Paddy harvesting festival is going on in the fields of Jibannagar upazila of Chuadanga district. On the one hand, paddy is being cut with modern machines and on the other hand, the work of cutting and tidying paddy is going on by hand with the help of laborers.
Farmers said that 70 percent of the paddy has already been harvested and taken home. The remaining paddy will be cut and sorted within next 10 days. Farmers claim there has been a bumper yield of paddy this year.
According to Chuadanga office of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), in the current season the target was to produce Boro paddy on 32,725 hectares of land. However, it has been planted on 35,746 hectares of land in four upazilas of the district which is beyond that target. Boro paddy has been planted on 6,130 hectares in Chuadanga Sadar Upazila, on 10,172 hectares in Damurhuda Upazila, on 6,980 hectares in Jibannagar Upazila and 12,446 hectares in Alamdanga Upazila exceeding the target level, by more than 3,020 hectares.
Due to proper care of farmers, irrigation, fertilizer and no natural disasters in the current season, this year's paddy yield has been excellent. Farmers in this upazila are now busy in cutting, threshing and harvesting the paddy. Workers' wages have increased slightly during the current harvesting season. Workers are taking Tk 500 instead of Tk 250 now. Paddy is being cut and threshed amid the extreme heat. Farmers are bringing paddy home by different means of transportation and threshing the paddy. Farmers are now seen spending their time harvesting paddy in all the fields of the upazila.
There was no shortage of irrigation facilities in Boro farming this year. There was uninterrupted power throughout the season. In the current season, the farmers of the upazila are giving importance to paddy as well as on the straws for cow feed.
Saidur Rahman Tokon, a farmer from Moktarpur village in Jibannagar upazila said, "I have planted Boro on 1 Bigha of land in the current boro season. So far I have spent Tk 14 thousand. After a week I will be able to cut the paddy and take it home.”
Tahajjat Hossain, a farmer from Raipur village, said, “I had planted Boro paddy on 7 Bighas of land this season. I have already started cutting and threshing paddy. I have spent Tk 13 to 15 thousand per Bigha. The cost has gone up a bit this season due to lack of rainfall. However, the paddy in the field has been very good.”
Jibannagar Upazila Agriculture Officer Sharmin Akhter said the yield of Boro paddy in the upazila has exceeded the target in the current boro season. Farmers have started harvesting boro paddy. If the weather is good, the harvesting and threshing will end in the next 10 days. She added that modern paddy harvesting equipment (combine harvester and reaper) is also being used in some places of the upazila this season. As a result, the cost to the Boro farmers will be less including filling the labor crisis deficit.
