Although the price of newly harvested transplanting Aman (TAman) has increased in the market in last two weeks, the smile in the faces of the farmers yet to regain. At least two-third of the sell proceeds from the TAman is spent for production purposes leaving the farmers in dissatisfaction. It might discourage them in bringing optimum land under the farming in the next seasons, said the farmers.
Two farmers Shahidul Islam Khondaker and Kanai Mia of village Habibpur in Shailkupa of Jhenaidah said they have been facing lot of problems when the prices of seeds, fertilizer, pesticides, irrigation cost and lastly the day labour charges went high in recent months. If a farmer harvest 20 maunds of paddy from one bigha of land, might sell the same for Taka 24 thousand hardly. But he will have to spend Taka 15 thousand to 16 thousand for the mentioned purposes.
They said farming of paddy is no longer profitable to the farmers anymore as they usually do not measure their own labour charges including the family members. According to the office sources of the department of agriculture extension (DAE) in Jhenaidah Khamarbari, the farmers of the district brought 104,750 hectares of land under the TAman farming to produce 343,920 tons of rice. Yield on each hectare was estimated for 3.28 tons of rice in the season. Upazila wise break up for TAman farming land was 25,250 hectares in Jhenaidah Sadar, 18,600 hectares in Kaliganj, 6,100 hectares in Kotchandpur, 18,185 hectares in Moheshpur, 24,927 hectares in Shailkupa and remaining 11,221 hectares of land in Harinakundu.
The sources said the farmers produced a total of 342,485 tons of rice on 104,612 hectares of land in the last season. They had harvested 3.27 tons of rice from each hectare, DAE sources said.Deputy Director of the DAE in Jhenaidah Khamarbari Asgar Ali when contacted said the TAman farmers were in didllema when they had witnessed severe drought-like climate during seedbed preparation and transplantation in the early stage. But their sufferings were removed when there was remarkable rainfall in last two months.
DAE deputy director said the farmers have harvested the TAman from about 5,000 hectares of land which was mainly affected partially by the storm Sitrang. The farmers might harvest the same in full swing within a week or two.
The farmers have been reaping better from the agriculture applying modern technology and equipments as advised by the field level officials all along.