Habib Sarwar Azad, Sylhet

Crops worth more than 10,000 crore taka are still in the haors and fields of the four districts of Sylhet Division. 

 

According to unofficial information, the crop is worth more than 50,000 crore taka. However, the fear of the harvest turning into sadness is driving those concerned. About 7 lakh farmer families in this region are extremely worried.

According to the information provided by the top officials of the four districts of Sylhet division, the target for Boro paddy cultivation this year in Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj and Moulvibazar districts was 4 lakh 89 thousand 380 hectares. Which has been exceeded the target and cultivated on about 4 lakh 92 thousand hectares of land due to favorable weather. According to the projection of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), the target of paddy production from this huge plantation has been set at about 31 lakh 30 thousand metric tons. Which is about 20 lakh 47 thousand metric tons of rice.

With the average price of paddy at 32 taka per kg in the current market as per the government and open price, the total financial value of this boro crop is about 10 thousand crore taka. Out of this, about 9 lakh metric tons of rice or more than 4 thousand crore taka is expected to be harvested from Sunamganj district alone. But the weather forecast-dangerous signal has made the concerned concerned worried.

Along with the weather of the country, heavy rains and floods in the hilly areas of neighboring India are making the bordering haor areas even more worried. The most concern is about Sunamganj, the land of haors.

Mohammad Omar Faruk, Deputy Director of the Sunamganj Department of Agriculture, told Jugantar that boro crop has been harvested on about 2 lakh 23 thousand 505 hectares. This year's crop is also much better than other years. However, there is concern about the weather situation. Farmers are being given round-the-clock instructions in this regard. Warnings are being issued in phases. Micing is also being done. He said on Wednesday evening that work is underway to harvest 17 percent of the boro crops in the haors and 1 percent of the plains. He expressed hope that if the hilly slopes do not subside and there is no heavy rain, the entire crop can be harvested.

Habiganj Agriculture Department Deputy Director Md. Anwarul Haque told Jugantor last night that the boro crop has been harvested on about 123,000 hectares. Of this, work is underway to harvest 30 percent of the haors and 5 percent of the plains. He expressed hope that the crops will not be damaged if there is no heavy rain.

Sylhet Agriculture Department Deputy Director Md. Shamsuzzaman told Jugantor yesterday evening that work is underway to harvest 29 percent of the haors and 8 percent of the plains. However, the only fear is heavy rain and slopes. He said that there is no problem with the fuel required for agriculture so far. Farmers are getting fuel oil as per their demand by going to the pump with the certificate.

The concerned departments said that 80-85 percent of paddy is being harvested in the low-lying areas of the haor and about 30 percent in the high-lying areas. At the same time, there is heavy rain in the hilly areas of Meghalaya and Assam, India. Local rain and hilly landslides have given rise to early floods in Sylhet.

Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department said on Wednesday that Cherrapunji and adjacent hilly areas across the border may receive 250 to 300 millimeters of rainfall in the next 48 to 72 hours. This may cause the water level of the Surma, Kushiyara, Dhanu and Khowai rivers to rise rapidly, creating extreme pressure on the crop protection dams of the haor. There is a risk of water level increase in Tangua and Shanir haors in Sunamganj and Hakaluki haors in Moulvibazar and Sylhet. About 7 lakh farmer families in the region are deeply worried about the semi-ripe paddy. About 4 lakh agricultural workers are directly associated with Boro. A large part of them have come to Sylhet from North Bengal this season.

Muradpur Haor farmer Shahab Uddin was busy harvesting paddy all day yesterday. When he went to the land, he told Jugantar that they have cultivated this crop with the money from the loan shark and installments from NGOs. If the crop cannot be saved at the last minute, they will have no choice but to simply sit on the road.

In the villages across the Haor, men and women are now busy with the work of threshing and drying paddy day and night, but everyone is panicking due to the dense clouds and frequent thunderstorms. Although the Agriculture Department has been miking for fast paddy harvesting, the work is progressing slowly due to the shortage of harvester machines and adverse weather conditions. The disruption of paddy threshing work due to power outages and the shortage of fuel oil for generators are further increasing the expenses of farmers.

Although local people's representatives and the Water Development Board (Pawbo) are trying their best to maintain the crop protection dams, experts fear that it may be difficult to cope with the huge amount of water from the mountain stream.

This 10,000 crore taka resource of Sylhet is very important not only for the four districts but also for national food security. As a result, if this huge operation is disrupted, instability may arise in the rice market. Traders say that if even 20 percent of the crop is damaged, the rural economy will suffer a loss of about 2,000 crore taka.

Everyone fears that if the mountain stream from the border breaks through the Surma-Kushiyara and enters the haor, this golden dream will turn into sand in an instant. Concerned parties have demanded urgent incentives or special protection from the government for the affected farmers, but for now, all eyes are on the skies of Meghalaya.