Home ›› 07 May 2023 ›› Nation
Despite bumper Boro yield, farmers in Rangpur are worried about whether they will be able to recoup their production costs.
Experts and farmers of the region said exorbitant prices of agriculture inputs, including irrigation, fertiliser, pesticides, delayed transplantation due to cold waves and high labour wages, made farming costlier this year.
Many of the farmers of the region took loans on high interest from local money lenders and NGOs to cultivate the paddy.
The government will start Boro procurement drive with a price of Tk 30 a kg from May 7 this year. The government’s procurement will continue till August 31.
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said harvesting of Boro paddy is gaining momentum with an excellent average yield rate of 3.60 tonnes of clean rice per hectare.
The DAE fixed a target of producing 22,30,219 tonnes of clean Boro rice, bringing 5,07,050 hectares of land under cultivation in five districts- Rangpur, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari and Gaibandha of the region this season, said Additional Director of the DAE’s Rangpur region Md Aftab Hossain.
The production of paddy is very satisfactory due to favourable weather conditions. The farmers will be largely benefitted from the farming as the government has fixed lofty prices for the paddy procurement in the season, he noted.
The Government measures including subsidy for diesel for irrigation and reduction of fertiliser prices, boosted the farmers in past years but the inflated prices of diesel, fertiliser, pesticides and the cold injury in seedbeds during the winter made the farmers frustrated this year, said Afzal Miah, a farmer at Emadpur village under Mithapukur upazila of the district.
“Farmers have started harvesting the paddy in our area and the price is ranging between Tk 900-1,000 per maund. Traders and businessmen are buying the paddy from them at low prices citing low-quality produce,” he also said.
Many of the farmers are being compelled to sell their harvest amid the low price in the local markets as they need money to meet their daily and farming expenses. Abu Bakar Siddique, a farmer of Gadha village under Kishoregonj upazila of Nilphamari district said, “According to the government rate, the price per maund of rice will be around Tk 1,200. But I need money at present to meet my family and harvesting expenses, so I have no alternative to selling the produce at Tk 900-1,000 per maund before the procurement drive starts.”
“I had cultivated Boro paddy on five bighas of land borrowing money from local money lenders on high interest. The government’s boro procurement price will hardly benefit me as the price is not so high compared to my production cost,” said Insan Miah, a farmer at Vhogdanga village under Kurigram Sadar upazila.
Many of the farmers in the village took small loans from NGOs for farming who have to face similar problems, he added.
Another farmer, Habibullah Miah at Nabdiganj area under Rangpur Sadar said, they had to spend much for Boro paddy production this year. Diesel for irrigation and other agriculture inputs prices are very costly. They needed to buy diesel more to irrigate the lands repeatedly due to less rainfall this season. Moreover, the daily labour cost during the transplantation and harvesting period is also high compared to last year.
“I had to pay Tk 600-700 to a daily farm worker while it was Tk 400- 500 last year. It is often tough for us to sell the produce at government depot as we have to pay the amount of farming expenditure and family cost instantly,” he added.
Senior Coordinator at RDRS Bangladesh, Mamunur Rashid said the farmers who are forced to sell their produce at low prices before the government procurement drive begins, to bear their family and harvesting expenses have to face losses due to high production costs.
