Farmers in Kotalipara are unable to harvest paddy on time due to lack of laborers and rainfall. In many places, ripe paddy is lying in the fields, while in some places, the harvested paddy is likely to get wet and spoil. Farmers are spending their days worried as they are not able to harvest the paddy on time.
Local farmers said that sufficient laborers are not available. The wages of those coming from different districts have also increased. Due to the rain, many workers are starting work and leaving midway. In addition, they are facing problems due to the lack of skilled operators to operate the agricultural machinery for harvesting paddy.
Farmer Hitu Talukder of Tarashi village said that ripe paddy is lying in the field due to lack of laborers. The wages of the few workers who are available are very high, so the costs are also increasing. If this continues, far from making a profit, the costs will not rise.
Farmer Suresh Madhu of Kandi village said, the paddy has ripened, but the machine cannot be lowered due to water in the land. I am very worried. On the other hand, farmers have also faced a new crisis regarding threshing after harvesting the paddy. Due to shortage of diesel, adequate threshing machines cannot be operated. As a result, it is not possible to thresh the harvested paddy on time in many places, which further increases the risk of damage.
According to the Upazila Agriculture Office sources, the target for cultivation of Boro paddy in the current season was 26,794 hectares. Against this, 26,803 hectares of land have been cultivated. Paddy has been harvested on 6,967 hectares of land from April 20 to May 5. Paddy harvesting on about 19,834 hectares of land is still pending. This is about 76 percent of the total cultivated land.
Upazila Agriculture Officer Dolan Chandra Roy said, there is a problem in harvesting paddy through machines due to waterlogging in the land due to rainfall. There are 18 combine harvesters and 156 reaper machines in the upazila, but it is not possible to use them everywhere. We are trying our best to cooperate with the farmers.
He also said that if the weather is favorable, it will be possible to complete the paddy harvesting between May 20 and 25.