Half ripe paddy being harvested
Continuous rain with gusty wind for the last three days has flattened Boro crops on vast tracts of low-lying areas along the Jamuna river basin, creating panic among the farmers.
The affected upazilas are Gaibandha Sadar, Fulchhari and Saghata.
The flattened nearly ripe crops will get damaged if not harvested immediately, said local farmers. In many places, farmers have started harvesting half ripe paddy, as the plants went one to two feet under water.
“Although we planted seedlings early, it will take 10 more days for the crops to ripen, but untimely rainfall has submerged the fields,” said Amjad Hossain of Kalirbazar village in Fulchhari upazila.
“I planted seedlings on two and a half bighas of lands, but rainfall for the last three days submerged the areas. I will have to harvest both green and ripe paddy,” said Rafiqul Mia of Kalirbazar.
“Submerged Boro paddy should be harvested immediately, otherwise it will germinate and perish,” he added.
“This time it will be difficult to recover the production cost as farmers are compelled to harvest the paddy before it ripens,” said Solaiman Ali of Madanerpara in Sadar upazila.
All this is happening due to climate change, which is causing untimely rainfall, flood, drought and pest attack that affect crop fields adversely, said district Department of Agriculture Extension Deputy Director A K M Ruhul Amin.
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