Kaptai Lake in Rangamati is known for its beauty and the tourism surrounding it. But the lake dries up every year during the dry season and local farmers who depend on the lake are taking advantage of this. They are cultivating Boro paddy on the lake bed during this period.
The Boro season is underway across the country and the farmers in Kaptai are still catching up.
According to the Rangamati Directorate of Agricultural Extension (DAE), a target has been set to cultivate Boro paddy on 8,205 hectares of land in the district. Of this, the Ufshi variety of rice will be cultivated on 3,730 hectares and a hybrid variety of rice will be cultivated on 4,475 hectares of land. Meanwhile, the production target of rice has been set at 7,665 tons, of which 3,340 tons will be Ufshi and the rest will be hybrid. 93% of progress has been made in this regard already, the source added.
Rangamati Sadar Upazila Agriculture Officer Abu Mohammad Moniruzzaman said that a target to cultivate Boro on 558 hectares of land has been set in Sadar Upazila, of which 315 hectares will produce hybrid rice and 243 hectares will produce the Ufshi variety of rice. There is a target to produce 1,890 tons of rice.
Shoal islands have appeared in several parts of the lake area adjacent to Kaptai and Bilaichhari upazilas. Farmers in these areas are busy preparing the field for Boro cultivation.
For many years, Rahman Ali has been cultivating paddy in the dry season in Kaptai Lake. He said that once he used to earn his livelihood by catching fish in the lake. However, when the water dries up in the lake, fishing becomes impossible. After that, he decided to make use of these shoal islands during dry seasons for cultivation.
Several other farmers, including Mangbaching Marma, Samiran Tanchangya and Sumi Begum said they are doing a thriving business by cultivating Boro rice during the dry season. There are several other benefits to cultivating land that remains underwater most of the year. These fields are filled with silt, which makes farming possible without ploughing. Moreover, as the soil is soft, labour is reduced, and the cost of cultivation is also very economical.
However, the agriculture department has been supporting these farmers involved in farming on the lake in various ways. In addition to providing various incentives, officials of the agriculture department are constantly monitoring the farmers.
Kaptai Upazila Agriculture Officer Md Imran Ahmed said: "We support the farmers who are dependent on Kaptai Lake. Every year in the Boro season, about 40 to 45 hectares of land are used for Boro cultivation.
Deputy Director of Rangamati DAE Mohammad Moniruzzaman said that every year the farmers are getting a good yield from these shoal islands. They are also being provided with various forms of information on Boro cultivation on such land.
