Farmers hope for good yield from early harvest in Bangladesh’s Haor backswamp

There was no let up even on Eid as they continued cutting, drying, boiling and moving the crops

Farmers in the backswamp Haor region are hoping for a good yield from the crops they are harvesting early, working day and night to take the paddy home before potential storms and flash floods strike.

There was no let up even on Eid-ul-Fitr on Saturday as they continued cutting, drying, boiling and moving the Boro season crops. 

This is the single season of paddy cultivation in the vast region, a key source of grains for the entire country. The farmers of this area cultivate paddy in two other seasons, but the yield is not as significant as Boro. Netrokona and Sunamganj contribute to most of the harvest.

In Sunamganj, the farmers started cutting early varieties several weeks ago. The harvesting of the main Boro season crops started last week.

The farmers and farm labourers cut more than 50 percent of the crops, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension. It said the farmers cultivated Boro paddy on around 223,000 hectares of land in the district. The department expects nearly 900,000 tonnes of rice from the Boro season. 

Thousands of workers have come from other districts while hundreds of combined harvesters are being used.

Many farmers in the seven Haor districts depend on this season to feed their families and pay other expenses throughout the year. Family members who work in other districts have also come to join the harvest.

“We lost some Atash (BRRI dhan 28 variety) crops to blast fungus. Even after that, if we can take home the rest of the crops, we’ll be able to repay our loans and eat the rice throughout the year,” said farmer Maruf Mia of Patabuka village in Tahirpur Upazila.   

“We don’t want savings. We’ll be happy if we can feed our families,” said another farmer, Abul Azad.