COAST Foundation, a non-governmental development organisation, has distributed Aaman seedlings today among 140 farmers for cultivating 25 acres of land at Kalidaha Union in Feni Sadar.
Agriculture Officers of the local union parishad were present during the sapling distribution and agreed to support the farmers if necessary. After this flood, COAST planned to distribute Aaman seedlings to around 600 farmers for cultivating 100 acres of land and already 316 farmers have received and sowed the seedlings, said a press release.
COAST Foundation, a national NGO working in the coastal areas of Bangladesh, has been responding to the August-September flood in Feni, Noakhali and Cumilla this year since day one with its own emergency fund.
Now, with the funding support of Start Fund Bangladesh, COAST has been distributing Aaman seedlings as a rehabilitation program for farmers to ensure food security in the upcoming days. 100 acres of land is expected to produce around 2 metric tons of rice.
The Aaman seedlings today are distributed among 140 farmers of Valukia, Maizbaria, Laxmipur, Alokdia and Goarua villages in the presence of Union Deputy Assistant Agriculture Officer Abu Taib and Mumtaz Begum. They advised the farmers about post-planting care. Officials also promised the farmers to provide any support if needed during their production.
Miyaji, a farmer who came to receive seedlings informed that the seedlings of the local farmers are damaged twice in the flood. He said, they are happy to get Aaman seedlings at the last moment and, to some extent this will provide food for their family. He added, we are farmers and we have no other occupation. Agriculture is our life.
The officials from COAST Foundation were present during the distribution including Mizanur Rahman, the project coordinators, along with Maksudur Rahman, Kangkeswar Chandra Roy, Md Feroz Khan, Shyamal Chaidyal and Badsha Mia.
