Farmers Fail to Get Fair Prices for Paddy as Prices Plummet, Yet Rice Prices Continue to Rise!

❐ Local correspondent

Despite the bumper harvest of Boro rice in the haors of Sunamganj, farmers are not getting a fair price. On the other hand, despite the decrease in the price of rice, the price of rice in the market has not decreased; rather, it has increased. As a result, not only are rice farmers facing losses, but consumers are also facing problems when they buy rice at higher prices. There is no initiative to monitor the market and control the syndicate.

Farmers and haor movement leaders allege that such discrepancies have emerged in the paddy and rice markets in the food surplus district of Sunamganj due to the presence of an unscrupulous group or syndicate active in the purchase and sale of paddy.

However, traders claim that due to the early floods and rains, the harvested and stored paddy has turned black and lost its quality. Due to this, they are having to buy this paddy at a low price. However, the affected farmers know that this allegation is not entirely correct.

According to the Sunamganj Department of Agricultural Extension, there are about four lakh farming families in the district who are involved in rice cultivation in the haor. In the current Boro season, Boro has been cultivated on 2 lakh 23 thousand 511 hectares of land in the district. According to private estimates, about 40 percent of the rice in the haor has been damaged due to early floods and waterlogging. Despite this, the farmers have brought home the remaining crop through extreme hardship. But the government has reduced the amount of that loss. The farmers have been deprived of this.

Meanwhile, the government has provided financial assistance of Tk 3,000 per month and 30 kg of rice to about 70,000 farmers out of the lakhs of farmers affected for three months. According to official estimates, a total of 15,786 hectares of paddy land in the district has been destroyed. However, farmers and haor movement activists claim that the actual damage is several times higher than the official estimate.

Farmers said that the target set by the government for paddy collection from the farmer level is insufficient compared to the total production. Apart from this, there are various questions and complaints about the paddy collection activities. The syndicate formed under the leadership of BNP leaders and activists in each HUDAM has given the paddy to the warehouses this time. The real farmers have been deprived of this. As a result, most of the farmers have not been able to give the paddy to the government warehouses. As a result, a huge amount of paddy is lying at the farmers’ houses.

The government had set a target of collecting 21,349 metric tons of paddy from Sunamganj this season. Of this, about 20,000 metric tons of paddy has been collected, according to relevant sources.

Meanwhile, many farmers are losing their paddy due to the inability to store it properly, he said. They are forced to sell it at a price of 600 to 800 taka per maund. However, the government-set price of paddy is 1,440 taka per maund.

Paddy is cheap, rice prices are high

A visit to the market showed that old and new narrow rice is being sold for Tk 2,600 to Tk 2,800 per maund.

Farmers complain that despite good production, it has not had any positive impact on the price of rice in the haor market. However, there has been a major collapse in the rice market. Farmers are being forced to sell rice at low prices.

Badiuzzaman, a marginal farmer from Kalipur village, was seen on August 27th, carrying sacks of rice in three autos to an auto mill.

He said that he had stored the paddy in the field in the hope of selling it at a higher price. But now the price of paddy is on the decline. Moreover, due to lack of storage, the paddy is about to spoil. He was forced to sell the paddy at a price of 650 taka per maund.

Badiuzzaman said, “Selling paddy at this price does not cover the production cost. It costs 8 to 9 thousand taka for every 30 percent of the land. That land produces 10 to 12 maunds of paddy. Farmers can somehow survive if they get a fair price for paddy.”

Abdus Salam, former chairman of Mollapara Union and a big farmer, said, “I received about 1,000 maunds of paddy. I could not deliver the paddy to the government warehouse. Now I can’t even sell the paddy. The wholesalers are not willing to pay more than 600 to 800 taka. In this situation, hundreds of farmers in my area are facing losses.”

Sunamganj District BNP leader Monazzir Hossain Sujan said, “Sunamganj farmers are dependent on haor paddy. If they do not get a fair price for their paddy, they have to face various crises. To keep the wheels of the economy moving, the interests of farmers should be given priority. If there is any syndicate in the paddy and rice market, it should be broken and the interests of farmers should be given priority.”

Professor Chittaranjan Talukder, vice-president of the Haor Bachao Andolan, said that their deprivation will not be removed until rice is collected from the farmers at the local level. This time, the farmers are being forced to sell rice at a price much lower than the market price. However, despite the good production, it has not had any impact on the rice market. The price of rice has not decreased either.

He said that wholesalers are buying paddy at low prices, alleging that the quality of the paddy has deteriorated due to the darkening. Farmers are directly suffering losses due to this.

Sunamganj District Food Controller Ferdous Jahan Nishat refused to comment on the matter. When contacted on the mobile phone of Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Minhazur Rahman, he did not pick up the call.