In the scorching sun, Habibur Rahman and his wife Nurunnahar are cutting rice without a break. Habibur owns only 30 decimals of land and supports his family by farming it and working as a day labourer. They say they cannot get a combine harvester: owners demand extra money, and even when they agree to pay, they are put at the end of a long queue. Labourers are scarce and will not work for less than Tk 1,000 a day, so the couple are cutting and threshing the rice themselves at home in Alalpur village, Char Ishwardia union, Mymensingh Sadar.

Across Mymensingh district, many farmers are harvesting with their wives and children because of harvester owners' high-handedness and the labour shortage. Farmers are also angry with paddy traders, who they say pay unfair prices and take 2 to 3 kg extra per maund.

Farmers say costs were higher this year for pesticides, fertiliser and wages, most Boro rice is ripe, and a sudden storm could cause heavy losses, so harvesting is urgent. Harvester owners are demanding Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,200 to cut 10 decimals and refuse to work for less. Under the rules, owners may charge no more than Tk 5,400 per acre (100 decimals), or Tk 540 per 10 decimals.

Local agriculture office figures show rice on 263,752 hectares this year against a target of 263,730 hectares, and 38 percent had been harvested. The district has 294 harvesters, about 30 of them out of order; all 16 in Mymensingh Sadar are working.

• Farmer Alamgir Hossain of Khalpar said traders take three kg extra per maund even though the rice is dry, and will not buy otherwise.
• Abdul Mannan, president of the Shambhuganj Paddy Traders Association, said traders are forcing farmers to give extra rice, which he called oppression, and that mobile courts are needed.
• Dr. Nasrin Akter Banu, deputy director of DAE Mymensingh, said owners may not charge more than Tk 540 per 10 decimals, and action will be taken if overcharging is proved.
• Rina Begum, deputy director of the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection for Mymensingh division, said farmers must not be cheated but the office currently has no scales to measure paddy; drives will be carried out once it gets them.

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