Zihad Hossain Rahat, Raipur ( Lakshmipur)

Farmers have created an agricultural revolution in the meadows of the Meghna river that flows through Raipur upazila under the Lakshmipur district. Hopeful success has also come here in animal husbandry. Which is starting to affect the economy and lifestyle of Char area.

However, the erosion trend of Meghna could not reduce the suffering of the people here. Almost all other sorrows have gone away, except for the erosion of the Meghna.

However, no visible steps have been taken by the government to protect the river banks of Raipur. Water flow has also decreased slightly compared to before. Underwater char is formed in many places in the middle of the river. The floods of a decade ago and the regular tides have made the cropland here fertile. Different types of crops are being cultivated in these vast fields of Digant Jora without the use of any chemical fertilizers.

In the direction where the eye goes, you can see the eye-catching green ceremony. Farmers here cultivate various types of vegetables including soybean, rice, sweet potato, potato, gourd, green pepper, cucumber, bean, beetroot, pumpkin, sugarcane. About 4,200 hectares of char are being cultivated in large quantities of maskalai, lentil, kesari and chickpeas on sandy loam soil.

According to the Upazila Agriculture Office, every year for 3-6 months or more, 200 hectares of char area is submerged in water and the alluvial soil is enriched. As a result, maximum yield is obtained without chemical fertilizers. There are about 5 thousand 920 hectares of high land in this upazila. Besides, the amount of medium high land is about 12 thousand 280 hectares.

Bathan (cooperative open system cow-buffalo rearing) system of animal husbandry has gained wide popularity in the inaccessible pasture areas including Chayal Bazar, Panirghat, Meerhat, North West Charkachia. Especially after the ban on import of cattle from India, animal husbandry increased in the herd system. Most of the families are benefiting from livestock rearing.

According to a report prepared by the Irrigation Support Project for Asia and Near East (ISPANE), the area of pasture in the country's five main rivers is about 1,722,89 square kilometers. Which is 1.16 percent of the country's total land.

More than one lakh people live in Raipur of Char area of Meghna. Settlements have developed in numerous small and large pastures rising on the Meghna. Agriculture and animal husbandry are their main occupations.

The improvement in quality of life with the agricultural revolution is visible here. Brick-sand-cement came to the farmer's house instead of bamboo. The modern solar system has taken the place of Kupi-Hurricane. Many farming families are bearing the cost of higher education for their children.

Shaheen Alam, a college student of Charkachia village, said that if the farmers are made aware of fodder crops and farming methods through training at the field level, the fodder economy will be more rapid.