Monsoon floods: Farmers selling paddy at throwaway prices

Floods in the eastern region have posted further deterioration, putting farmers in perils as they are struggling hard to stock the paddy they harvested two weeks back.

At least 0.75-million people got marooned in entire Sylhet and parts of Sunamganj and Moulvibazar districts as flash floods hit the region last Wednesday.

Vast low-lying areas of the division have so far been flooded by upstream waters from India, adding to heavy rain on either side of the borders, according to the Water Development Board and the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAE).

As a result of the prevailing circumstances, many farmers are being forced to sell their paddy at much lower rates, thereby counting losses, said insiders.

According to Sylhet DAE deputy director Khoyer Uddin Molla, farmers here have harvested a bumper 0.342-million tonnes of rice this year during the April-May period.

The environments were paddy-friendly this year in the haor region, he told the FE.

DAE deputy director Sunamganj Bimal Chandra Some said the district got a record 0.93-million tonnes of rice on 0.223-million hectares of land as harvest was done by May 15.

He says the prices of BRERI dhan 52 and 87 are also handsome this year as being sold at Tk 1,200-1,300 per maund (40 kg).

"But we see a changed condition after floods," he adds.

Abdul Malik, a farmer from Alirgaon in Gowainghat upazilas under Sylhet, told the FE that he has been forced to sell 20 maunds of his BRRI dhan 52 at Tk 900 a maund on Monday as it was impossible to preserve grains for now as his home was 4.0 feet under water.

He said most of his fellow farmers are being forced to sell paddy at Tk 200-300 less than that of market price fearing a further rise in water.

He said the food control office has set a good price (Tk 32 a kg) for paddy, but they purchase only dry grain.

"And it would also be a risky attempt now to transport paddy to nearest market or upazila headquarters."

Golam Rasul from Dighirpar union at Kanaighat in Sylhet said water entered his home so quickly in the early hours of Thursday that he could hardly save his preserved rice and paddy or other belongings which were got wet.

Rasul was forced to sell his 35 maunds of damp paddy at Tk 450 a maund to a local trader.

Regional Food Controller (Sylhet) under the Directorate General of Food (DGoF) SM Saiful Islam told the FE that they had a target to buy 61,000 tonnes of paddy and 63,000 tonnes of rice from 25 upazilas of the division.

The beginning was good, he said "as we could purchase 10,000 tonnes of paddy from listed farmers".

But flash floods have hindered the procurement drive severely in the region, he said.

According to Mr Islam, purchase has almost halted in several upazilas for waterlogging.

The farmers would also face hurdles to supply paddy to government warehouses if they count dry their grain as we purchase paddy with below 14 per cent of moisture.

However, the state-run Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre in its Tuesday evening forecast, said the Brahmaputra and Jamuna rivers were on a rising trend, which might continue for the next two days.

It said water level of the major rivers in the North-eastern region of the country are in slow falling trend but medium to heavy rainfall expected over the northern, north-eastern and adjoining upstream parts of the country in the next three days.

As a result, the water level of the main rivers in the north-eastern region of the country might further increase at some points in a day.

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