Sandwip farmers defeated by heat, salinity, drought

The popular sweet potatoes of Sandwip was highlighted in parliament by then-local lawmaker M Obaidul Haque in 1974. Speaking about the country’s food stock, at one stage late Obaidul Haque told the parliament, “My Sandwip has a food stock for six months under its soil.”

Elderly farmers from Sandwip said Obaidul Haque somehow became known as the ‘potato minister’ after that speech. Yet he was right because farmers cultivated sweet potatoes in village after village in Sandwip at that time.

Two decades ago, the smell of roasted sweet potatoes spread from fireplaces at kitchens after lunch across the island. But, sweet potatoes are no longer found there. Rajshail aman paddy is cultivated for Srabon to Kartik months of the Bengali calendar while lands remain barren across Sandwip for the remaining eight months of the year. There is no sign of crops. Winter crops like lentils, sesame, flax, chilli, potato, watermelon and musk melon have vanished from this island while summer crops do not exist much either.

This year, rajashail paddy has been cultivated on at least 50,000 acres of land while vegetables might grow on 3,400 acres only during summer. As per the information of the upazila agriculture officer, it is evident that at least 97 per cent of total arable lands lie uncultivated during summer.

How does this happen in this island that was once rich in agriculture? Prothom Alo's investigation identified at least seven major reasons; (1) farmers could not work long due to excessive heat; (2) damage of crops due to the rise in salinity in soil and water; (3) acute shortage of fresh water for irrigation; (4) drought, excessive rainfall or untimely rains; (5) long-lasting drought; (6) repeated storms and tidal surges and (7) prevalence of new pestilences and pests.

It is understood that each of these reasons is related to climate change, and experts also opined the same.

The scenario of Sandwip has been changed seeing these seven impacts of climate change. Swathes of arable and fallow lands remain empty while farmers pass lazy time at house yards or tea stalls. To earn a living, some drive auto-rickshaws, work as assistants to truck drivers, go fishing with boats, and some even migrate to other places. Many farmers who might own 10-20 bighas of fallow land are also seen working on others’ paddy fields to earn daily wages.

Prothom Alo investigation also tried to learn how the government agencies concerned are working and how much their effort are benefiting the farmers.

A limitless number of problems were recorded from the responses of the island’s farmers for six months. A survey was conducted to find more accurate data. The survey team spoke to farmers working on the fields in 18 wards of six unions including four unions of east coast that have more arable land.

Twenty farmers aged between 23 and 90 were interviewed based on written questions between 22 October and 6 November. No official data on the number of farmers in these wards were found at the government offices, but it has been learned after visiting the area that there are approximately 3,000 farmers. Taking this into account, the Prothom Alo survey was conducted on at least 6.60 per cent of the total number of farmers.

The survey was conducted on both specific and open questions. A questionnaire with 17 specific questions was prepared and then answers were collected from farmers with their consent through signature and thumbprint. In addition to collecting statistics, farmers’ thoughts on these questions were also learned. However, local representatives were not included in the survey as they went hiding after the fall of Sheikh Hasina on 5 August.

Responding to a question on whether cultivation is getting harder day by day, 100 per cent of the respondents said it is not only getting difficult but also becoming intolerable day by day.

There were three questions to understand "Tractors and harvesters replace wood plough and sickle. So, why is cultivation becoming harder instead of easier?” 100 per cent of farmers gave the same answers to clarify the matter. They identified drought, salinity and untimely rainfalls as the strong enemy of agriculture.

Survey findings said it has become difficult for farmers to run their families by depending on cultivation. Many were even said to have incurred losses from farming. A number of hazards like drought, salinity and loss of crops to calamities, rise in costs and fall in production widened the distance between farmers and the croplands. An infinite conflict has gradually arisen between the farmers and the field over the past two decades.

No land is left in Sandwip during the season of ‘Rajashail’, a salinity-tolerant variety of Aman. Local farmers and elders say you would see ‘robi crop’ cultivation all over Swandip even two decades ago. A Prothom Alo survey reports the production cost has increased amid a severe condition due to climate change. The farmers are striving hard to save the crops.

Officially, there are around 40,000 farmer families in Sandwip. And 90 per cent of these families cultivate a single crop, Rajashail. The reason behind the farmers being stuck to the cultivation of Rajashail paddy for more than 100 years is the endless adaptability of the variety. The variety has an incredible adaptability to stand salt tides, heavy rains, storms and cyclones and even droughts. No other varieties have such adaptability. As a result, miles of farmlands remain unused during the Robi season. The irrigation crisis is prevalent in the farmlands in the entire upazila. Water supply is quite essential to grow crops in these saline soils along the coast.

