The boro harvest is in full swing across the vast haor areas of Netrokona district. Though the fields are golden with paddy, farmers are not smiling. After losses to natural disasters, they now face fresh trouble over allegations of cheating on weight when they sell. The practice of taking extra paddy by weight, along with low prices, is keeping them from getting a fair price for their crop.

Heavy rain this year has ruined half-ripe boro on about 2,000 hectares of low-lying fields in various haors, including Guradoba and Medabil in Kalmakanda; Gobindashri and Uchitpur in Madan; Dingapota in Mohanganj; and Kirtankhola, Nander Petna, Lakshmipur, Chunai, Katkailer Kanda, Boilong, Lepsai and Chaitara in Khaliajuri.

In the haors of Khaliajuri, Madan and Mohanganj, men and women are hard at work. Some fields are still half-ripe, but in most the ripe paddy sways in the wind and is being cut in a rush. Farmers have built jirati (temporary huts) in the haors, and paddy is being cut by labourers and by machine. Labourers carry bundles on their heads and pile them beside the roads. Some sell machine-threshed paddy to local moneylender-traders, and the paddy is taken away by truck, lorry, tomtom and easy-bike. Others thresh the sheaves by machine in their yards and prepare spaces near the fields or at home to parboil and dry the paddy.

Farmers allege that although a maund is 40 kg under the rule followed in the country, some dishonest local traders are buying paddy at 42 to 45 kg to the maund. Farmers must hand over several extra kilograms per maund, a direct loss, and with little room to bargain in the field, many are forced to sell on these terms.

Local farmers say repeated hailstorms and heavy rain have submerged paddy on much low-lying haor land, cutting production and causing financial losses. Labour shortages and higher diesel prices have also raised the cost of farming and harvesting, so they have been under pressure since the start of the season.

Labourers are now cutting paddy day and night, ignoring the risk of lightning. Many farmers sell their paddy in the field after threshing, but there too they face a new problem: low prices, and being forced to hand over extra weight.

Several farmers said they were being cheated again before they had recovered from the disasters. With government procurement not yet begun, they are not getting a fair price in the market, so they are selling cheap, and on top of that are cheated on weight, deepening their losses.

According to local residents and the district Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), boro was grown on 185,547 hectares in the district's 10 upazilas this year, including 41,120 hectares in the haor areas. Boro is the only crop for people living around the haors, and their children's education, medical costs and a whole year's household spending depend on it. Farmers began cutting ripe paddy last Sunday. The boro produced in the haors has a market value of about Tk 700 crore, and those involved say the local economy could suffer if a fair price for this huge crop is not ensured.

Jalil Mia, a farmer in Gobindashri of Madan upazila, said: "Early rain has submerged the paddy. With water in the fields, combine harvesters can't be used. There's no diesel for the machines either, and labourers' wages are very high. Nothing adds up as it is. Then when I go to sell, I find traders counting 43 to 45 kg to the maund. That pushes us further into loss."

Gafur Mia, a farmer in Chakua village of Khaliajuri, said: "There are no roads in our area. The government isn't buying paddy either, so we're forced to sell cheap. The traders form a syndicate to buy paddy cheaply, and they cheat us on weight too. No one is looking at our suffering."

Kajal Chowdhury, a farmer in Gaglajur village of Mohanganj upazila, said: "The road to our upazila has been closed for three years. With the haor roads in bad shape, there's no way to take paddy to town to sell. So we have to sell at Tk 750 to Tk 820. And they take a 5 kg 'dhalok' on every maund. No one sees the farmer's loss."

Local middlemen (faria) say they count extra weight because they are buying wet paddy, and that they themselves must give 41 kg a maund when selling to mill owners. Farmers reject this argument and say taking weight beyond the rule is unfair.

Habir Mia, a faria trader who came from the Ashuganj area to buy paddy, said: "The paddy is wet, so we take three kilograms extra a maund. That's the rule in this area. Some take 5 kg extra. We also have to give extra weight to the mill owners."

An official of the district food department said no directive had yet been issued for government purchases of paddy and rice, but he hoped a decision would come soon. Action would be taken on the complaints of extra weight after discussion with the local administration, he said.

District food controller Md Moyetasemur Rahman said the matter was being looked at seriously, and those concerned would be spoken to so that farmers were not harmed in any way.

Barrister Kaiser Kamal, MP for Netrokona-1 and deputy speaker of parliament, said he had heard about the extra weight being taken and that farmers were being cheated of their hard-earned crop. He said the local administration had been instructed to solve farmers' problems.

Farmers are demanding that government procurement start quickly to ensure a fair price, and that monitoring be stepped up to stop cheating on weight in the markets.

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