Farmers worried as aman price falls below production cost

Aman farmers coming to sell their produce at Bhelabari Haat in Aditmari upazila under Lalmonirhat district are visibly frustrated as there are only a few customers. Bumper yield of the crop this season fails to make the growers happy as its low price is far from being adequate to recover even the production cost.Photo: STAR

Price of aman paddy has slided below production cost in the district much to the disappointment and worry of the farmers.
Farmers are now selling a maund of paddy (40 kg) at Tk 500 to 520 as against Tk 680 to 700 only a month ago in the local markets.
Hasmat Ali, a farmer of Bhelabari village at Aditmari upazila, who came to local weekly market with five maunds of paddy told this correspondent that he was compelled to sell those at low price as he needed money to cultivate boro this season.
"I have sold the paddy for Tk 2525 at the rate of Tk 505 a maund. I am too upset as the price is below my production cost", Hasmat said.
Like Hasmat Ali, many other farmers -- Zohir Ali, Budha Ram Barmon, Motiar Rahman, Nazmul Islam and Manoranjon Nath -- who came to Bhelabari market from different villages for selling paddy also expressed their frustration.
They were forced to sell their produces at poor rate as they had no alternative to managing money for cultivating boro paddy.
They said they are now losing interest in growing paddy in the next season.
Shamsher Ali, a farmer from Durakuti village in sadar upazila, said "I came to Bhelabari Haat for selling 10 maunds of paddy with a hope of getting Tk 6900 to 7000. But I had to sell those at Tk 5050, as market price of paddy fell sharply in the local market".
Visiting similar other weekly markets, this correspondent found the farmers waiting for hours with their paddy for purchasers. But only a few buyers were seen bargaining for paddy at low price.
Paddy buyer Sohrab Ali at Khochabari village in the Sadar uupazila said, "I purchased each maund of paddy at Tk 500 to 520. I brought it for Tk 680 to 700 just a month ago.”
As the big merchants are not showing interest, I cannot take the risk of buying paddy at high price from the growers, he added.
Fazlul Haque, a merchant at Uttara Road in the town told this correspondent that there is huge stock of paddy in his godowns and also rice price fell recently in the markets.
As the traders from the capital and other parts of the country are not contacting us for paddy, the merchants in Lalmonirhat feel discouraged to purchase it from the retailers and growers," he added.
Farmers told this correspondent that they spent Tk 9,000 to 10,000 for growing paddy in each bigha (27 decimal land) and got 15 to 18 maunds of paddy. So, on an average they spent Tk 610 for each maund of paddy, they added.
Lalmonirhat agriculture extension department (DAE) officials said, the farmers of Sadar, Aditmari, Kaligonj, Hatibandha and Patgram upazilas got bumper output this season cultivating aman on 95,650 hectares against a target of 82,560 hectares.
Sadar upaizla agriculture officer Mohammad Nuruzzaman said, due to favourable weather condition farmers got bumper production but are now worried at low price of paddy.
If the farmers are deprived of reasonable price of their produce, they will lose inertest in growing paddy on their lands in the coming seasons, he said.
It is essential to create market facilities for agriculture items, Nuruzzaman stressed.