The boro harvest has begun in Dhunat upazila of Bogura. Yields are good this year, but farmers are unhappy with paddy prices; they say the price of a maund of paddy is not enough to hire one labourer.

Farmers said on 10 May that, depending on the area, a labourer now costs Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,100, while a maund of paddy sells for just Tk 850 to Tk 950. Their faces fell almost as soon as the hard-won crop was brought in.

According to local sources, the fields are full of ripe paddy, but storms and rain are adding to the worry, especially the fear that paddy on low-lying land will be submerged. With most of the crop ripening at once, demand for labour has suddenly risen and harvest wages have nearly doubled. The cost of growing paddy has risen several times over in recent years, but paddy prices have not kept pace, and many farmers are disheartened.

Anwar Hossain, a farmer of Narayanpur village, said: "Everyone's paddy in the field has ripened at once, and on top of that there are storms and rain, so I fear losses. Labour wages have doubled but the paddy price has fallen. I don't know how I will bring the paddy home." He said farmers are having to sell for much less than it cost to grow.

Elias Hossain, a farmer of Khaduli village, said falling prices mean heavy losses. "The cost of ploughing, irrigation, labour and pesticide has all gone up. I am worried about how I will repay debts and loans."

Dhunat upazila agriculture officer Chhamidul Islam said high-yielding and local paddy varieties were grown on about 16,485 hectares in the upazila this season, and good yields have brought smiles to farmers. Harvesting started a week ago and will be in full swing next week.

He said farmers are being advised to cut paddy once it is 80 per cent ripe, as hailstorms and early water could cause losses, and added that farmers should get a fair price for their hard-earned crop.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.