Boro Harvest: A Race Against Time and Climate

After days of continuous rain, combined with inflows from India’s Meghalaya and Assam regions, have increased the sudden flash floods in Bangladesh’s haor regions like Sunamganj, Sylhet, Netrokona, Habiganj, and Maulivibazar.

It is painful that farmers who help sustain the country’s food supply remain exposed to predictable risks year after year.

According to newspaper reports yesterday, millions of farmers of the haor areas are now engaged in a critical, high-stakes race against time to harvest semi-ripe and ripe Boro paddy as the crops are being increasingly submerged, forcing the farmers to harvest early.

With over 30 percent of the country’s total Boro rice comes from these haor areas, accelerating the harvest is a national priority to secure food supply.

Nowadays, the farmers are facing high costs in harvesting due to labour shortages and fuel requirements for machines, threatening their already thin profit margins.

But they are working frantically, often cutting semi-ripened paddy to save at least part of the crop from flooding.

Mentionable that Bangladesh – the world’s third-largest rice producer – consumes most of its output domestically but often requires imports to cope with shortages caused by floods or droughts.

The reports further said that the flood-control embankments in the haor regions are also at high risk.

On Tuesday morning, an embankment at Ikrachai Haor in Chandalipara village under Banshikunda South union of Madhyanagar upazila collapsed, submerging crops.

The Gujauni embankment in Dekhar Haor has also been washed away by strong currents.

The question is why are our farmers still so vulnerable to predictable seasonal threats despite repeated warnings? Why do weak embankments, delayed repairs, poor preparedness, labour shortages, inadequate drying and storage facilities, and limited financial protection continue to leave farmers vulnerable? Many farmers say they have even been forced to sell wet paddy at low prices, while others have lost everything after farming on loans.

However, it is encouraging that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, responding to a concern raised by an MP from Sunamganj in the House, on Wednesday announced support for farmers affected by heavy rainfall in haor regions in the next three months.

We suggest that as water levels rise, urgent mobilisation of labour and harvesting support is needed to save the remaining crops.

Fair procurement prices for wet paddy must also be ensured to prevent exploitation by middlemen.

In the long term, climate-resilient infrastructure, crop insurance, and early warning systems must be prioritised.

Henceforth, haor farmers must not be left to face such disasters without support.