Aman paddy harvesting has begun in Mirsarai upazila of Chattogram, and farmers are busy cutting the crop in fields across the upazila. Having weathered two rounds of cyclones, they are now bringing the paddy home. The production target this season has been set at 89,325 tonnes of paddy, or 59,550 tonnes of rice. Farmers are pleased with the good yield, but worried about getting a fair price.

According to the Mirsarai Upazila Agriculture Office, aman has been grown on 19,850 hectares this season across 16 unions and two municipalities. The crop is grown in Karerhat, Hinguli, Zorarganj, Osmanpur, Ichhakhali, Katachhara, Durgapur, Mirsarai Sadar, Mithanala, Maghadia, Khaiyachhara, Mayani, Haitkandi, Wahedpur and Saherkhali unions, with the largest area, 950 hectares, in Ichhakhali union.

A visit to different parts of the upazila found ripe paddy on most land, stretching as far as the eye can see. Some farmers were cutting paddy in the fields, some were carrying it home, and on many plots the cut crop had been left to dry.

Mokarram Hossain, a farmer from Madhyam Azamnagar village in Hinguli union, said: "This time I grew aman on about one and a half kani (180 decimals) of land. Most of my paddy has been cut. I will be able to cut the paddy on the rest of the land within a day or two."

Anwar Hossain, a farmer from the Char Sharat area of Ichhakhali union, said: "I grew aman on about 120 decimals of land this time. Planting of transplanted aman was delayed because of the rain, and I was worried about getting the seedlings in. But the crop is in good shape. Some of the land has been harvested, and I will start cutting the rest within the next 10 days."

The upazila agriculture office said aman cultivation had exceeded its target even though the rain did not come on time. Had water been available at the right time, still more land could have been cultivated. Across the upazila, high-yielding varieties were grown on 16,800 hectares, hybrids on 2,000 hectares and local varieties on 1,050 hectares.

Saleh Ahmed, another farmer from Char Sharat in Ichhakhali union, said: "Because the rain did not come on time, I was afraid for the aman yield. That fear did not come true; the yield has been good. But I am worried about whether I will get a good price for the paddy."

Md Abu Hanif, a paddy buyer who lives in the Eshahaq Driverhat area, said: "Not much aman paddy is coming to the market yet. It will arrive in full in another 10 to 15 days. We are now buying paddy at Tk 1,100 a maund. If more paddy comes to the market, the price may fall further."

Mirsarai Upazila Agriculture Officer Pratap Chandra Roy said: "About 50 per cent of the land has already been harvested. Harvesting was halted for several days because of the cyclone; otherwise more land would have been cut. Because the rain did not come on time, most land was planted towards the end of the season. Even so, the yield has been very good."

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