The boro paddy in 137 haors across the 12 upazilas of Sunamganj, known as a low-lying (bhati) district, is now flowering, and the yield is good. Farmers are dreaming of a bumper crop but are worried about bringing it home.

This season 10 lakh farmers in the haors of Sunamganj have grown boro paddy. The yield is better than in other years, but nor'westers and hailstorms have already begun, and river levels are rising. Farmers are passing their days in fear and anxiety, unsure whether they can bring home what they have grown.

Lutfur Mia, a farmer of Karchar Haor in Sunamganj, borrowed money at high interest from a moneylender to grow boro on 10 acres. His paddy is now flowering, and he is applying pesticide and fertiliser to protect it from insects.

"Although we grow boro with great effort, we face many problems bringing the paddy home every year. Storms and rain have already started. I am very worried," Lutfur Mia told Jagonews.

According to the agriculture department, boro has been grown on 2 lakh 22 thousand 795 hectares in Sunamganj this season. It is expected to produce 13 lakh 53 thousand tonnes of paddy, which will yield 9 lakh 2 thousand tonnes of rice with a market value of Tk 3,088 crore.

Bimal Chandra Som, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Sunamganj, told Jagonews that if all goes well, harvesting will begin in some parts of the haors on 12 April.

To protect the Tk 3,088 crore rice crop from early floods, the government took up a Tk 203 crore project this year for 745 km of haor protection embankments through 1,076 project implementation committees (PICs). But farmers are unhappy with the embankment work. They allege that although the government takes up crore-taka projects every year to protect the haor crops, the embankment work is only done in name.

Farmers say that with storms and rain beginning, they are guarding the haor paddy and the embankments day and night. If the paddy goes under water, farmers will starve.

Matin Mia, a farmer of Shanir Haor, told Jagonews: "I grew boro with a loan. Even with a bumper crop, I am very worried about bringing the paddy home."

Jabbar Mia, a farmer of Karchar Haor, told Jagonews: "The storms and rain have begun. When the rain starts with wind and gusts, my heart trembles. We live in fear. If the embankment breaks, the crop will go under. So when the rain starts, we farmers guard the embankment."

Ziaul Haque, a farmer of Dekhar Haor, told Jagonews: "There has been a bumper crop this year, but I don't know whether we can bring it home. If the haor embankments hold, it will be possible."

Mamun Howlader, executive engineer of the Water Development Board in Sunamganj, told Jagonews that although river levels have risen a little with the rain, there is no risk of flooding, and 98 percent of the embankment work is already done.

Deputy Commissioner Didare Alam Mohammad Maksud Chowdhury, president of the haor protection embankment construction and monitoring committee, told Jagonews that the earthwork on the haor embankments is finished and only a little work remains. The district administration has made all preparations to deal with any disaster, he said.

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