Haor boro crop loss lists ‘ready’, but when will government aid arrive?

Farmers in the haor (wetland) region had been hoping for a good boro harvest this season. But continuous rainfall and waterlogging caused by hill runoff at the end of the season washed away those hopes. According to preliminary estimates, boro paddy on nearly 53,000 hectares of land across five districts has been destroyed and around 230,000 farmers have been affected.

Local administration officials say the damage assessment has not yet been finalised and losses could increase further. Under directives from the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, work is underway to finalise lists of affected farmers. The ministry has also issued guidelines on how and by whom the lists should be prepared.

Farmers in Sunamganj and Netrokona have suffered the worst damage from excessive rainfall and waterlogging. So far, around 71 per cent of the total crop loss has occurred in these two districts.

Farmers in Moulvibazar, Habiganj and Brahmanbaria have also been affected. In four of the districts, affected farmers have yet to receive any assistance. Only in Nasirnagar of Brahmanbaria have 250 farmers received 30 kilograms of rice each as initial support.

Farmers in the haor region depend solely on the boro crop. The income from this harvest covers their food, children’s education and all other household expenses for the entire year. Standing beside their submerged paddy fields, many farmers are now trying to calculate their debts and losses. Some are considering selling cattle, while others are thinking of mortgaging their land.

Officials from the local administration and the agriculture department said the government is preparing to provide three months of humanitarian assistance. Severely affected farmers may receive Tk 7,500 per month, moderately affected farmers Tk 5,000, and those less affected Tk 2,500. There is also a proposal to provide each farmer with 20 to 30 kilograms of rice.

However, no final decision has yet been made. Agriculture officials are also considering providing fertiliser, seeds and other agricultural inputs for the next season.

On 29 April, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman told parliament that farmers affected by heavy rainfall in the haor region would be identified and provided with government assistance for the next three months.

When asked about the progress of the programme, Disaster Management and Relief Secretary Md Saidur Rahman Khan told Prothom Alo on Friday evening that information on affected farmers from two districts had been received so far. Data from the remaining districts is expected by today, Saturday. Assistance will be provided to affected farmers before Eid-ul-Azha.

The secretary added that the Prime Minister was closely monitoring whether lists from all haor districts had been submitted. Farmers will receive assistance for the next three months. Each family will receive 15 kilograms of rice per month. In addition, farmers will be issued a card through which they will receive a fixed amount of financial assistance for three months.

This season, boro paddy was cultivated on 223,511 hectares across 137 small and large haors in Sunamganj. The production target was nearly 1.4 million metric tonnes of rice. By last Tuesday, 85 per cent of the paddy had been harvested.

According to preliminary estimates by the agriculture department, crops on 20,550 hectares of land were damaged. Agriculture officials say the damage assessment has not yet been finalised and the losses are likely to rise further.

The district has 378,705 farming families, while the number of registered farmers stands at 365,777. Among them, 223,807 are small and medium-scale farmers, and 49,124 are landless farmers. Paddy fields belonging to around 98,000 farmers have been affected.

Local farmers and various organisations say there are already allegations surrounding the preparation of the beneficiary lists and local political figures have also become involved. They stressed that it needs to be ensured that genuine victims receive assistance.

Obaidul Haque, general secretary of the Haor and River Protection Movement in Sunamganj, said, “We want all affected farmers to receive the assistance announced by the government. In addition, when the next season begins, farmers should be supported with fertiliser, seeds and other agricultural inputs. The government should also consider how to assist farmers burdened with debt.”

Mohammad Omar Faruk, deputy director of the District Agricultural Extension Department, said local agriculture officials were working to determine the final extent of the damage. Beyond the special government assistance already announced, farmers could also be provided with agricultural inputs, including fertiliser and seeds, for the next season.

Rain began in Sunamganj in mid-March this year. Water accumulated in many haors, causing waterlogging and damaging paddy fields. Then, on 26 April, extremely heavy rainfall began, accompanied by hill runoff from upstream areas. As a result, boro paddy fields in all the haors of the district were submerged to varying degrees.

On Tuesday afternoon, 12 May, farmer Abdul Mokabbir, 50, from Rubberbari village on the banks of Dekhar Haor, said they had heard that the local union parishad member was collecting the names and addresses of affected farmers. “But my name was not included,” he said.

Sunamganj Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Md Matiur Rahman Khan said a preliminary list had already been prepared. It was compiled through field-level inquiries and is now being verified. The finalised list will have to be sent to the ministry quickly. Regarding indebted farmers, he said the district has a committee related to agricultural loan disbursement, and the matter could be discussed there if necessary.

Meanwhile, in Netrokona, boro paddy was cultivated on 185,547 hectares of land this season, with a production target of 1,321,732 metric tonnes of rice. Of this, 41,065 hectares in the haor areas were brought under cultivation, with a target of 292,590 metric tonnes of rice.

