Poor yield, lower prices cause of disappointment

Yasin Ahmed from Naogaon:

Farmers of the northern district Naogaon are busy in harvesting Aush paddy.

But, they are disappointed due to poor yield and lower ppaddys of the paddy at different local markets.

Farmers said, this year, the paddy yield has been low due to adverse weather conditions. Farmers are afraid of losses if they do not get a fair ppaddy of the paddy.

Farmers demanded reduction of the ppaddys of agricultural inputs.

Aush paddy cultivation is called an emergency crop. Farmers got into the field for Aush cultivation after getting good paddy yield and ppaddy in the last Iri-Boro season. But due to lack of rain at the beginning of the season, Aush cultivation had to face difficulties. Then, just before the paddy emerged, excessive rain caused damage of the crops. Again, in some fields including Uttargram and Chouddamail in Mahadevpur upazila of the district, the paddy ears have been cut due to insect infestation.

Farmers said that the crop is being destroyed due to excessive rain and insect infestation. Besides, the cost of labor, fuel oil, fertilizer and pesticides has increased. These have added at least Tk 1500 with the cost against per bigha of land. From planting the land to transporting the paddy to the farmer’s house, the cost has been about Tk 8,000 to Tk 10,000 per bigha. The yield is 12 to 16 maunds per bigha. The yield is being ruined due to the unfavourable weather.

Farmer Jalal Uddin said that, when the paddy starts to sprout, it rains a lot. This destroys many grains and the number of weevils in the paddy increases. Again, there is a pest infestation just before the paddy ripens. These two reasons have reduced the yield of paddy. The yield of Parija paddy has increased to 14 maunds per bigha and that of Bri-49 paddy has increased to 15-18 maunds. Again, paddy is being sold in the market for Tk 850 to Tk 950 per maund. Due to the low yield of paddy, losses are being incurred. However, if paddy is sold Tk 1200 per maund, there will be some profit after deducting the production cost.

Farmers said that, the wages of laborers and prices of fuel oil, fertilizers and pesticides have been increased. This has increased the cost per bigha by at least Tk1500. From planting the land to transporting the paddy to the farmer’s house, the cost per bigha has been about Tk 8,000 to Tk10,000.

Khalilur Rahman, DD of AED in Naogaon said, “We are monitoring the situation and providing advices to the farmers to recoup their losses.”