35pc paddy has been harvested in haors: Razzaque

Agriculture minister M Abdur Razzaque on Wednesday said Boro paddy harvesting continues in the hoar region while 35 per cent of the paddy has been harvested so far.

“Right now, some 1,000 combine harvesters are being used in harvesting paddy only in Sunamganj. Hopefully, paddy of haors will be reaped within 30 April next. This time, there will be no problem in paddy harvesting,” he said while speaking at a paddy harvesting festival and view-exchange meeting with the farmers at Dekar Hoar under Shantiganj upazila.

Sunamganj district administration and Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) office organised the event.

Razzaque, also the Awami League presidium member, said in the current fiscal 2022-23, Boro paddy has been cultivated in about 5 million hectares of land across the country.

If there is no natural calamity and the paddy can be brought home on time, there will be a record of Boro paddy production this year, he said.

Mentioning that the government has taken various measures to make haor’s paddy risk-free, the agriculture minister said farmers always remain in tension over paddy harvesting in haors because of early flashfloods and upstream water coming from hills.

“The way we have been working, Inshallah the paddy of haors will be risk-free. We are giving harvesters to the farmers, with 70 per cent incentive, in reaping their paddy and we are getting results to this end too,” he said.

Paddy was reaped rapidly for the past few years and as a result, the concern about haor’s paddy has decreased, Razzaque said.

Planning minister MA Mannan, deputy minister for water resources AKM Enamul Hoque Shameem, water resources secretary Nazmul Ahsan, additional secretary of the agriculture ministry Rabindrashree Barua, director general of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) Badal Chandra Biswas, local deputy commissioner and superintendent of police also spoke on the occasion.