Paddy price fall worries Patuakhali farmers

Boro farmers in the district are unhappy because of the low price of the paddy even though there has been a bumper production this year.

Paddy is selling at only Tk 400 to Tk 450 per maund in the local market, while the price was Tk 600 to Tk 700 last year. Because of this, farmers are reluctant to reap the paddy as they have to suffer loss.

Farmers of different areas under Kalapara upazila, which saw the highest boro production in the district this year, had to spend about Tk 7,000 per bigha of land to cultivate boro paddy, but the produce, 15 to 16 maunds of paddy, sells for Tk 6,000 to Tk 6,400.

"We have to suffer loss as the price of boro paddy in the local market is very low this year," said Masum Chowdhury, a boro farmer of Kumirmara village under Kalapara upazila. He cultivated boro on two acres of land.

"We had to preserve sweet water in canals, ditches and others water bodies by building dams on voluntary basis to save the land from saline water to cultivate boro paddy," said Md Sultan Gazi, chairman of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Club, a social unit of  the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) of Nilganj union under the same upazila. 

"Boro seedlings were planted in January or early February, and over 200 acres of land in Nilgonj union were brought under its cultivation," he said.

"The government is not buying boro paddy from local market, so local buyers fix the rate in different haats and bazaars in the areas. Farmers will be encouraged to cultivate boro paddy if the government ensures good market price and subsidy for fertilisers and other relevant inputs, otherwise they will lose interest in farming the paddy," said farmer Dulal Chowdhury.

When contacted, Md Moshiur Rahman, Kalapara upazila agriculture officer, said about 1,000 acres of land in the upazila were brought under boro cultivation this year. Farmers got bumper production due to favourable weather and timely rainfall.

Patuakhali district DAE office sources said over 5,000 acres of land were brought under boro cultivation this year in five of the eight upazilas under the district.