According to lists prepared by the local administration, the agriculture department and the upazila project implementation office, crops on 16,877.65 hectares of land were damaged and a total of 77,363 farmers have been affected.

District Commissioner Khandaker Mushfiqur Rahman said no allocation had yet arrived for affected farmers as of last Thursday. However, he expressed hope that the final list of affected farmers would be completed by tomorrow, Sunday.

In Moulvibazar district, boro paddy was cultivated on 62,400 hectares of land. Of this, crops on 4,206 hectares have been submerged in water. More than 25,000 farmers have been affected to varying degrees, according to the District Agricultural Extension Department.

Sources from the agriculture department, local administration and farmers said that this year farmers had high hopes for a good harvest. However, sudden heavy rainfall and upstream water flow led to a sharp rise in water levels in the haor areas, submerging large areas of crops.

Due to labour shortages and frequent rainfall, many farmers were unable to harvest mature paddy in time. Some even tried to collect ripe paddy by diving into floodwater, but as the rice had already rotted, those efforts proved largely futile.

Md Jalal Uddin, deputy director of the Moulvibazar Agricultural Extension Department, told Prothom Alo on Wednesday that a list of genuinely affected farmers was being prepared in coordination with the local administration.

“Even then, people who are not actually affected sometimes get included in the list, while genuine farmers are left out. We are strictly ensuring that no real victim is excluded. No allocation for compensation has arrived yet. Assistance will be provided once it is received, according to instructions,” he said.

On Tuesday, Moulvibazar Deputy Commissioner Touhiduzzaman Pavel visited several areas of Kawadighi Haor in Rajnagar upazila. During the visit, he checked on affected farmers and advised them to contact the relevant upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) if their names were not included in the list.

The deputy commissioner told Prothom Alo that no affected farmer would be excluded from assistance. “If anyone is left out, they will be included. Sharecroppers will also receive support. Many farmers cultivate land by taking loans. In Kawadighi Haor alone, there are around 7,000 such farmers. A study is needed to determine how they can be supported,” he said.

Meanwhile, sources from the Habiganj District Agricultural Extension Department said that the target for boro rice production this season was set at 123,848 hectares of land. However, cultivation was carried out on 123,644 hectares. Of this, crops on around 10,000 hectares in the district have been damaged, affecting 23,904 farmers. However, none have yet received government assistance.

Md Anwarul Haque, acting deputy director of the District Agricultural Extension Department, told Prothom Alo that no government decision has yet been announced regarding loan-related issues for farmers who took loans to cultivate boro but could not harvest their crops. He added that the government is planning to prioritise support for sharecroppers.

According to the District Agricultural Extension Department in Brahmanbaria, there are 388,565 farming households in the district. This year, boro paddy was cultivated on 111,770 hectares of land. The production target was set for 110,055 hectares.

However, due to heavy rainfall and hailstorms, crops on 892 hectares in non-haor areas and 307 hectares in the haor areas of Nasirnagar, Bijoynagar, Nabinagar and Bancharampur upazilas were damaged. In total, 5,651 farmers have been affected from it.

Sources from the upazila agriculture office said Nasirnagar upazila was the worst affected in the district. Out of 17,496 hectares under paddy cultivation in the upazila, crops on 285 hectares were damaged, affecting 3,000 farmers.

So far, 250 farmers in the upazila have received 30 kg of rice each as assistance. The family of farmer Ahaad Mia, 55, who died in the field after seeing his crops submerged in Nasirnagar, was given Tk 200,000 in support.

Nasirnagar Upazila Agriculture Officer Md Imran Hossain told Prothom Alo that field-level sub-assistant agriculture officers had prepared lists of 3,000 affected farmers by visiting households. The lists are still being verified.

Md Mostafa Emran Hossain, deputy director of the District Agricultural Extension Department, told Prothom Alo that the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief has initially allocated 60 metric tonnes of rice for the farmers of Brahmanbaria. No decision has yet been taken regarding farmers who took loans to cultivate boro but could not harvest their crops.

Agni Sarkar, a resident of Noagaon village under Goalmanga Union in Nasirnagar, is a full-time farmer. His family of six — including his wife and four daughters — depends on his income.This season, he took a loan of Tk 40,000 at interest from a local moneylender and cultivated boro paddy on six kani of land (one kani equals 30 decimals). But his dreams were washed away by rainwater. Paddy on five kani of land was submerged. Even though he managed to save crops on one kani of land, he is now burdened with the debt.

“I took a loan of Tk 40,000,” Agni Sarkar told Prothom Alo. “Does anyone give money without interest? I will have to pay Tk 200 to Tk 300 per thousand as interest. We have two cows and two calves at home. Now, I will have to sell my cows to repay the loan.”

[Report compiled with information from Akmol Hossain in Moulvibazar, Khalilur Rahman in Sunamganj, Hafijur Rahman in Habiganj, Shahadat Hossain in Brahmanbaria, and Pallab Chakraborty in Netrokona]