‘When Farmers Finish Selling, Government Starts Buying'

The idyllic rural life once portrayed by poet Jasimuddin, the farmer’s wife adorns herself with ornaments, fresh rice straw decorates the field; despite endless work, smiles bloom on every face, now appears faded. Farmers in Rajarhat are increasingly frustrated with current paddy prices, which have dropped by 200-300 taka per maund compared to last year.

Farmers say production costs exceed Tk 1,000 per maund, while the market price stands at only Tk 800 to Tk 850. With government procurement yet to begin, they are forced to sell at lower prices. Such scenes were observed across different local markets in the upazila.

Ziaur Rahman (50), a farmer from Chetana village in Ghorialdanga Union, said he cultivated BRRI-74 rice on leased land. His total production cost including seed, land preparation, transplanting, labor, irrigation, fertilizer, pesticides, harvesting, threshing, and drying amounted to around Tk 13,500. He harvested 20 maunds, of which he must hand over 10 maunds to the landowner. The remaining 10 maunds are worth only about Tk 8,000 at current market rates, leaving him with a loss of nearly Tk 5,000.

Mustafizar Rahman (62) of Ronjiteshwar village in Nazimkhan Union said, “All earnings are gone just paying for tractor, water, and labor costs.”

Gopal Sarkar (56) of Dina village in Rajarhat Union said, “When we finish selling our paddy, that is when the government comes to buy. We suffer losses, and the traders make profits.”

Nazma Begum (50), a housewife from Paikpara village in Shinai Union, echoed the same concern. Speaking to Agamir Somoy, she said, “Hearing about low paddy prices makes us lose all motivation. It feels better to buy rice from the market than to cultivate it.”

Rajarhat Upazila Agriculture Officer Saifun Nahar Sathi said that during the current Boro season, the target was set at 12,250 hectares of paddy cultivation in the upazila, and the target has been fully achieved. She added that the yield has also been good.

Meanwhile, Upazila Food Controller Masuda Khatun said, “In the current season, the government will procure 1,250 metric tons of paddy from 417 farmers at Tk 36 per kg, and 1,502 metric tons of parboiled rice from 42 millers at Tk 49 per kg in Rajarhat upazila.”

However, experts say that unless paddy is directly procured from small and medium farmers, genuine growers will continue to be deprived of fair prices.