Labor crisis has arisen in Bogura during the busy season of boro paddy harvesting. As a result, farmers are worried about the ripe paddy of the field. Farmers are not getting workers to cut paddy even with high prices.
As the reason for the labor crisis, farmers say that the crisis has arisen due to less labor coming from the greater Rangpur region.
According to the Agriculture Department, 187 thousand 150 hectares of land have been cultivated in Bogura district this season. Due to labor shortage, farmers have been able to harvest only 40% of the paddy in the district.
Zulfikar, a farmer of Ridhail village of Nandigram upazila, said that due to the labor shortage, he is still unable to thresh 4 bighas of paddy after cultivating boro on 15 bighas of land. Referring to the extreme anxiety about the paddy of four bigha land, he said, anytime there is a storm or heavy rain, the paddy will be destroyed.
Looking around the Nandigram area, it has been seen that the wage of those who cut paddy on a day attendance contract is Tk. 800 to Tk. 900 along with one meal. And the bigha contract for paddy harvesting is Tk. 3500 to Tk. 4000 and threshing is Tk. 600 to Tk. 900.
Abdul Baset, a farmer of Gholagari village in Bogura Sadar, said that due to the labor shortage, only one bigha of the 12 bigha land has been harvested. Every morning they have to return empty-handed while fetching workers. Workers are not available for Tk. 800 to Tk. 900. As the reason for the crisis, he said, the arrival of paddy harvesting workers from the greater Rangpur region has decreased. As a result, there is a labor shortage in Bogura every year.
Humayun Kabir, a farmer of Rainagar village in Shibganj upazila, said that the labor shortage is so great that the laborers have to sit at the Mahasthan bazar since dawn. They have to pay car rental in addition to one meal, Tk. 800 wages.
He said, "This time the yield of rice has been good, but now I am worried about cutting the rice and taking it home."
Matlubur Rahman, Deputy Director of Bogura District Agricultural Extension Department, said that there was a labor shortage as everyone started harvesting paddy at the same time. Due to labor shortage, only 40 percent of paddy has been harvested in the district. It will take till the first week of June to complete 100% paddy harvesting. He said that there has been a good yield in Bogura this time. Farmers are getting 20 to 25 maunds of paddy per bigha depending on the type.