Farmers in Chuadanga district are busy cultivating Boro ignoring severe cold for several days. The frosty wind is blowing with the bone-chilling cold. Most of the day the sun is not visible in the district. Despite unfavourable weather, farmers are not stopping the work of planting rice in the current Boro season.
After visiting various fields of Uthli, Andulbaria, Manoharpur, Hasadah, Baka, Border union of Jibannagar upazila, farmers were seen ignoring cold and tending the land and seedbeds, planting Boro season paddy.
Farmers are going down to the crop fields in the early morning amid fog. Although the intensity of winter is high in the area for a few days, farmers are busy cultivating the land. The scenes of collecting rice seedlings from the seedbed, plowing the land with power tillers and tractors, watering the land with the help of irrigation pumps, shoveling the land with cows and buffaloes and planting Boro seedlings were visible.
Boro farmers said that due to the increase in maize cultivation in the area, Boro paddy is being cultivated on relatively less land. However, some paddy fields are losing rice seedlings due to adverse weather conditions.
Boro farmer Shahabuddin of Utholi village of Jibannagar upazila said, “I will cultivate Khatobabu variety rice on two bighas of land. However, I am afraid of crop damage due to fog and adverse weather conditions”.
Fazlu Miah, a day-laborer of Mrigmari village, said, “We plant paddy on a contract of 10-12 people. He takes wages of Tk 2,200 per bigha to collect seedlings from the seed store and plant paddy.”
Boro farmer Momin said the cost of paddy planting has gone up slightly due to the increase in the prices of diesel, fertilizers and pesticides. But if the yield is good, we can see the face of profit.
Jibannagar Upazila Agriculture Officer Moniruzzaman said that in the current Boro season, the target of Boro paddy farming has been set at 7,000 hectares of land in the upazila. So far, three thousand hectares of land have been planted with Boro.