SUKANTA HALDER, DWOHA CHOWDHURY and AMINUL ISLAM

Lower earnings and weak demand for freshly harvested Boro paddy this season have left many farmers frustrated, as abundant supply and ample stock have brought prices down nationwide.

The government’s recent decision to not raise Boro paddy procurement prices from last year has added to Boro growers’ discontent.

To make matters worse, millers say paddy prices have dropped at the beginning of the season due to sufficient stock, so they are not showing much interest in purchasing more.

Boro paddy accounts for nearly 55 percent of Bangladesh’s yearly rice production, and the season typically runs from December to April.

GROUND REALITY

Ali Hossain, a farmer of Kauhani village in Sunamganj’s Madhyanagar Upazila, said that currently, he is selling paddy at Tk 700 to Tk 750 per maund (1 maund equals nearly 40 kg). The price was around Tk 800 last season.

“I borrowed money from local lenders to harvest, and now repaying this money has become difficult,” he added.

The government has announced that it will procure Boro paddy from growers. But to meet the criteria for procurement, farmers have to dry the paddy to a certain moisture level. Many cannot afford to dry their harvest to this level, Hossain said.

Moreover, the cost of transporting the paddy to the storage in Madhyanagar Upazila Sadar is something many cannot manage. “In this situation, farmers’ only option is to sell to local buyers at whatever low prices they offer,” he added.

The situation is much the same at Rupshi village in Mymensingh’s Phulpur upazila, said local farmer Azizul Islam.

Currently, paddy is being sold at around Tk 900 to Tk 1,000 per maund, which was Tk 1,100 to Tk 1,150 at the same time last year.

Traders are refusing to pay more than this amount, Islam said, and the situation suggests that demand is low. Recovering production costs has now become a major challenge, he added.

Low prices have added to the plight of farmers who were already reeling from crop damage due to natural disasters.

Data from the Department of Agricultural Extension shows that storms, rain, and the onrush of water from upstream between March 31 and April 5 affected 1,723 hectares of Boro farmland across six districts, harming 9,390 farmers.

A rise in costs from the government’s diesel price hike has also affected farmers beginning to harvest the highly irrigation-dependent crop, particularly in the northeastern Haor region.

LITTLE RELIEF FROM STATE PROCUREMENT

The Boro acreage stood at 50.50 lakh hectares in the current fiscal year 2025-26, posting a 3.29 percent year-on-year increase, according to provisional data from the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).

Production increased from 2.01 crore tonnes in FY22 to 2.13 crore tonnes in the last season of FY25. The DAE has targeted a production of 2.24 crore tonnes of Boro rice for the current season.