Some 97 per cent of the farmers who took part in the survey say the salinity of the soil turned extreme following the loss of natural humidity. It is not possible to sow seeds after that. Had there been an arrangement for ample supply of fresh water to fight the dryness and salinity, the farmers could harvest crops twice or thrice a year on the very same lands at the same cost. The very few farmers who are cultivating vegetables now can only harvest one crop in the first quarter of the season.

All farmers say the salinity of the soil is increasing rapidly. Diseases and insect infestation have also increased as compared to any point in the past, they say. Some 70 per cent farmers say the daily wage has also increased due to the drought and extreme salinity. However, people’s competence has declined. Although the local farmers are not aware of the impacts of climate change, they blamed the drought, salinity, untimely rain and diseases as the reasons behind their struggle.

Farmer Md Selim from Santoshpur union incurred a loss of Tk 300,000 after failing to harvest crops last year due to drought and diseases. The farmer, who would pass busy days at this time of the year for the last 10 years, was seen passing times idly at a tea stall. Speaking to Prothom Alo, “I don’t have the capital to cultivate this season. There is no opportunity for any other work either.”

Selim’s uncle Abul Hasan, 85, was once a prominent farmer in the area. Speaking regarding the weather change, he said, “The weather is no longer suitable for agriculture as it was before.”

Farmer Abul Kashem from Gachhua union said, “The weather used to be good for cultivation. Now it has become unpredictable. The weather pattern changes drastically within a year now, which is quite bad for agriculture.”

Md. Bahar, 75, of the same union said, “I don’t know about the climate change. What I understand is drought and extreme salinity of the soil. We are tired of seeing drought and high salinity of soil and also the low pressure that emerges after every few days.”

Experts have pointed out this crisis as a direct impact of climate change. Climatologist Ainun Nishat told Prothom Alo, “These are obviously the direct impacts of climate change. I have been saying these over and over again for the last 20 years. What I have said is based on information collected from the farmers in coastal areas. The global temperature has risen by 1.5 degree Celsius in the last 20 years, which should take 100 years. So we have to admit that the threats from climate change are growing exponentially. And there is no reason for these threats to come down in the future either.”

Referring to temperature as a key catalyst of agriculture, he said, “Temperature is affecting both agriculture and farmers. The production may fall or the farmers’ work ability could decline due to this.”

The 2022 evaluation report of the sixth Inter Government Panel on Climate Change also proves that the crisis described by the farmers are nothing but direct impacts of climate change. The report predicted decline of agricultural production due to frequent droughts, heat waves, water crisis and floods caused by climate change.

The farmlands are spread wide on either side of the road east to the Haque Saheber Bazar area. The local farmers used to grow various types of crops including watermelon, muskmelon, potatoes, different varieties of lentils and oilseeds on these lands. However, most of these lands are fallow now. The farmers were seen preparing some of these unused lands for vegetable cultivation.

This correspondent spoke to some 15-20 farmers there. They said there was almost no rain in 2021 and 2022. They haven’t seen such a short term monsoon ever before. Although there was more rain in 2023 as compared to the previous couple of years, that was not enough. The farmers say there have been more rains in 2024 than that of in the previous three years together. So the preparations this year are completely different from that of the last three years.

According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) office in Sandwip, the average rainfall in the upazila since 2018 was 528 mm, 398 mm, 502 mm, 489 mm, 222 mm, 336 mm and 610 mm respectively. The farmers claimed there was no rain in 2022. All the participants of the survey complained about untimely rains and droughts. They said drought at the time of rain and storms and cyclones have become regular over the last few years.

Former BMD deputy director Kawsar Parvin feels although there is not much gap between the yearly average records of rain, the monsoon may seem shorter or longer to the farmers. She has observed a change in the pattern of rain throughout the monsoon.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Kawsar Parvin said, “Rain during the time of monsoon is very important for the farmers. However, the rainfall declined in the first half of the monsoon, but increased in the second half. So the farmers are seeing their crop getting burned in the monsoon and getting drowned in autumn.

The farmers say they are distraught over the attack of pests on seedbeds and seedlings. Some of the farmers went to the field to capture photos of the insects. The farmers cultivating tomatoes and gourds reported an outbreak of new diseases and insects. They said the fertiliser and pesticides which they have been using for years are no longer effective.

Farmer Md Selim of Santoshpur said a new pestilences appeared as soon as his tomato plants over a one-acre land bloomed. All the plants were dead by the next week.

