Poor yield marks start of Aman harvest in N-dists

Aman harvest has started in high lands in Nilphamari but farmers are disappointed with the low yield because of floods and pest attack.. PHOTO: STAR

Most of the farmers taking paddy home are disappointed with the yield because of damage by pest attack and flooding in October.

Marginal and small farmers are cutting their paddy themselves with the help of family members because they do not want to pay labourers from the meagre output.

Well to do farmers have engaged labourers but are paying almost half of last year's wage.

Labourers also agree to whatever money offered after getting two meals a day. So, Monga is still haunting the poor people.

Our Nilphamari Correspondent reports: According to District Agriculture Extension Department (DAE), 1,19,898 hectares of land were brought under Aman cultivation this year with a production target of 3,59,694 tonnes of rice.

Pest attack caused a considerable damage to the plants. A severe blow came from untimely flooding twice and strong wind in October when about 60 per cent of the plants were in flowering stage, DAE officials said.

So, the production would be around half of the target, they said.

The DAE sources said the high lands covering about 24,000 hectares comprise about of 20 per cent of the total area Aman cultivation. Harvest of this paddy will be completed within a week, they said.

Gani Master, a small farmer of Dolua Dogachhi village, said every year he sold early variety paddy to buy new dresses for children, seeds of potatoes, wheat, garlic and onion and fertiliser for Robi crops.

"This year I will buy only seeds and fertiliser and keep the rest, which will barely meet food requirement for about a month".

The harvest has not eased the crisis for landless day labourers who have to buy food. It has not made any impact on prices of rice, now selling at Tk 16-17 per kilogram as before.

Traders said the price will not come down substantially as the production and supply this year would be much lower than normal.

Farm labourer Dharmoni Kanto said he sold his labour in advance in Bangla months of Aswin and Kartik to feed his family during the Monga.

Another day labourer Romizuddin said like many others he borrowed money from a moneylender at high interest. They will have to return home with empty hands after repaying the loan money, he said.

They said the Monga situation will not ease to a great extent this year till cultivation of IRRI-Boro and Robi crops begin.

Our Sirajganj Correspondent reports: Harvest of Aman paddy has started in high lands in Raiganj, Tarash, Kamarkhanda and Ullapara upazilas.

Agriculture officials and farmers there said the average yield is good in high lands.

But the yield will be far less than target in five other upazilasSirajganj Sadar, Kazipur, Belkuchi, Shahjadpur and Chowhali, DAE officials told this correspondent. Aman lands in the five upazilas were flooded twice this year. Though farmers transplanted seedlings after the second flood, it was too late, they said.

A total of 51,218 hectares were brought under Aman cultivation this year, they said.

Aman harvest has not yet made any impact on rice prices. Paddy is selling at between Tk 325 and Tk 350 in markets, traders said.