Agriculture is one of the main sources of income for most families of Gaibandha. The agriculture as well as life of these families is therefore highly dependable on nature. Several lakhs of farmers of Gaibandha are doing farming by adapting to these rules of nature. Due to the impact of climate change, the farmers of this region are farming through various difficulties in recent years. Due to intense heat and drought, there is an increase in the risk of crop burning, and as the groundwater level goes down, the production cost increases due to irrigation through deep tube wells.
Since the beginning of the Boro season, the cost has increased due to the lack of rainfall for irrigation, especially in the months of February-March. So the farmers are worried about crop production and profit after meeting all expenses. Scorching heat, severe drought and lack of normal rainfall have led to an alarming drop in ground water levels in various parts of the district, adding to the additional costs. In some areas there was not enough water for this year's boro cultivation.
Due to severe drought, some areas have to irrigate at one and a half to two times higher cost than normal. According to Gaibandha Agricultural Extension Directorate, the target of IRRI-boro cultivation has been set in 1 lakh 28 thousand 365 hectares of land in seven upazilas of the district in the current season. Among them, 21 thousand 305 hectares in Gaibandha Sadar Upazila, 8 thousand 304 in Phulchari, 14 thousand 704 in Saghata, 14 thousand 408 in Sadulyapur, 11 thousand 809 in Palashbari, 31 thousand 105 in Gobindganj and 26 thousand 730 hectares in Sundarganj Upazila have been targeted for boro cultivation. Khorshed Alam, deputy director of Gaibandha Agricultural Extension Department, said that the agriculture sector is the most affected by climate change.
This year the temperature in Chaitra month of Gaibandha district may be 40 degrees. From the Agriculture Office, farmers are being advised on how to conserve water on land. Apart from this, regular yard meetings are being held with the farmers on how to reduce the cost of production by adopting scientific methods.
