Sunamganj Farmers: Once solvent, now broke

Even a few months ago, Khushi Rani Das was all smiles when she saw the green sheaves of Boro paddy on her two acres of land in Sunamganj's Tahirpur.

She dreamt of a good harvest which would feed her nine-member family all the year round.

But the recent flashfloods dashed the 60-year-old woman's hopes. On Friday, she was seen collecting the submerged paddy from her land in Shanir Haor. The half-ripe paddy she would now use as fodder.

“I have a family of nine and my family depends on the Boro crop. But our whole years' food has been damaged, and I don't know how to survive with my family this year,” Khushi told The Daily Star.

Hers is a farmer family and they were somewhat solvent than other families in Baghmara village. This made it difficult for her to stand in line for Open Market Sale (OMS) rice. Besides, her name was not on the list of Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programme as she was considered a bit solvent.

Borhan Uddin, chairman of Tahirpur Sadar union, said farmers who were solvent were not included in the VGF programme as the support from the government was inadequate.

"After a month of the floods, we can now find that the once solvent farmers are the worst victim of the flood as they feel shy to stand in line for OMS rice and their names are not in the VGF list," he said.

Another farmer of Madya Tahirpur village in the upazila, Khelu Miah, who was more affluent than Khusi, used to cultivate Boro paddy on three-four acres of land to meet his family's food supply as well as sell every year.

“Last year, flashfloods damaged most of my crops. As a son of a freedom fighter, I managed to get a loan of Tk 2 lakh from the liberation war affairs ministry and farmed paddy again this year. But I have lost everything this year too and I don't know what to do now," he lamented.

According to the district administration, there are 2,77,188 farmers in Sunamganj. But as per the district agricultural extension department, the number is 3,31,316.

In Sunamganj, 1,50,000 families have been given VGF cards, meaning that nearly half or less than half of the affected farmers are out of VGF programme.

Jahid Uddin of Bordhol, a remote village in Tanguar Haor area of Tahirpur, was an affluent farmer who cultivated paddy on five acres of land in the haor area, but lost everything.

He said the paddy harvested every year met his family's need and all other expenses.

Leaders of haor development-related organisations said the solvent farmers' food stock had exhausted and the list of VGF programme had already been prepared without them. The farmers would have to suffer more as they had no alternative income source.

Kamruzzaman Kamrul, upazila chairman of Tahirpur, said, “The landless farmers are standing in line for OMS rice, and their names are on the VGF list. Some of them are going outside their villages in search of work. But the solvent farmers are in extreme distress and they need more support than the others."

Sheikh Rafiqul Islam, deputy commissioner of Sunamganj, said the government had a plan to support all farmers in distress, and the administration would seek more help if necessary.