One lakh hectares of rice fields go underwater in haor regions

What should have been a vibrant harvest season in the country’s haor belt across seven districts has instead turned into widespread devastation. Excessive rainfall and hill torrents have submerged and washed away a large portion of this year’s only Boro rice crop. As a result, life in the haor areas and among farming communities has come to a standstill.

The affected districts include Sunamganj, Sylhet, Netrokona, Kishoreganj, Brahmanbaria, Habiganj and Moulvibazar. Alongside the growing distress, there are fears that continued rainfall could worsen the damage further.

According to estimates from the Department of Agricultural Extension, environmental agencies and farmer organisations, at least 100,000 hectares of Boro paddy have been submerged this season, pushing around 150,000 farming families towards severe financial hardship.

Rice fields that should have been busy with harvesting activities now lie under open water. Before the rains began, stacks of harvested paddy had already started germinating and emitting a foul smell due to prolonged waterlogging.

That odour has only intensified. In response to the crisis, the Department of Agricultural Extension had announced the allocation of 11,000 rice drying machines (dryers) across the seven haor districts. However, despite this announcement, no dryers had reached the affected areas as of Sunday, according to local field reports.

Meanwhile, the human toll of the disaster has also been felt. In Kishoreganj’s Austagram upazila, farmer Akhtar Hossain (58) from Alinagar West Para died of a heart attack on Saturday afternoon after witnessing his crops being destroyed. His family said he had been heavily indebted and could not withstand the shock of losing his harvest. The upazila administration later provided Tk25,000 to his family as assistance.

Farmers are also facing an acute shortage of labour for harvesting. Many say they were unable to access combine harvesters at the beginning of the season, and where machinery did arrive, influential groups allegedly prioritised large landowners.

Local farmers raised these allegations during a visit by Kishoreganj-5 MP Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Iqbal to the Nikli haor area on Friday.

Efforts to bring in seasonal labourers from other regions have also not been effectively implemented. Farmers in Nikli, Bajitpur, Austagram, Mithamoin and Itna reported that adequate manpower could have significantly reduced losses.

Mo. Monirul Islam, Deputy Director of the Farm Machinery wing responsible for monitoring harvesting in Kishoreganj haor, said rising water levels have made it impossible to deploy machines in many areas. He also noted that farmers and labourers are afraid to enter fields due to the risk of lightning strikes. He acknowledged widespread damage caused by heavy rainfall, adding that better weather could have helped salvage part of the crop.

In Netrokona, Deputy Director AHM Jahangir Alam said continued rainfall has left submerged paddy fields completely unharvestable. He stressed the need for coordinated action to reduce losses, but admitted: “There is not much that can be done for farmers at this stage.” Both officials confirmed that no dryers had been sent to the haor areas and that they had no prior information about such arrangements.

Farmers further reported that combine harvesters provided by the agriculture department cannot operate in waist-deep water. Labourers are now demanding wages as high as Tk1,500 per day, yet even at inflated rates, workers are extremely scarce.

In Itna’s Mriga village, farmer Amrul Islam said he managed to harvest only 10 acres of his 30-acre farm before the rains, while the remaining 20 acres are now fully submerged. He estimates around 800 maunds of paddy are lost, causing financial losses of at least Tk800,000. He added that labour shortages and the inability to deploy machinery left him helpless.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension in Kishoreganj, 10,050 hectares of Boro paddy had been submerged as of yesterday. Officials said letters had been sent to neighbouring districts requesting labour support, but no coordinated deployment or delivery of dryers has yet taken place.

Agricultural experts warn that if weather conditions deteriorate further, the losses will increase significantly. The family of deceased farmer Akhtar Hossain has received support from both local administration and agricultural authorities.

Questionable reporting on Sunamganj damage figures

Separate concerns have emerged over what farmers and activists describe as inaccurate reporting of crop damage and harvesting progress in Sunamganj.

Between 25 and 30 April, remaining ripe paddy across haor areas in Sunamganj was submerged. During this period, adverse weather conditions brought harvesting to a near standstill, particularly on 27 and 28 April, when heavy rainfall and lightning made field access impossible.

However, official agricultural data shows inconsistencies. On 25 April, harvesting progress was recorded at 36.90 per cent, rising unexpectedly to 45.32 per cent on 26 April, despite worsening weather conditions.

Farmers argue this does not reflect reality. Helena Khatun, a farmer from Shialmar in Dekhar Haor, said: “No one could enter the fields for four to five days. Even when the rain eased, there was nothing left to harvest. Everything was submerged.”

Shah Kamal, vice-president of the Haor and River Protection Movement, said more than half of the crops were destroyed between 27 and 29 April, when farmers were unable to enter fields due to fear and severe weather. He alleged that official reports had inflated harvesting figures while underreporting losses, calling it “mockery with farmers”.

Sunamganj Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension, Omar Farooq, defended the data, saying field officers at union level prepared the reports. He acknowledged that harvested and unharvested crops have been damaged due to flooding and said a comprehensive assessment of losses will be available within a week.