Assam: Dearth of officials affects farmers’ fight against disasters

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: It is apparent that there is not enough manpower in the state’s Agriculture Department to help the farmers deal with natural disasters, be it the annual floods or the menace of oriental armyworms (Mythimna separate).

Farmers in the state already suffer from the annual disaster of floods, which waste large areas of paddy cultivation. On top of that, the new menace of oriental armyworms, the rice-eating pest commonly called ‘shur pok’ in Assamese, damaging their crops has left the farmers with no respite.

Farmers in as many as 16 districts in the state have been hit by this pest, affecting a total of 28,450 hectares of paddy fields.

It is the duty of the Agriculture Department officials to help the farmers in cases like this, but the dearth of manpower is affecting the primary function of the department—providing awareness and respite to the farmers in their hour of need.

The chief minister had taken stock of the situation in the paddy fields hit by the pest and instructed the district commissioners in the affected districts to take prompt remedial measures. Following the review by the Chief Minister, state Agriculture Minister Atul Bora also reviewed the situation with senior officers of his department. He also conducted a video conference with the district-level agriculture officers and instructed the deployment of more agriculture officers to the affected districts from other districts that have had no pest attacks.

However, it is seen that a large number of posts in the state’s Agriculture Department are vacant. Out of a total of 3,065 posts for Village Level Extension Workers (VLEW), the frontline workers who deal with farmers, as many as 1,200 posts are vacant. The post of VLEWs is an important one, as the workers are mandated with creating awareness of new policies and schemes of the government among farmers and also making the farmers cognizant of new agricultural techniques.

At one time, interviews were held to fill up the vacant posts of VLEWs, but the appointments were not completed, said sources.

Even vacant posts in the upper echelons of the department have not been filled. All six posts of Additional Director of Agriculture are vacant, while 12 out of the 17 posts of Joint Directors are vacant. Moreover, 12 posts of Deputy Directors in the Agriculture Department are vacant, along with 10 posts of Assistant Directors. At the sub-divisional level, a total of 25 sub-divisional agriculture officers remain vacant, along with 25 posts of agriculture development officers. This leaves a wide gap between the government’s intent and realization in the agriculture sector.

It should be mentioned that 28,450 hectares of paddy fields in 16 districts are under attack from oriental armyworms. The worst affected is the Baksa district in lower Assam, with 10,020 hectares of paddy fields under attack from the pest. Following Baksa is the Darrang district with 8,500 hectares under pest attack, Barpeta with 3,176 hectares, Bongaigaon with 1,455 hectares, Chirang with 900 hectares, Kamrup and Kamrup (M) with 850 hectares, Dhubri with 850 hectares, Kokrajhar with 973 hectares, Biswanath with 702 hectares, Sonitpur with 397 hectares, Udalguri with 200 hectares, Goalpara with 200 hectares, Lakhimpur with 195 hectares, Nalbari with 192 hectares, and Nagaon with 20 hectares of paddy fields affected by this pest.

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