Rain, storms damage Boro paddy on 300 hectares in Gazipur

Continuous rain and strong winds have damaged Boro paddy in Gazipur, leaving farmers facing significant losses.

Over the past week, storms have affected around 300 hectares, with preliminary estimates from the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) putting losses at about 1,800 tonnes in Sreepur, Kaliganj and Kapasia.

Although yields were expected to be good, many farmers now fear financial losses as they are unable to harvest their crops. A shortage of labourers and low market prices have worsened the situation.

Milon Mia, 60, a farmer from Lohadi village in Kapasia, said, “I had harvested paddy from one bigha of land and kept it in the field. But due to continuous rain, much of it is getting damaged.”

Abdul Malek, 40, a farmer from Tok union, said, “The paddy yield is good, but we cannot harvest it because of the rain. We are also unable to find labourers, even after offering more than Tk 1,000 per day.”

A labour contractor from Kurigram, Mobarak, 55, said, “About 30 of us are working here. We are staying near Amraid Bazar and harvesting paddy at a daily wage of Tk 1,000.”

Another worker, Murtaza, 58, from Thakurgaon, said, “We are not working at the moment due to heavy rain. We will resume work once the rain stops.”

“It costs around Tk 20,000 to cultivate paddy on one bigha of land. But due to low market prices, it is difficult even to recover the costs, let alone make a profit,” said Shafiqul Islam, 35, a farmer from Bir Ujali village.

Talking to The Daily Star, Upazila Agriculture Officer of Kapasia Awalia Khatun said 13,950 hectares of land have been brought under Boro cultivation in the upazila this season.

Of this, hybrid varieties account for 2,850 hectares and high-yielding varieties (HYV) for 11,100 hectares.

She said favourable weather had initially raised hopes for a good harvest, but recent storms and rainfall have caused damage in some areas.

Sajib Ahmed, upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Sreepur, told The Daily Star, “Initial reports suggest that crops on about 300 hectares of land have been damaged. The extent of the losses may increase.”

Mohammad Golam Mostafa, sub-assistant agriculture officer of the district’s DAE, said a total of 58,010 hectares of land have been cultivated with paddy in Gazipur this year.

Of this, 45,632 hectares are under high-yielding varieties, 12,260 hectares under hybrid varieties, and 118 hectares under local varieties.