Farmer Dilder from the same area said tomato and cabbage seedlings are not surviving on his seedbed. They are getting covered in mud as their roots are getting soft.

Jahangir Alam of Gachhua said he is fed up with the leaf insects on seedlings and growing crops. He said, “The infestation of this insect has increased so much that it has become nearly impossible to save a tree. Farmer Shah Alam, 90, from the Mogdhara area said he had never seen such insect infestation ever before.

Ainun Nishat admitted to the claims raised by the farmers over insect attack. He said, “It’s natural to see a rise in insect infestation due to change of temperature and patterns of rain.

The Live Science magazine in a report on the impact of global warning on insects published in 2017 said the rise in the global temperature is likely to increase insect infestation and change the species distribution. The report says in the changed condition, infestation of some specific insects will increase inhibiting the existing insect diversity. Rapid change of temperature and humidity could impact the reproduction and population of microbes and insects, the report stated.

This correspondent met several farmers at the Badamtali intersection in the Sarikait union on the southern part of the island on 24 October. They had just returned from the field. A vast water body could be seen from the spot. Asked about that, the farmers say they used to harvest crops three times a year from there in the past. They said around 100 hectares of croplands have turned into water bodies now.

The farmers in Mogdhara, Bauria and Amanullah union also complained about the long lasting crisis due to waterlogging. This new problem appeared some five to seven years ago. Further studying the matter, it was revealed that the height of the coast line has increased due to the flow of excessive amounts of sediment in tides. The locals said to see one foot of sedimentation on the lands outside the embankments surrounding the Sandwip island during the last monsoon. It led to a waterlogging situation inside the island. The farmers of the Sabuj Char, which appeared on the north-western part of Sandwip some 30 years ago, also complained of increased sedimentation on some 4,000 hectares of land cultivating mainly different varieties of Aman paddy.

This new cycle of water, tides and sedimentation has put the farmers of the Sandwip island into an everlasting suffering. Analysing the reasons for increasing sediment flow, it was found that even the natural phenomena of rapid sedimentation is also a consequence of climate change.

A study published in the Nature journal on 27 April 2023 reports the sedimentation rate along the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta is likely to increase by 34-60 per cent, which will increase the height of sea level in the delta. The actual scenario at the farmlands and the conversations with the farmers clearly indicate that the excessive sedimentation rate driven by climate change would pave the way to a new level of suffering for the farmers in the coming days.

There were stormy winds and thunderstorms in two phases during the conversation with the farmers at the field. The farmers who were dreaming of harvesting crops in advance suffered heavy losses due to the untimely thunderstorms on 19 October and 1 November. Farmer Md Absar, 40, of Bauria union sowed vegetables seeds on a 70-decimal-land. This correspondent spoke to the farmer on that 70-decimal-farmland. But the entire farmland was flooded due to heavy thunderstorms some 20 minutes after the conversation. Speaking to this correspondent over the phone later, Absar said he incurred a loss of Tk 15,000 due to the rain.

Sometimes the farmers had to sow the same seeds twice or thrice to harvest crops just once. As a result, production cost also skyrocketed. All of the farmers who took part in the survey feel it is becoming more difficult to work in the fields as the temperature is rising rapidly. As a result, they are getting the expected services from the daily-wage-based workers. The farmers say all the value of work tripled in the last 20 years, working hours have been reduced.

The Prothom Alo survey reports the farmers who are struggling to survive amidst the changed condition are in doubt over retaining their profession. Some 40 per cent of the participants feel they will have to change professions if the situation remains the same. Although 45 per cent of the participating farmers said to continue to cultivate regardless of the losses for survival, only 15 per cent of them are hopeful of continuing with the same profession.

None of the farmers were certain about taking up a new sustainable profession. Asked about the people who left farming to join a new sustainable profession, the farmers mentioned different sorts of work, including daily labour and fishing. The farmers, who lost the battles on the field by the impacts of climate change, are now engaging in different professions including carrying illegal sands on trucks, fishing during the hilsa season and auto-rickshaw driver. Although some of them desire to go abroad, they do not have the money needed for that.

Many people from Sandwip have left the country for the US. We asked Omar Kaiser, a teacher at Madhya Santoshpur High School of the area, about its impact on agriculture. He said, “Those who have migrated to the US and other countries have raised the buying capacity of their families and been helping the farmers get better prices for their produce.”

This high school teacher also remarked that the government offices should conduct studies on why the farmers are not being able to cultivate crops like before.

* This report, originally published in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo, has been rewritten in English by Ashish Basu and Hasanul Banna