Gaibandha farmers face losses as paddy procurement ends early

GAIBANDHA, Aug 21: The government’s calendar says the deadline for paddy procurement is August 31. But the gates of food warehouses in Gaibandha were locked three weeks before the deadline, leaving local Boro farmers in deep trouble.

Unable to sell their paddy to government warehouses, farmers are being forced to sell their produce in the open market at losses of Tk 500-600 per maund. Many families are now struggling with mounting debts despite spending months and money to grow the crop.

The district food office says it stopped procurement on August 9 after exceeding its target. Against a target of 9,563 tonnes, it procured 14,396 tonnes, officials said.

The district has 11 warehouses with a combined storage capacity of 43,000 tonnes, while 39,000 tonnes are currently in stock. Citing a lack of storage space, the authorities halted paddy procurement.

But according to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), the district produced 892,173 tonnes of paddy, with farmers holding around 98,000 tonnes in surplus.

This has raised questions over who should bear the burden of the surplus and why farmers should suffer losses because of a lack of storage space.

The government procurement price is Tk 1,440 per maund. But in the local market, coarse paddy is selling for only Tk 850 and fine paddy for Tk 950 per maund.

As a result, farmers are being forced to sell their paddy to middlemen and millers at around Tk 500-600 below the government-set price.

Mozammel Haque, a farmer from Katihara Village in Sadar Upazila, said, “We are farmers. No one in our family has a job or business. We run our households and repay our debts by selling paddy. There is no fair price in the market, and government warehouses are no longer buying. Where will we go?”

Amzad Ali, a farmer from Gobindaganj Upazila, still has 120 maunds of surplus paddy stored at home.

He said production costs had risen so much that selling paddy at the current market price would not even cover the cost of production, let alone generate a profit.

Sadekul Islam, President of the district unit of Bangladesh Krishak Samity, strongly criticised the food department’s decision.

“Farmers have no alternative source of income. Large quantities of surplus paddy are still stored in their homes. If the food department turns its back on them citing procurement targets, farmers will be left destitute,” he said.

Local farmers have demanded that the authorities either increase storage capacity or adopt an alternative arrangement to continue procuring paddy directly from farmers until August 31.