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Low price worries growers despite bumper aman production

A Correspondent, Rangpur
Despite achieving bumper productions of aman this year, farmers in Rangpur division are worried because of low price of the paddy in wholesale markets.
Prices of the paddy fell by Tk 50 to Tk 100 per maund to range between Tk 500 and Tk 550 in last one month. The previous price range was Tk 600 to Tk 650 a maund in different markets in the division.
"A few days back, I took some 10 maunds of the paddy for selling at Badarganj Haat, a local wholesale market. But I could not sell it as the buyers offered only Tk 550 a maund,” said Mondol Ali, 60, a farmer of Modhupur village in Badarganj upazila.
"My production cost was more than Tk 700 a maund.”
“I cultivated BR-28 and BR-29 varieties of paddy on five acres of land costing Tk 60,000 this year," he added.
Prodip Mohanta, 45, a grower of Payrabandh union in Mithapukur upazila of the district, said he cultivated swarna on three acres of land with the loan of Tk 10,000 from a local non-government organisation.
"I am now worried of refunding it because of the low price of the paddy”, he said.
Md Shamimul Haque, marketing officer at Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM) in Rangpur, said that the BR-28 and BR29 varieties are now being sold with Tk 1,575 to Tkl625 per quintal (100 kg) while the price of a quintal of swarna paddy range between Tk 1500 to Tk 1550 in the local markets.
Riazul Islam Rintu, an owner of Islam Brothers Rice Mill, also mayor of Lalmonirhat municipality, said the price of the paddy has been reduced due to low demand from rice traders in the capital.
"The volume of consignments of rice from my mill has been decreased in last few weeks."
Local paddy traders, however, said plentiful supply of paddy in the markets and small-scale of procurement of rice by government have led to the downward trend in prices. According to the Department at Agriculture Extension (DAE), farmers have produced some 9.61 percent more paddy than of target in the last season in Rangpur Agriculture Zone (RAZ).
The total volume of harvested of paddy was 44, 42,602 tonnes while the target was fixed to 40, 52,541 in the season, said Mezbahul Islam Khandaker, horticulturist at DAE in the divisional office.
“The rates of production of hybrid verities stood at 3.19 tonnes, high yielding varieties 2.80 tonnes and local varieties 1.64 tonnes per hectare.”
Due to favourable weather and almost no pest attack contributed to the high yield, said ASM Motiur Rahman, deputy director at Nilphamari DAE.
Some 10, 84,074 hectares of land were brought under aman cultivation which was 10,071 hectares more than the fixed target in the season.
Of the cultivated lands, 29,050 hectares in Rangpur, 4,055 in Gaibandha, 12,146 in Thakurgaon, 14,035 in Lalmonirhat, 40,206 in Nilphamari, 45,459 in Dinajpur, 43,385 in Thakurgaon and 14,950 in Panchagarh, were brought under the cultivation.