Maize and paddy harvest disrupted
A week of relentless daytime rain has left maize and paddy fields across the Rangpur region submerged, throwing harvesting schedules into disarray and leaving farmers in distress.
With the window for safe harvesting rapidly closing, farmers are hoping for a change in the weather -- before all their hard work shattered with the floodwaters.
"It rained again this morning," said 65-year-old Sheher Ali, a maize grower from Bhotmari village in Kaliganj upazila of Lalmonirhat.
"For the past seven days, it rains intermittently during the daytime. There's no one to hire, so we're harvesting maize ourselves, standing in knee- to chest-deep water," he said this morning.
Photo: Star
It's not just harvesting that is being hampered -- post-harvest processes are suffering too.
Sheher Ali, who has maize on six bighas of land ready to harvest, said his field is now under three to four feet of water. The rain has not only forced to suspend their work but also driven away labourers, making it nearly impossible to bring in the crops on time.
In neighbouring Kurigram district, 55-year-old Suresh Chandra Barman from Shimulbari village in Phulbari upazila faces a similar dilemma.
"Boro paddy and maize on my seven bighas and three bighas of land respectively are ripe. But how can I harvest them in this weather?" he asked. "If this goes on for another four or five days, the crops will rot in the field."
Photo: Star
Chand Mia, 60, a farmer from Mahipur village in Gangachara upazila of Rangpur, managed to harvest eight bighas of maize and three bighas of paddy a week ago. But since then, he's been unable to dry them due to the lack of sunlight.
"I've kept the grains indoors to protect them from the rain. But if the skies don't clear soon, they'll start to rot. We need sun, but every morning it rains again," he said.
Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) officials said maize on around 1,25,501 hectares of land and Boro paddy on 5,898 hectares have been cultivated this season in the five districts of the Rangpur region -- Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Rangpur, Nilphamari, and Gaibandha. So far, only 40 percent of the paddy and 30 percent of the maize have been harvested, with most remaining crops fully mature and ready for harvest.
"The weather is not on the farmers' side," said Shafiqul Islam, additional director of the Rangpur regional DAE. "This time of year -- Bengali month Jaistha -- is supposed to be peak harvesting season. But due to continuous rain, farmers are unable to bring in or dry their crops," he said.
Subal Chandra Roy, in-charge of Rajarhat Agricultural Meteorological Observatory in Kurigram, today said that the region has recorded an average of 26mm of rainfall every day over the past week. The weather pattern, he warned, is likely to persist until May 21.
