Haor farmers trapped in debt cycle after crop failure

Thousands of farmers in the northeastern haor regions of Kishoreganj, Netrokona, Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj, and Brahmanbaria have fallen into a severe debt cycle following massive Boro crop failures caused by early floods, heavy rainfall, and embankment breaches.

Hajera Khatun a farmer from Haorpara village said, “Everyone in our village has lost their paddy in the flood. No one has even a small amount left.

There is no rice for people to eat and no straw for the cattle.

If the floodwater had arrived just two weeks later, we could at least have brought some paddy home.”

Kasmir Reza, president of the Environment and Haor Development Organisation, said the disaster is not entirely natural but also the result of long-term mismanagement.

He said unplanned embankment construction, siltation in drainage channels, and ineffective sluice gates have obstructed the natural flow of water in the haor areas.

Consequently, even short periods of rainfall have caused prolonged waterlogging.

He also pointed to delays in harvesting due to diesel shortages, labor shortages, and limited machinery.

In many places, harvesters could not be used because the fields were already flooded.

Although workers came from different regions last year to assist with harvesting, fewer laborers arrived this year.

“This loss does not end here,” he added. “Farmers now have no capital left. As a result, farming next season will become difficult for many of them.”

Dr. Sadiqur Rahman, Deputy Director of the DAE in Kishoreganj, told The New Nation that the process of preparing a list of affected farmers is underway.

Emergency assistance programmes for the affected families will begin within a few days and continue for the next three months.

In some areas, ripe paddy fields remain submerged, while in others, harvested paddy is being damaged because it cannot be dried properly.

The scale of destruction is increasing day by day, leaving affected families overwhelmed by debt and uncertainty.
Haor agriculture depends heavily on a single Boro harvest each year.

The income from Boro rice supports families throughout the year, covering food expenses, debt repayments, children’s education, and medical treatment. When the crop fails, farmers face prolonged financial insecurity.

Ranjit Das, a farmer from Moharkona village in Nikli, said, “I managed to bring some paddy home, but now it is rotting. The paddy in the field is gone, and even the paddy at home could not be saved.”

He said marginal farmers often fail to obtain bank loans due to complex documentation and collateral requirements. As a result, they become dependent on moneylenders.

After harvest, the loans must be repaid with paddy, often at prices lower than the market rate. This year, however, that system has turned into a trap due to the crop loss.

Mahafuzur Rahman of Dhanpur Bazar in Itna said, ‘Almost everyone takes loans to cultivate rice. Besides organisations like BRAC, ASA, POPI, and Grameen Bank, many also borrow from associations or local moneylenders.

Since the crops have been destroyed, many farmers will be forced to sell their land and cattle to repay their loans.

Then they will take new loans next year to continue farming. In this way, the cycle of debt will continue.’

Local environmental activist Rahman explained that the credit system in haor areas is unique. Most farmers cannot cultivate using their own capital and therefore rely on loans before the season begins.

These loans come either from banks and NGOs or from local moneylenders, known as dadandars.

Ratan Miah, a farmer from Khasapur village in Mithamoin Upazila, said the flood had damaged the entire haor region.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), at least 13,479 hectares of paddy fields have been submerged in Kishoreganj, affecting around 52,500 farmers.

The haor region has experienced repeated agricultural disasters in recent years. In 2017, early floods severely damaged Boro crops in Kishoreganj.

Another crop failure occurred in 2022. Although yields improved in the following two years, farmers did not receive fair prices for their paddy.

As a result, many continued taking loans from moneylenders, banks, and NGOs.

Fazlur Rahman, a Member of Parliament for the Itna-Mithamoin-Austagram constituency, said food assistance would be provided to affected farmers for three months through a special card system in the haor areas.

Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Kishoreganj district president Alam Sarowar Tito said solar irrigation systems and buried-pipe irrigation technology have been introduced to bring uncultivated land under production.

He added that agricultural machinery has also been distributed among farmer groups at a 70 percent subsidy to address labor shortages, reduce production costs, and facilitate timely sowing, planting, and harvesting.