RAJSHAHI, Aug 23: The harvesting of Aus paddy is going on in full swing in all the nine upazilas in Rajshahi district amid market price lower than the production cost.
Thousands of farmers are now worried over falling prices of the paddy which, they claimed, have dipped below the production cost at the outset of the new season.
In local markets, farmers were seen frustrated over selling their produce for prices between Tk 400 and Tk 450 per maund.
Department of Agricultural Extension officials in Rajshahi said that their target of bringing 45,525 hectares of land under Aus cultivation this year had been reduced to 42,965 hectares of land.
"Moreover, excessive rainfall has damaged Aus crops in different upazilas of the district including on 1,500 hectares of land in Tanore," the officials added.
Farmer Khairul Islam of Parisho Durgapur village under Tanore upazila said he cultivated Aus paddy on two bighas of land this season and he received 32 maunds of paddy. "I did not get profit, even I could not recoup the production cost from the cultivation," he added.
Another Aus grower Ismail Hossain of Godagari upazila said that he had been forced to sell his paddy for Tk 400 a maund as he needed money to repay the loans he took to buy fertilisers and meet other family expenses.
District DAE sources said that the present value of paddy is actually lower than the production cost. If the fair price cannot be ensured, the farmers would be discouraged in Aus cultivation in future.
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Farmers frustrated over low price of Aus paddy
A Correspondent | Published: August 24, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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