No remarkable uplift made so far in Meherpur Agrl. Sector

                                            

The frontier district and the birth place of independence Meherpur is situated in the west of the country having 719.95 sqm of cultivatable land. In the agricultural sector no mentionable development was made here in the past and in recent times despite fact that our country is dependent on agriculture.
It is mentionable that Meherpur is a neglected place in all respects. Notable that there are four BADC Farms and two horticulture farms in the district but it is a matter of great regret that no Agricultural Research Center was established here till date.
In order to attain agricultural development in the district some effective programmes  may be introduced in the future development plans, according to people of the area and experts.
The soil of the district is made of the Gangetic alluvial that is enriched by brown coloured sandy clay. Although normal quantity of organic elements remain under such type of soil that the quantity of organic elements  is being reduced day by day because of increasing the cropping intensity gradually in the district.
The district should be taken under the composed fertilizer  and soil management project in order to protect the fertility of the soil and to keep the crops production trend unhindered and to test the basic material of the soil in a regulated manner  it is required to establish Soil Testing Center in each upazilas.
All the agricultural activities are dependent on the climate and favorable weather but it could not be possible to inform the farmers in advance about the agricultural weather or the weather forecast in the absence of a Meteorological Office here.  The people of the district including the journalists can not say the day temperature. It is required to set up a Met Office here at Meherpur.
As the underground water is being used only for irrigation purpose the water level is going down sharply. In this circumstances, the experts are saying to re-excavate the dried and silted up rivers Bhairab, Kazla, Chewtia, Mathabhangha, Moragang including the fens, canals and ponds of the district in order to make them a large reservoirs for irrigation to the crop lands in the dry season. It goes without saying that the Meherpur district became a dry district.
Moreover, as many as 200 hectares of land would come under cultivation if the re-excavation of the rivers and fens is done. It is mentionable that the rivers and fens played a vital role in economy in the past. During   the tenure of British the river routes were the only way to carry goods from and to Kolkata as the Meherepur district is out of railway network till date.
Meherpur is familiar as one of the fruits producing district in the country but no food development plan and research was done here. As a result, the fruit production in quantity and quality are being reduced to some extent. Fruits Research Center may be set up here for developing and inventing the quality and variety of the same respectively.
A training center is required to set up here for imparting training to the intending orchard men so that they can produce fruit by applying modern methods.
A food processing plant is urgently required here that may be established either by the government or by the individuals. Also mentionable that there is no arrangements for imparting training to the orchard producers of Horticulture Center, Meherpur.
The communication system in the district is not very good which is the precondition of development. All villages are not well communicated to the district town with the pucca roads. As a result due to lack of proper transportation the growers are deprived of fair price off and on. The experts stressed on the development of rural roads.
It may be mentioned here that the farmers used to fall into problems as the government does not take proper care in fixing the price of the products. The government used to fix  lopsided price of the crops. The procurement price of the certain crops should be fixed by the authority well in advance  i.e. before starting the cultivation keeping in view the actual production cost so that the farmers would not be deprived of fair price.
The agricultural experts opine that more or less the climate of Meherpur  is favorable for any kind of crops cultivation. In the field of production of paddy, wheat and vegetable Meherpur district is marked as surplus district since long. Once producing a highest amount of wheat in the country  a record was set       up by the farmers of Meherpur.
But no effective policy  was made for agricultural development by the government exclusively for Meherpur district. As a result the trend of agricultural development here has been depending on the capability of the farmers since long.
In order to remove the problems and more modernization in the agricultural sector an acceptable National Policy and system is needed to be made. To speed up modernization of the agricultural activities some subsidy may be allowed on the items as being used in the agricultural sectors.
As our country’s economy is dependent on agriculture so top priority should be given on it by reducing the cost of diesel, fertilizers, seeds, machineries and other equipment. At the same time government should ensure crop procurement timely by opening requisite procurement centers  at the door step of the farmers so that they do not face any setback in selling their crops and getting fair price instantly.
Regarding the development, the sentient people especially those who think for the development of the district said that the agricultural farms of Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) located at Baradi, Amjhupi under sadar upazila  and Chitla under Gangni upazila are losing concern now and save places of amassing wealth by some dishonest officials.
These farms were established during Pakistan period on as many as 1200 acres of land and run headed by one former Block Supervisor level officials. But at present Joint Director, Deputy Director, Assistant Directors  are posted there with expensive facilities including giant vehicles for pleasure trips.
Although the farm officials claim that it is service oriented organization to exhibit the people how to produce more crops.
In this case,  people opine that no orientation or demonstration was found since inception rather the Directorate of Agricultural Extension (DAED is doing the job from village to village.
People demanded  to the government     to convert these agricultural farms into an Agricultural College/University so that thousands   of students could get chance of reading agricultural technology and engineering. No extra lands are to be required for the purpose. Most of the infrastructure is available to serve the purposes in these three agricultural farms.
They also urged to set up a Fruit Research Institute in the Horticulture Center here at Baradi under sadar upazila of the district.

Eventually, as the Meherpur district is agricultural dependent district so its uplift is the demand of the time. We can expect that concerned departments will look into the matter.