The regions of India, Bangladesh and Nepal have been hit hard by the monsoon season. The floods and mudslides caused by excessive rainfall lead to over 1,500 casualties and untold amounts of material damage. However, for some regions the consequences for the local agricultural sector still seem to be trivial.
India
The Indian region of Bihar has been hit by excessive downpour as well. However, the agricultural sector of Bihar seems to be relatively unscathed by the current natural calamities floods. Though the region is known for its production of lychees, wheat and rice, most growers and exporters aren’t currently active as most production is off-season. According to Mrs Gupta of the governmental organisation APEDA, the monsoon is a regular yearly phenomenon and most companies have set up a schedule that circumvents the season.
“Though there is damage, our agricultural sector isn’t really affected. After the monsoon season ends, we’ll start our sowing operations for our next seasons, which will begin over a couple of months. For instance, the export season of lychees will begin in march or April next year.”
Bangladesh
Unlike Bihar, Bangladesh did suffer significant losses for its agricultural sector. The country went from being one of the major rice producers in the world to a nation that actually needs to depend on the import of rice. However, the current malaise doesn’t seem to be related to the monsoon.
At the end of March, floods caused by runoffs from India’s mountain range destroyed the wetlands in the regions of Sylhet and Kishoregonj, which severely affected the production of rice. More disruption of Bangladeshi agriculture was caused by the construction of two dams in Farakka and Gajoldoba, leading to even more loss of acreage and production.
According to Iqbal of the Bangladeshi company Nano, the loss in production volume of rice could amount to up to 75%. In Iqbal’s opinion, governmental support seems to be woefully inadequate. “All the growers now can do is wait for the next season,” says Iqbal.
Nepal
In the Nepalese region of Terai, landslides and floods have inundated over 80% of all acreage for agriculture. Essential services, such as infrastructure, communication and power supply have become disrupted. According to statistics of the Nepalese Ministry of Agricultural development, there is over 8.11 billion rupee (€66.9 million) worth of damages to the agricultural sectors.
According to Dipak of the Junar Central Cooperative Union (JCC), the produce sectors that were affected the most are those for the production of rice, vegetables and the production of citrus through horticulture. Support from the government is right now mainly aimed at the most pressing matters, such as rescue and emergency first aid. However, as soon as the most immediate necessities have been addressed, Dipak does think that the government should work on re-establishing the agricultural sector of Nepal.
