Good Boro Harvest at High Production Cost
Luck may not smile on farmers
Labourers at a boro field on dried up riverbed of the Padma at Sreerampur near Rajshahi city have a hasty midday meal under the scorching sun as they have hardly any daytime respite during the harvest period. High production cost may upset the benefit of fairly good yield this year, farmers said. Photo: STAR
Farmers in Rajshahi have started harvesting boro with hope for a good output, but the joy of reaping may remain an elusive one, especially for the marginal farmers and sharecroppers, as paying off loans, irrigation charges and landowners' share will upset the profit to a great extent. Last moment's rainfall and improvement in electricity supply for the irrigation machines helped the good yield on most lands, said Mohsin Ali, deputy director of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in Rajshahi. "Boro cultivation on some 2,000 hectares of land on Padma riverbed came as a solace against the fact that the district's cultivation target on some 3661 hectares of lands could not be achieved over irrigation difficulties. However, earlier problem in irrigation due to frequent load-shedding in some Barind areas is likely to affect the total output by five to ten percent," he said. During a recent visit to boro fields on the dried up Padma riverbed near Rajshahi city, this correspondent saw vast swathe of the riverbed green with standing boro crops while farmers at a few lands were reaping paddy. In absence of electricity, diesel-run irrigation pumps were used to ensure last moment's water at many fields. Moniruzzaman Lalon, a sharecropper, was taking some polythene sheets for making a shade to rid labourers at his boro field at Sreerampur Char from the scorching sun. "Kalam, Shukur and I cultivated boro on 12 bighas of land that we took on lease. We expect 20 maunds of paddy per bigha and the yield is satisfactory. But I am in doubt about profit although the total output would be 240 maunds. Ninety-six maunds or its value is going to be spent to pay the landowner, irrigation machine provider and farm labourers. We the three partners will share the rest 144 maunds, having 48 maunds for each," he said. Over a dozen farm labourers were seen gathering paddy sheafs at Lalon's field. Shukur and Kalam were also working with them. “I have a family of 12 members and we need 50 maunds of paddy a year for our own consumption. If I sell part of my share, we will have to starve for some months before the next harvest,” said Shukur. Expressing his anxiety about paddy price, Kalam said, "We took a loan of Tk 20,000 from paddy trader Shamsul Islam for starting cultivation. After harvest, we are first to pay off the loan by selling paddy to him.” The three sharecroppers said they spent Tk 60,000 for the cultivation and if they can get the government rate of Tk 17 per kg of paddy, they will be able to make a profit of Tk 38,000 in total. Alauddin, who cultivated boro on 4.5 bighas of his own land, went to Lalon's field for borrowing a maund of paddy. “I need some paddy to meet my family need till I reap my crop two weeks later. Last year's production was exhausted a few months ago,” he said. DAE Deputy Director Mohsin said measures are underway to ensure that farmers get the government announced price.
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