Jhenaidah has had a bumper boro paddy harvest. With fertiliser and pesticide supplies normal, farmers are counting on a profit this season. They are busy in the fields across the district, and the scent of golden paddy has brought cheer to farming families.

However, sudden rain and gusty winds in the last week of April damaged paddy in many areas and made cutting and threshing difficult. With the weather turning against them at the end of the season, farmers fear some losses.

In Jamal union of Kaliganj upazila, farmers were seen busy cutting paddy across wide golden fields. In Kola union of the same upazila, many fields have already been harvested. But several bouts of sudden rain last week soaked many farmers' paddy, and many are drying the wet grain in the fields.

In Kumrabaria, Ramnagar, Bhabanipur, Mayadharpur, Baidanga and Gopalpur in Sadar upazila, farmers have cut about 50 per cent of the paddy, and some have finished threshing. Threshing is in full swing in farmyards. But water rose in low-lying fields and much paddy was soaked, leaving farmers worried about its weight and quality.

Jasim Uddin of Kumrabaria village in Sadar, Narayan Chandra of Gopalpur and Anisur Rahman of Kola in Kaliganj said boro cultivation had gone very well this year. The weather was favourable from the start of the season, the heatwave had little effect, and there were few Kalbaishakhi storms or hailstorms, so ripe paddy suffered little damage.

Farmers said several bouts of rain fell in almost every part of the district in the last week of April. Water collected in low fields and much paddy got wet, so they may get a slightly lower price. Still, they are happy with the overall yield this boro season.

Anwar Ali, a farmer from Safdarpur village in Kotchandpur upazila, said the yield was very good and fertiliser and pesticide prices were affordable this year. "But the late rain and gusty winds have made gathering the paddy very difficult. Many are being forced to thresh in the field, which could cause a shortage of straw for cattle feed," he said.

According to the district Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), the target for this boro season was 90,194 hectares. Boro was grown on 23,875 hectares in Sadar upazila, 15,956 in Kaliganj, 6,065 in Kotchandpur, 21,860 in Maheshpur, 13,218 in Shailkupa and 9,306 in Harinakunda, bringing the district total to 90,280 hectares, above the target.

Shashthi Chandra Roy, deputy director of DAE in Jhenaidah, said boro was grown on more land than targeted this year. Favourable weather, normal supplies of fertiliser and pesticide and constant supervision by agriculture officials produced a good yield, and he is hopeful farmers will get a good price. The late rain is making cutting and threshing somewhat harder, he said, but farmers will not face major losses.

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