IslamDelaying a debt you can repay is injustice, says the hadith
Islam does not forbid borrowing in need, but it calls stalling on a debt one can afford to repay an injustice; the Quran also asks lenders to give a struggling borrower time.
The Agro News: Agriculture, farmers, and the rural economy
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Islam
VegetablesKurigram bottle gourds fetch Tk 3 to 5 and rot in the fields
In Kurigram's villages a bottle gourd sells for Tk 3 to 5 while the same gourd costs Tk 25 to 35 in town; unable to cover costs, some farmers are cutting down their vines and some are in debt.
Agribusiness
Godagari farmers block highway for half an hour fearing fertiliser shortage
Fearing there would not be enough DAP fertiliser for everyone, more than 400 farmers blocked the Rajshahi-Chapainawabganj highway at Hatnabad in Godagari, Rajshahi.
VegetablesKurigram cold-store potatoes sell at Tk 11-12, a loss of Tk 8-9 a kilo
Growing and storing a kilogram of potatoes costs more than Tk 20, yet in Kurigram they sell for Tk 11-12; one cold store alone still holds 5,000 tonnes unsold.
LivestockStraw is dear in Rangpur, so a 70-year-old feeds his cows water hyacinth
With the aman harvest not yet in full swing there is no new straw and old straw is expensive; Abdul Halim of Gangachara, Rangpur, cuts water hyacinth from a pond to feed his four cows.
FruitsJoypurhat's Durgadaha banana market is cramped as prices fall to Tk 250 a hundred
Thirty to 35 truckloads of bananas leave Durgadaha in Joypurhat, a major northern banana market, every day, but a cramped site and falling prices are hurting farmers and traders.
FruitsSix signs a banana was ripened with chemicals, though none is proof alone
Peel colour, a green stalk, an unripe inside, missing aroma and a whole bunch ripening at once can point to artificial ripening; chemicals such as calcium carbide can harm health.
CookingChitol fish kofta kalia in a coconut and poppy seed gravy: the recipe
For a change from the usual chitol dishes, try chitol fish kofta kalia in a gravy of coconut and poppy seed paste; the recipe is by Syeda Tasfia Islam Mahi.
AgrotechAI cameras in Sherpur's Garo Hills send elephant alerts within a minute
Fifteen artificial intelligence cameras on elephant routes in Nalitabari send a Telegram alert within a minute of spotting wild elephants, giving villagers time to protect crops and lives.
Agribusiness
Thakurgaon fertiliser dealer picks questioned: 26 of 31 had no prior business
Thakurgaon's 31 newly appointed fertiliser dealers include a university student and relatives of party leaders, and 26 had no earlier business, rivals allege; the administration says it followed the policy.
OpinionEmbankments are trapping haor boro rice, argues Rasel Ahmed
In a samakal column, journalist Rasel Ahmed argues that crop protection embankments built without drainage plans are worsening waterlogging in the haors, where 50,073 hectares of paddy were damaged last year by the official count.
Daily lifeTCB truck sales halted for six months, leaving cardless poor without cheap goods
Since May, before Eid ul-Adha, TCB has stopped selling subsidised edible oil, sugar and lentils from trucks, cutting off low-income people who have no family card.
GalleryGlimpse, 9 November: Teesta char potatoes, aman harvest and the jhum trail
Farm and nature pictures from Prothom Alo's Glimpse of 9 November: potatoes on a Teesta char, sponge gourd by a fish enclosure, the aman harvest in Faridpur and a hill woman heading to her jhum plot.
HealthDoes a fingernail scratch need a tetanus shot? What CDC guidance says
A human scratch does not automatically call for a vaccine; the depth of the wound, whether dirt got in and the person's vaccination history decide it, according to US CDC guidance.
AgribusinessGovernment holds 2.1 million tonnes of rice and wheat, yet cheap grain sales fall
The government's rice and wheat stock is above 2.1 million tonnes, 600,000 tonnes more than two years ago, but grain distribution in July-October was 67,000 tonnes lower than a year earlier.
HealthWhy moles multiply with age, and which ones need a doctor
New moles are usually normal, says dermatologist Prof Dr Syed Afzalul Karim, but a mole whose size, colour or border changes should be checked quickly.
GalleryA day with the spotted deer at the National Zoo, where fawns delight children
Roaming in herds, feeding and caring for fawns fill the day of the chital in the deer enclosure of the National Zoo in Mirpur; a photo story by Tanvir Ahammed.
OpinionHealth reform cannot come from inside the ministry, says Prof Syed Abdul Hamid
In a Prothom Alo column, Dhaka University health economist Syed Abdul Hamid argues that health reform is stuck in the administrative system despite goodwill, and calls for a national programme led by the prime minister.
GalleryDusk at Kattali Rashmoni Ghat: clouds, a red sky and fishermen coming home
At Kattali Rashmoni Ghat in Chattogram city, sky and sea change colour as the sun sets and fishermen return with their catch; a photo story by Jewel Shil.
