Purpose of this article is not evaluate the irrigation
The purpose of this article is not to evaluate the reasons or time and the level of increase in fuel prices. The aim here is to attract the attention of Bangladesh policy circles on the potential impact of increasing irrigation costs on the country’s farmers. This is due to the increase in diesel prices, which will have an impact on the ongoing safe rice season and the upcoming Boro rice cultivation begins in December. It also aims to attract attention to possible ways to overcome this problem in the context of uncertainty in the global food market.
Let’s start with a shallow tube well
It irrigates about two -thirds of the total irrigation area in Bangladesh. About 80 percent of the 1.4 million shallow tube wells in this country are carried out with diesel, while the remaining 20 percent are operated by electricity, although some of them are supported by a standby diesel engine to overcome power cutting that often occurs during the peak peak irrigation season in March and April. Shallow tube well machines usually burn about 300 liters of diesel for boro irrigation, which can vary with irrigation frequencies depending on the pump command area, soil type and topography.
The increase in urea fertilizer
At the same time, the price of urea fertilizer has also increased. People might note that farmers must buy diesel and fertilizer at a higher level at the retail level than the price determined by the government. Meanwhile, an increase in important commodity prices has caused a sudden surge in wages for agricultural labor. Increased seeds are safe influenced by early floods in many regions, and seeds have been sold at higher prices than usual. All of this means that, in addition to uncertainty caused by climate, agriculture becomes more and more expensive and risky.
This year’s agriculture has become more difficult to manage
Because of a little rainfall which results in a prolonged drought situation. The peak rainy season should be now. But very little or there is no rain there -here has caused the postponement of rice planting safe, and it is likely to interfere with the initial potato planting, other important food crops. Many farmers without the power to use their groundwater pump to flood the land to transplant safe seeds. If this unusual planting is followed by the continuation of drought in the coming months, safe, the second largest rice plant in Bangladesh, is destined to be seriously influenced.