Sylhet farmers race to finish Boro transplantation
OUR CORRESPONDENT | Friday, 23 January 2026
SYLHET, Jan 22: Boro paddy farmers have been busy transplanting saplings in northeastern Sylhet in a race to complete this phase of cultivation within January.
By the third week of the month, 71.51 per cent of the targetted 355,894 hectares were brought under Boro paddy cultivation in Sylhet division this season, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) sources. Among the targeted land, 62,889 hectares are in Sylhet, 33,551 hectares in Moulvibazar, 69,990 hectares in Habiganj and 189,464 hectares are in Sunamganj.
An official at the Office of the Additional Director, DAE, Sylhet Region, said on Tuesday that farmers in non-haor region would finish the transplantation in a week while the phase has already been completed in the haor areas. Most of the haor areas in the division are located in the Sunamganj district, while the rest are in Habiganj, Moulvibazar and Sylhet.
Some 13,791 hectares have been used as seedbed in haor areas against the targetted 12,869 hectares, while in non-haor areas 10,721 hectares have been used out of the target of 10,548 hectares, DAE officials said. In the last few days of the month, sapling collection from the seedbeds might continue for transplation. Farmer Farid Mia of Kandigaon village under Golapganj in Sylhet said farmers in his area had completed seedbed preparation last week, while some would finish it in days. Some farmers, including Abdul Hasib of Golapganj Upazila's Baushi, said poor and marginal farmers have been suffering due to rise in the price of seed, labour, etc. DAE officials said farmers have been more interested in cultivating short-duration and early varieties of Boro paddy -- mainly in the haor region -- to lower the risk of early rains and other natural calamities.
The interest of growing early variety of Boro paddy among farmers in most of the haor regions have been increasing by the year as they suffer much due to rainfall and nor'wester at the time of harvest, DAE officials said.
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