Published: 09:27 AM, 24 April 2026
Paddy harvesting being halted by adverse weather in haor
The current Boro paddy harvesting season is a festive season in the northeastern Haor region. But the adverse weather has become a cause for concern for farmers as it has put paddy harvesting in a serious crisis.
Professor Dr. Mohammad Nasir Uddin, Head of the Department of Agricultural Extension of Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), said, "The lifeblood of Bangladesh's economy is agriculture in the Haor region. It is the country's food reserve. It is one of the pillars of the country's food security, agricultural economy and the livelihood of millions of people. Before harvesting the crops in each stage of the Haor this season, Haor farmers face new and different challenges. Facing Excessive rainfall is having a serious impact on crops. The geo-natural environment of the haor is changing. Both excessive rainfall and humidity are increasing at untimely times. Therefore, everyone's cooperation is needed to help harvest rice quickly."
He also said, "About 20 percent of the country's total Boro rice is produced here."
He expressed the fear that if Boro rice is damaged at this time, a food crisis may arise in the country.
According to sources, this year 168,262 hectares in Kishoreganj, 185,548 hectares in Netrokona, 80,500 hectares in Sylhet, 168,262 hectares in Kishoreganj, 123,644 hectares in Habiganj, 111,695 hectares in Brahmanbaria and 62,400 hectares in Moulvibazar districts, and 223,511 hectares in Sunamganj. Agriculture officials said that there are a total of 750 harvester machines in Netrakona district.
Of these, 600 are operational. The rest are unusable. The shortage of machinery has further complicated the situation at this crucial time of paddy harvesting. At least 7,500 combine harvesters are needed to harvest paddy quickly in the seven districts of the Haor region. However, only 2,930 are operational. About 445 harvesters are lying idle due to lack of repair.
While talking to farmers, they said, if initiatives were taken to quickly repair these idle machines, the crisis could have been reduced to a great extent. However, such effective initiatives are not yet visible.
They said that 80 percent of the people of Haor are involved in agricultural work. Of the country's total demand, 60 percent of production comes from Boro, 30 percent from Aman, and 10 percent from Aush.
Kamrul Islam, a farmer from Maghan village of Mohanganj, said that his MM World combine harvester is under repair. There is a problem in procuring spare parts, and the cost has also increased.
He fears whether the machine can be kept operational for the entire season.
According to sources in the Agriculture Department, no new subsidies have been given to agricultural machinery, including combine harvesters, for two years. As a result, new machines have not come to the market. A large part of the old machinery has now become obsolete due to lack of repair.
According to agricultural machinery supplier companies, currently only 15 percent of the total arable land in the country is harvested by harvesters. As a result, although dependence on machinery has increased, the supply has not increased accordingly.
According to DAE's calculations, the number of combine harvesters in the country is 10,726. There are 496,805 threshing and other machinery. However, as it is raining heavily in various districts and upazilas of the haor region every day, water pressure is being created on crop protection dams in some places.
Waterlogging has also been created in some places.
According to the data of the Meteorological Department and the Water Development Board, rainfall has increased in the northeastern region of the country, especially in the upstream areas of various rivers including Sumeshwari, Dhanu, Surma, Kushiara and Baulai. This is increasing the water level in the rivers and it may increase in the next few days. In this situation, a flood situation may arise at any time.
In addition, waterlogging may also occur in the low-lying areas of the haor. To reduce the potential damage, farmers have been requested to cut the paddy in the lands where about 80 percent of the paddy has ripened.
>>Indrojit Sarkar, AA
