The fields are full of ripe paddy, but a shortage of labourers means farmers in Parshuram upazila of Feni cannot cut and bring home their crop on time. Where workers can be found, each must be paid Tk 1,200 to Tk 1,250 for a day, plus two meals, bringing the cost to about Tk 1,500.

Meanwhile, paddy is selling at Tk 820 to Tk 850 a maund in the market. The same picture was found on a recent tour of three unions and the municipal area of the upazila.

According to the agriculture office, boro has been grown on 3,329 hectares in the upazila this season, with average yields of five to seven tonnes a hectare.

Boro harvesting has begun to a greater or lesser extent in every area of the upazila. With workers scarce, many farmers have gone into the fields themselves with members of their families.

Abul Khayer, a farmer in Joy Chandpur village, said he had grown boro on 250 decimals this year. Though he had worried about disease, the yield was good. But with demand and prices for paddy very low in the market, he was facing a loss.

Sub-assistant agriculture officer Matiur Rahman said that, with boro prices low, he was advising farmers to dry their paddy well and store it. Government paddy procurement would begin in a few days.

Parshuram upazila agriculture officer Md Amjad Hossain Chowdhury said labour was expensive this boro season while paddy prices were low, so farmers were counting losses. His advice to farmers was that cutting paddy with a combine harvester would save costs.

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