A. F. M. Asad Ullah Asad: Farmers in the haor region of Gowainghat upazila are busy harvesting Boro paddy, their only crop of the year. Despite adverse weather, they are working tirelessly to bring the harvest home. Every year, farmers in this region must face the risk of natural disasters while harvesting their single Boro crop. This year, favorable weather conditions have resulted in a bountiful yield. However, concerns remain over storms and rainfall that could submerge the fields. To protect their crops, farmers have already started harvesting and threshing early-maturing varieties of Boro paddy.
According to the upazila agriculture office, Boro paddy was cultivated on 10,134 hectares of land this year. Of this, 3,885 hectares were in haor areas, and 6,149 hectares were in fields. So far, over 2,000 hectares in the haor region and 700 hectares in fields have been harvested.
To safeguard crops from adverse weather, Upazila Agriculture Officer Raihan Parvez Rony has advised farmers to harvest their paddy as soon as it reaches 80% maturity. However, farmers are urging the deployment of combined harvesters due to a shortage of labor.
During a visit to the area yesterday, vast fields of golden Boro paddy were seen glowing under the bright sunlight of Baishakh. Farmers and laborers were busy harvesting the ripe crops. Along with traditional sickles, modern combined harvesters are being used, making the process of cutting and threshing more efficient.
Farmer Ashik Mia said, “If we get a week’s time, the farmers will be able to bring all the haor paddy home safely.”
