62pc of paddy harvested in Bangladesh's Haor areas

Farmers have harvested almost 62 percent of the Boro paddy sowed in Haors or backswamps amid the coronavirus crisis in Bangladesh, according to the government.

“Already 62 percent of the Boro crops grown in Haors have been harvested. Another 14 percent are yet to be harvested and 24 percent are yet to reap any yield,” the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement on Tuesday.

Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque will visit the Haor regions in Dakshin Sunamganj and Tahirganj on Thursday to motivate farmers and workers during the crisis, the statement said.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, Boro paddy has been cultivated on 445,399 hectares of wetlands across seven districts of Kishoreganj, Netrokona, Sunamganj, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Sylhet and Brahmanbaria. 

Farmers have cut 65 percent of the paddy in Sylhet, 72 percent in Moulvibazar, 55 percent in Habiganj, 65 percent Sunamganj, 74 percent in Netrokona, 70 percent in Brahmanbaria and 47 percent in Kishoreganj, said the department.

This year’s target for Boro rice production is 20.4 million tonnes, with the yields from the Haor regions making up 20 percent of it.

The government has enforced a countrywide lockdown since Mar 26 in a bid to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The public transport system has also been shut down, resulting in a scarcity of workers to help farmers harvest paddy in the Haors.

Later, the administration arranged for helping hands from different parts of the country to cut the crop.