Boro paddy and wheat harvesting are being hampered in the northern region on account of the unavailability of farm labourers amid the prevailing hot weather.
According to local sources, the shortage of farm workers in rural areas in Rangpur has worsened the situation as the daily wage earners feel reluctant to work in the crop field amid the scorching temperature leading to the scarcity of workers and high production costs.
Farmers said they could not stay long hours working in the field as they felt exhausted and thirsty soon. They have to take repeated short intervals during their work time. Moreover, they become afraid of falling ill while working amid the inclement weather.
Many of the farm labourers refrained from working in the crop fields while others charged high amid the situation.
"It is very tough and risky to work in the crop field in the scorching spell," said Asadul Miah, a farm labourer of Kishorgonj Upazila under Nilphamari district.
"A team of 10 agriculture workers can easily harvest paddy and maize from three bighas of land in a day for Tk 9,000-10000 while it becomes very difficult to harvest maize or paddy even from one bigha land in a day with the same workforce in this situation," said Sabur Miah, a day labourer from Hatibandha Upazila of Lalmonirhat.
"The workers are charging Tk 5,000 for each bigha land, but the farmers are not interested in affording the additional cost," he added.
Afzal Hossain, a farmer from Faridpur village at Mithapukur Upazila of Rangpur said, “We have been facing a severe crisis of farmworkers to harvest paddy and wheat from the field. Many of the workers showed their unwillingness to work in the open field amid the heatwave. Few of them are charging very high.”
"We can harvest paddy from one acre of land at Tk 9,000-10,000 earlier while the workers are demanding Tk 15,000 for the same," he added.
AKM Habibullah, a farmer from Nabdigonj village under Pirgacha Upazila of Rangpur district said the prevailing heatwave has disrupted the farming in the rural areas badly. The production cost gets higher.
''I went to harvest paddy from my one bigha land yesterday around 10am but failed to stay in the land for even half an hour as it was too hot'', said, Haradhon, a farmer from Char Votmari area under Kaligonj Upazila of Lalmonirhat district.
Abed Miah, a day labourer from Kolkond village from Rangpur's Gangachhara Upazila, said that their earnings have reduced sharply although the payment went high. It’s not possible to work in the open field at a stretch amid the extreme heat. Many of the workers are falling ill after working all day in the fields. Thus, they dare not work further, he added.
Insan Ali, a farmer from Kurigram Sadar, said, "They had to pay each farm labourer Tk 500-550 for their daylong work, but now they are charging Tk 700-800."
Meanwhile, the temperature has fluctuated between 36-40 degrees Celsius over the past few days in the Rangpur region, according to data from the meteorological department office in Rangpur. The highest temperature was recorded at 39.2 degrees Celsius on Friday in Rangpur division.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Boro paddy has been cultivated on 5,08,137 hectares and maize on 1,14,980 hectares of land in five districts of the Rangpur region this year.
Abdullah Al Mamun, deputy director of DAE in the Rangpur region, said around 80 per cent harvesting of paddy and wheat has been done in the region. Farmers have faced difficulties harvesting paddy and wheat due to an acute shortage of labour amid the heat. The government has given combined harvester, reaper and thresher machines to the farmers of the region at subsidised rates this year.
Former RDRS, Bangladesh Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment), Mamunur Rashid said, that Rangpur is a surplus food-prone region in the country. The inclement weather has become a severe threat to agriculture with increasing production costs in the region.
