42,000 hectares of haor paddy damaged by rain and upstream flash floods

“The paddy in the fields was lost to water, and now the harvested paddy piled in the yards is getting ruined for lack of sunlight.”

These are the words of Mokabbir Ali, a farmer in his fifties from Goachhura village in Sunamganj Sadar upazila. He expressed his frustration after rain and upstream flash floods submerged the haor fields, damaging the crops.

Continuous heavy rainfall and upstream surges have inundated paddy fields, leaving many farmers like Mokabbir Ali deeply worried. Farmers in the haor region especially facing severe hardship over their paddy.

According to local agricultural authorities, more than 42,000 hectares of paddy fields in the haor areas of Sunamganj, Kishoreganj, and Netrokona have been submerged due to rain and flooding, causing crop losses. Even after harvesting, the paddy is being damaged due to the absence of sunlight.

Rain began in Sunamganj around mid-March this year, leading to waterlogging in various haors. By the end of April, excessive rainfall started, compounded by upstream flash floods. This has caused extensive damage to haor crops. Paddy has been damaged in varying degrees across almost all haors, and the remaining crops are still at risk.

Preliminary estimates from the district agriculture department indicate that 18,000 hectares of paddy have been damaged due to excessive rain and flooding. Earlier, another 2,000 hectares were damaged by waterlogging. In monetary terms, the total loss is estimated at around Tk 5 billion.

However, organisations working with haor farmers claim that the actual damage is higher than official estimates. Large portions of low-lying haor areas are still underwater, making it impossible to harvest the paddy. They argue that the standing crops in these submerged areas will ultimately add to the total losses.

Mohammad Raju Ahmed, president of the Sunamganj Haor and River Protection Movement, said, “According to the agriculture department, paddy on 47,000 hectares of land in the haor is still unharvested. All of this land is now underwater. There is no possibility of harvesting paddy in the deeper haor areas anymore. We believe at least 50,000 hectares of paddy have been affected, and the losses will increase further.”

Although there was slight relief as there was no rain in the haor over the past two days, that relief did not last long. Since early Saturday morning, intermittent rain has resumed in Sunamganj. Due to the lack of sunshine, farmers are struggling to thresh and dry the harvested paddy. Paddy stored in yards or at homes is getting spoiled.

According to the agriculture department, boro cultivation this season covered 223,511 hectares across 137 haors in the district. Of this, 165,275 hectares are in haor areas and 58,236 hectares in higher lands. As of Friday, 117,920 hectares in haors and 14,489 hectares elsewhere have been harvested. On average, 59 per cent of the paddy in haors has been harvested.

However, agriculture officials do not fully agree that paddy in low-lying haor areas cannot be harvested at all. They say that if heavy rain stops and water levels do not rise further, some harvesting may still be possible in those areas. Currently, farmers are focusing on harvesting paddy from higher lands.

Deputy Director of the District Agricultural Extension Department, Mohammad Omar Faruk, told Prothom Alo that the extent of damage is likely to increase beyond preliminary estimates. Instructions have been given to assess losses at the field level.

He added that there were four days of severe weather recently, during which farmers could not work in the fields. There was sunshine for two days (Thursday and Friday), but rain has returned. At this point, everything depends on nature—if conditions improve, farmers may still be able to bring the remaining paddy home.

A visit yesterday to different areas of Dekhar Haor showed harvested paddy stored in open fields near villages, on roads, in threshing yards, and in school grounds and homesteads. In some places, the paddy was piled in heaps; in others, it was stored in sacks.

Nurjahan Begum (50) from Islampur village was seen trying to separate chaff from paddy taken out of a heap. She lamented, “This paddy is of little use now. Half of it is already spoiled. What can we do? We are collecting whatever we can just to eat.”

Farmer Chan Mia from Goachhura village showed sprouting grains in his wet paddy. He said, “It’s painful enough to lose the paddy in the fields, but it hurts even more when it gets ruined after harvesting in the yard.”

Farmer Zahirul Islam had piled up 350 maunds of harvested paddy in a yard to dry in the sun a week ago. Continuous rainfall over the past seven days caused the paddy to sprout and rot, emitting a foul smell. With no other option, he dumped it into the haor waters.

Zahirul Islam is from Karimganj in Kishoreganj. Another farmer from Manikpur Haor, Tamiz Uddin, shared a similar story. He had stored 70 sacks of paddy after threshing, but as it could not be dried, it rotted. He too threw the spoiled paddy into the haor.

According to the district agricultural extension department, 9045 hectares of paddy fields in Kishoreganj have been submerged due to continuous rain and upstream floods, affecting more than 30,000 farmers. Continuous rainfall for a week has caused harvested paddy to rot, forcing many farmers to discard sprouted grains into the haor.

Kamal Hossain, a farmer from the Dhaki area of Mithamain, said, “Ripe paddy is drowning before our eyes. So I’ve announced that anyone who wants can come and harvest whatever they see.”

“I took loans with interest and cultivated paddy on 10 kathas of land in Kolabhanga beel. I couldn’t even bring home a handful of paddy. Day and night, rising rainwater submerged the crop before my eyes. Now how will I repay the debt and support my family? I see no way out.”

These are the words of Manjurul Haque, a farmer from Monas village in Barhatta upazila of Netrokona. Although there was brief relief after two days without rain, fresh rainfall yesterday has plunged thousands of haor farmers into renewed uncertainty over harvesting.

Ripe paddy has been submerged across vast haor areas in Khaliajuri, Mohanganj, Madan, Kalmakanda, Barhatta, Atpara, and Kendua. In some places, harvesting had begun, but rising water due to renewed rain has halted the work.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, 186,000 hectares of land in the district were cultivated with paddy this season, including 42,000 hectares in haor areas. Official figures say 13,466 hectares have been submerged so far, though locals claim the real damage is at least double.

Farmer Foyez Ahmed from Bagjan village in Madan upazila said, “There’s no sign of the water receding. Even for fields where just the tips of the paddy are visible, we can’t find workers even by offering Tk 1,500. Even if we harvest at that cost, it won’t be profitable. Whether we harvest or not, it’s a loss. It’s unbearable to watch this damage before our eyes.”