Md. Masud Khan, Munshiganj (South)

Marginal farmers of Arial Beel have started harvesting ripe paddy in the vast areas of Srinagar upazila in Munshiganj.

 Thousands of agricultural labourers are working in the fields, engaged in activities like harvesting, threshing, and winnowing. Alongside manual labor, modern machinery such as reapers, threshers, and advanced harvesters are being used extensively.

The farmers of villages like Balashur, Kashempur, Gadighat, Shyamsiddhi, Alampur, Laskarpur, Baroikhali, Sridharpur, and Modonkhali have taken part in a festive mood to bring in their golden harvest. According to Srinagar Upazila Agriculture Officer, Ms. Mohsina Jahan Toron, around 10,000 hectares of land in the upazila have been cultivated with paddy, of which 5,000 hectares are in the Arial Beel area with early harvest varieties. The harvesting of ripe paddy has begun in Arial Beel, with a promising yield reported. Under the current season's incentive program, over 700 farmers received free paddy seeds, and 30 demonstration plots were established. The upazila has set a target of producing about 70,000 metric tons of paddy this season.

Local farmers say this year has brought a bumper yield compared to the previous year. At least 5 to 6 maunds (1 maund ≈ 37.3 kg) of paddy are being harvested per "gonda" (7% of an acre). Wet paddy is currently being sold at 1,200 BDT per maund. Most of the land in Arial Beel has been cultivated with BRRI-29 paddy variety. A farmer named Danesh Bepari from Balashur Kashemnagar said he has harvested 6 maunds of paddy per gonda. He is using laborers for the harvest and is paying them one-sixth of the harvested paddy as wages. He spent around 30,000 to 35,000 BDT to cultivate each kani (equivalent to ~1.5 acres) of his own land. For leased land, the cost is around 60,000 to 65,000 BDT per kani.

Some labourers mentioned they would be working in Arial Beel fields throughout the month of Baishakh (mid-April to mid-May). They are carrying harvested paddy on their heads for 1 to 1.5 kilometers to bring it closer to nearby villages, and in some areas near canals, the paddy is being transported by boats.

It is learned that farmers in Arial Beel will complete the harvest within a month. In other areas of the upazila, the paddy is still in the flowering stage and will take about one and a half months more to be ready. This delay is due to the low-lying nature of these lands, which created difficulties during transplanting. Waterlogging caused by the unplanned filling and encroachment of vital canals and wetlands is cited as a major reason.

Farmers in Arial Beel are demanding the re-excavation of important canals like Srinagar-Shyamsiddhi canal, Gadighat-Venni canal, Srinagar-Alampur canal, and Baroikhali-Modonkhali canal, which have lost navigability. Though these canals are directly connected to rivers like Padma, Dhaleshwari, and Ichhamati, they lack water in this season. Re-excavation of these canals is a crucial demand of farmers to boost agricultural production in the region