ITANAGAR, Nov 21 – Worried by an impending danger looming large on villagers hit by acute food shortage after an army of rats devoured their standing crops, Panchayat leaders of Koyu circle, about 60 kms from Pasighat, have appealed to the Arunachal Government to provide sufficient fund to the affected to avert troublesome situation in future.
Confirming that after two consecutive years of phenomena of bamboo flowering, a source in the East Siang district Agriculture department informed that this year also sudden upsurge of rat population has resulted in heavy damages to the standing paddy crops in Koyu circle of the district. The left over bamboo species of the area might be in full blossom within next four months and may aggravate the situation, the source added.
Alarmed by it, the Agriculture department conducted a two day integrated training of farmers on ‘rodent control and its management’ at Pasighat on November 18 and 19 last. As many as 75 farmers from Koyu, and its nearby villages like Rina and Kakki underwent the training.
During the training programme, District Agriculture Officer O Yomso handed over cash rewards to the farmers for the rat tails deposited by them at the rate of Rs 10 per rat tail.
Scientists state that the gregarious flowering of bamboo produces large quantities of seeds that attract rats. Fortified by the protein-rich seeds, they multiply rapidly and there is a natural explosion in the rodent population.
The sudden transition from plenty of food to near-total absence of food forces millions of rats out of the bamboo forests. They land in farms in the vicinity and play havoc with the standing crops, devouring acres of rice, potatoes and sweet potatoes within a few days.
Facing a further dearth of food, rats are also prone to attack the granaries. Thus, it brings about famine as an aftermath of bamboo flowering.
http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=nov2208/ne1
Confirming that after two consecutive years of phenomena of bamboo flowering, a source in the East Siang district Agriculture department informed that this year also sudden upsurge of rat population has resulted in heavy damages to the standing paddy crops in Koyu circle of the district. The left over bamboo species of the area might be in full blossom within next four months and may aggravate the situation, the source added.
Alarmed by it, the Agriculture department conducted a two day integrated training of farmers on ‘rodent control and its management’ at Pasighat on November 18 and 19 last. As many as 75 farmers from Koyu, and its nearby villages like Rina and Kakki underwent the training.
During the training programme, District Agriculture Officer O Yomso handed over cash rewards to the farmers for the rat tails deposited by them at the rate of Rs 10 per rat tail.
Scientists state that the gregarious flowering of bamboo produces large quantities of seeds that attract rats. Fortified by the protein-rich seeds, they multiply rapidly and there is a natural explosion in the rodent population.
The sudden transition from plenty of food to near-total absence of food forces millions of rats out of the bamboo forests. They land in farms in the vicinity and play havoc with the standing crops, devouring acres of rice, potatoes and sweet potatoes within a few days.
Facing a further dearth of food, rats are also prone to attack the granaries. Thus, it brings about famine as an aftermath of bamboo flowering.
http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=nov2208/ne1
No comments:
Post a Comment