RANINAGAR, NAOGAON, May 9: Despite full-scale harvesting of irrigated Boro paddy across Raninagar Upazila of Naogaon, farmers are facing deep frustration as a sharp fall in rice prices has wiped out expected profits.
Although harvesting and threshing are underway across the region amid adverse weather conditions, farmers say there is little joy in the fields this season.
The paddy that has been brought home is failing to fetch fair prices, leaving cultivators with signs of growing distress instead of the usual post-harvest relief.
Farmers said they are now forced to bear losses per bigha after calculating production costs against current market rates.
Last week's Kalbaishakhi storm also caused significant damage, as ripened paddy in many fields was flattened, increasing harvesting costs and labour pressure.
The situation is particularly visible at Abadpukur, the largest paddy market in the area, where farmers have gathered to sell their produce but are returning disappointed.
While farmers expressed frustration over low prices, rice mill owners said they are also struggling. They claimed that after purchasing paddy at current rates and processing it into rice, they are facing losses of around Tk 150 per maund due to falling rice prices.
They blamed increased rice imports from abroad for the downward pressure in the local market.
According to local sources, around 80 rice mills in Raninagar have already shut down operations, while government procurement has yet to begin, leaving no impact on market stabilization.
Officials said around 18,500 hectares of land were brought under boro cultivation this season. Although most of the paddy has matured, harvesting has been slower than expected due to labour shortages and intermittent rainfall.
Farmers are heavily dependent on manual labour as harvesters are insufficient in the area.
Agriculture officials said about 50 per cent of the harvest has been completed so far and advised farmers to quickly bring in the remaining crops.
The Food Department has set a procurement target of 1,969 metric tonnes of paddy in Raninagar at Tk 36 per kilogram for the current Boro season.
On Wednesday, Abadpukur market saw fine-quality "zirashail" paddy being traded at Tk 1,100 to Tk 1,200 per maund depending on quality.
Farmer Naeem Hossain of Kaligram said he cultivated Boro paddy on six bighas of land but ended up in loss despite a good yield.
"I sold 12 maunds at Tk 1,150 per maund. After calculating all costs, I am still at a loss. If the government had directly purchased paddy from farmers, we could have at least made some profit," he said.
Trader Tipu from Abadpukur market said increased supply and moisture content in paddy were affecting prices.
"Good quality paddy is being sold at up to Tk 1,200 per maund depending on variety," he added.
Upazila Food Officer Obaidur Rahman said the government plans to procure around 2,000 metric tons of paddy at Tk 36 per kilogram this season.
He noted that weather disruptions have affected paddy quality and said procurement instructions had not yet been issued.
"About 80 rice mills exist in the upazila, but most are currently closed. We have not received any allocation order for rice procurement yet," he said.
He added that once weather conditions improve and mills resume operations, farmers may receive fairer prices.
