Farmers started harvesting Aman paddy in Lalmonirhat with much fanfare in favourable weather conditions.

The harvesting is mainly being done from fields on higher elevation now. Harvesting in low-lying areas will commence around mid-November.

The farmers who started harvesting the paddy said they were getting a slightly reduced yield per bigha this year, but the prices they were getting for the grain at local markets have so far been satisfactory.     

The yield of paddy from each bigha of land this year has been 9 to 10 maunds (one maund is equal to 37.3242 kilograms), which is about 1 to 2 maunds less than that in the previous year, they also said.

Many farmers, however, said even though they have been able to sell the paddy at a bit higher prices -- Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,050 per maund, their profit margin would remain low as the production cost this year rose due to an increased use of pesticides.

Excessive rainfall this year resulted in an increase in pest attacks and the farmers had to spend a good amount of money on pesticides, they added. 

Jiten Chandra Barman, a farmer from Doljor village in Aditmari upazila, said an enhanced use of pesticides this year raised the cost of production on each bigha of land to Tk 5,500 to Tk 6,000, whereas the cost was Tk 5,000 last year.   

According to Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Lalmonirhat, Aman has been cultivated on 85,575 hectares of land in five upazilas of the district this year, with a production target for paddy set at 4.5 lakh metric tonnes.

Naderul Islam, a farmer from Mahendranagar area of Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila, said he harvested 21 maunds of paddy from two bighas of land last year. But this year, he got 19 maunds from the same land.

Despite the lower yield, he said he was happy with the prices being offered at the markets.

Farmer Azgar Ali, from Bhadai village in Aditmari upazila, said he was harvesting paddy from his fields on higher ground, but he would need another week to be able to harvest paddy from fields in low-lying areas.

The paddy yield declined slightly due to heavy rainfall and floods this year, he said, adding that from six bighas of land this time, he harvested 57 maunds of paddy, which he sold for between Tk 1,000 and Tk 1,050 per maund.

Shamim Ashraf, deputy director of DAE in Lalmonirhat, however, said paddy harvesting was already done from 40 per cent of the fields in the district, but they did not notice any decline in yield this year.

The yield from low-lying Aman fields might fall slightly, he anticipated.