and 3,126 hectares of other crops were devastated in the cyclone.
The agriculture minister said his office had sent a proposal to the finance ministry, asking for incentives for the farmers affected in Bulbul.
"We will also ask the central bank for agricultural loan in flexible terms so that the farmers can get back on their feet again," added Razzak.
The cyclone affected districts are — Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Narail, Barisal, Bhola, Patuakhali, Barguna, Pirojpur, Jhalokati, Madaripur, Gopalganj, Shariatpur, Noakhali, Feni and Lakshmipur.
The agriculture ministry claimed the croplands did not get damaged totally. Rather the cyclone ruined those partially.
"However, the aman growers were hit hard by Bulbul as the paddy was almost ready to harvest. We will detail the damages once water recedes from the farmlands," said Razzak.
