Harvest Worry

Flash flood causes harvest worry,
Import must amid production glory.
High wages in haor land,
Asks for support grand.

United State Department Of Agriculture has recently cautioned that Bangladesh may have to import 10.5 million tons of rice, corn and wheat in spite of a record 2% increase in food production. The report particularly highlights that Bangladesh may face impediment in food import due to ongoing war in Ukraine as fertilizer and wheat import from Ukraine and Russia may be hampered¹.

The news has come at a moment when flash flood is causing damage to winter crop(Boro) grown in haor(back swamp turned into cultivable land in dry season).According to Water Development Board, there are 96 haors in the country and flash flood caused by early norwesters already inundated 10 haors. In Sunamganj,3000 hectares of haor land went under water. Luckily,large haors have remained unaffected. Initial estimate put the damage to winter crops somewhere around TK 500 million².

In Sunamganj,Department of Agricultural Extension fears further flash flood as heavy rain forecast in upstream India between April 15 and 17. This year 222,805 hectares of land came under Boro cultivation in Sunamganj and only 5000 hectares have so far been harvested. District officials have made urgent request to complete harvest before further inundation³.

All this effort is to save Boro crop. Why?Last year ,I penned this piece “Rice Stock Woe”. Sharing parts of it again:

Just a year ago Bangladesh was ranked third largest rice producing country in the world by an institution. There is indeed truth in it. This success is largely driven by Boro, which is our biggest crop.Currently Boro harvest is going on.Once it is done we will see slight improvement in government's storing of rice. In 2012, our total foodgrain production was 36.83 million tons of which Boro accounts 18.76 million tons. In 2019, total foodgrain production was 41.57 million tons of which Boro accounts for 19.62 million tons(Source: BER 2019). Boro's share in total food production is always more than 45%⁴.

So any disruption in Boro cultivation and harvest will compound govt’s food worries. Rising foodgrain prices have already pushed millions of people to awkward position. Coarse rice is being sold between TK48 and TK 50. Moreover, rural labor market registered a rise in wages. Laborer demand Tk 800-1000/day.In Harvest time, they charge TK 200 more. But many rural peasants hardly afford the rising cost of labor. So most of the Boro paddy lay in the field. They await mercy of the local administration and politicians. Earlier administration and politicians extended support to marginalized farmers to harvest Boro crop. This time this support is noticeably absent.

Wrapping up with some lines of my piece “Monsoon Rage”⁵,written back in July 2017:

“In their trying time, as the calamity unfolds with all its severity, they find none of their leaders by their side. They looked up and sought mercy of the supreme. Trust, loyalty, love, respect are not written in black and white clauses of a contract. They are tested and cemented as relationship grows. Any act that drives a wedge between people and politicians is tantamount to breach of trust. Peoples’ lost confidence in politicians augurs ill for the future of fragile democracy.”

Notes And References:

1 “Deshe Utpadon Barleo Amdani Korte Hobey Koti Ton Khadya(Despite Increase In Production, Bangladesh May Have To Import Food)”,Iftekhar Mahmud, Daily Prothom Alo(Page-01),April 09,2022.

2 “Haor E Dui Diner Modhey Arekti Dhole'r Shonka(Another Flash Flood Feared In Haor Within Two Days)”,Daily Prothom Alo(Page-03),April 09,2022.

3 “Haorey Dhan Katar Onorodhey Miking(Miking For Requesting Harvest In Haor)”,Daily Prothom Alo(Page-03),April 14,2022.

4 “Rice Stock Woe”,Rezaul Hoque,https://hoquestake.blogspot.com,April 28,2021. For more read at https://hoquestake.blogspot.com/2021/04/rice-stock-woe.html?m=1

5 “Monsoon Rage”, Rezaul Hoque,https://rezaulhoque.WordPress.com, July 16,2017 For more read at https://rezaulhoque.wordpress.com/2017/07/16/monsoon-rage/