Bangladesh: Crop loss due to rain

That the unusually heavy rains have caused extensive damage to crops in several districts in the country's north does not augur well for the nation. A few tuber crops apart, this region also specialises in cultivating maize and wheat. There is a proverb that makes round among the farming communities, according to which if there is rain at the end of Magh (the last month of winter on Bangla calendar), it is a blessed land under a highly acclaimed king. But here the rain has unfortunately been responsible for a reversal of farmers' fortunes. The reasons are for all to see: first, the heavier than the rains experienced before in winter have this time continued for one and a half days. Usually there are short spells of rain during this season. More importantly, cropping patterns have radically changed. Not only have wheat and maize been introduced to agriculture but high yielding varieties of paddy developed in laboratories such as IRRI and Boro have almost elbowed out the traditional ...