GalleryEgrets wait beside grazing cows in a quiet partnership of the fields
As cows graze on grass or water hyacinth, hidden insects fly out and egrets gather round to catch them; Saddam Hossain's pictures of a village field partnership.
HealthLead in aluminium cookware: which pots are safer for cooking
A study by icddr,b and Stanford University found a lead risk in some locally made aluminium pots in Bangladesh; two doctors advise on safer cookware and precautions.
FisheriesChattogram DC urges technology skills for fishers to reach export markets
Opening a training programme for fishers in Chattogram, Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Islam Mia said quality, modern technology and skills must grow if Bangladeshi fish is to win markets abroad.
HealthFood poisoning: the cooking and storage rules that keep it away
Raw meat, eggs, milk and cooked perishable food that are badly cooked or stored can spread germs that cause vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhoea; a few simple rules cut the risk.
CookingCoconut chira at home with one coconut and half a cup of sugar
Coconut chira, a popular roadside sweet, is easy to make at home with one coconut, half a cup of sugar, half a cup of water and a pinch of salt.
Watch
Video
VideoVideo: Cork's Troy family farm wins Ireland's top quality milk award
Robert and Mary Troy, the fifth generation milking at Newtownshandrum, won the 2026 NDC and Kerrygold Quality Milk Awards with 425 cows, an SCC of 89,000 cells/ml and a herd in the national top 1% for breeding.
VideoVideo: can BRICS deliver export markets for South African farmers?
In the latest AgriView episode, agricultural economist Wandile Sihlobo asks whether the enlarged BRICS bloc is opening real markets for South African produce, or mostly producing talk.
VideoBlack Baby watermelon on trellises pays off for Joypurhat farmers
At Bindhara in Panchbibi, Joypurhat, small dark-skinned Black Baby watermelons hang from bamboo trellises. The 60-day crop needs 50 grams of seed a bigha, yields 1,200 to 1,500 fruits or 4 to 4.5 tonnes, and at Tk 30 a kilo earns far more than other field crops.
In pictures
Image & Gallery
1 photosGalleryGlimpse, 9 November: Teesta char potatoes, aman harvest and the jhum trail1 photosGalleryA day with the spotted deer at the National Zoo, where fawns delight children1 photosGalleryDusk at Kattali Rashmoni Ghat: clouds, a red sky and fishermen coming home1 photosGalleryEgrets wait beside grazing cows in a quiet partnership of the fields1 photos
GalleryIn pictures: Ullapara's Charbardhangachha cucumber market, Tk 950 to 1,000 a maund1 photos
GalleryHyacinth stops the nets on Kaptai, hibiscus in a yard: the day in pictures1 photos
GalleryChina nets dim Chalan Beel's market for bamboo fish traps
GalleryGlimpse, 9 November: Teesta char potatoes, aman harvest and the jhum trail1 photosGalleryA day with the spotted deer at the National Zoo, where fawns delight children1 photosGalleryDusk at Kattali Rashmoni Ghat: clouds, a red sky and fishermen coming home1 photosGalleryEgrets wait beside grazing cows in a quiet partnership of the fields1 photosGalleryIn pictures: Ullapara's Charbardhangachha cucumber market, Tk 950 to 1,000 a maund1 photosGalleryHyacinth stops the nets on Kaptai, hibiscus in a yard: the day in pictures1 photosGalleryChina nets dim Chalan Beel's market for bamboo fish trapsSection
Environment
EnvironmentSirajganj farmland dug into 60-foot pits in the name of sand removal
Dredgers are cutting farmland in Kamarkhanda and other chars of Sirajganj into pits 50 to 60 feet deep, residents say, under cover of removing river-dredging sand.
EnvironmentWFP at COP31: El Niño could push 49 million more people into acute hunger by the end of 2027
As COP31 opened in Antalya, the World Food Programme asked leaders for sustained, pre-arranged finance so that predictable droughts and floods do not become hunger emergencies; such money is still under 2% of humanitarian funding.
CropsTopsoil sold off farmland under cover of pond digging; Dhunat trader fined
A mobile court in Dhunat, Bogura, fined a trader Tk 70,000 for cutting and selling the topsoil of farmland at Panchthupi after claiming he had permission to dig a pond.
EnvironmentWinter turns Dhaka's air toxic again, raising the risk of COPD
Dhaka was the world's fourth most polluted city on the morning of 8 November with an AQI of 179, according to IQAir. Experts blame construction dust, brick kilns, old vehicles and waste burning, and set out remedies.
EnvironmentDelhi's air index hits 376 as fireworks, traffic and crop burning add smoke
New Delhi's average air quality index was a very poor 376 on Sunday, with 463 at Jahangirpuri. Forecasters expect severe pollution for several days from 9 November.
Environment
India starts lining its side of the Kohua river; Parshuram fears erosion
India has begun laying concrete blocks on its embankment of the Kohua river at the Parshuram border in Feni. With Bangladesh's side unfinished, the water board warns the river could swing towards Bangladesh.