Three consecutive days of storms and rain have raised fears of widespread damage to transplanted Aman rice in Ishwardi, Pabna.
The effects of Cyclone Arnab flattened paddy across large areas, while rice panicles in some fields remained submerged. Local farmers said they feared losing much of the expected harvest.
Damage was visible across Muladuli, Dashuria and Sara unions on Sunday and Monday. Rice in many fields was expected to be ready for harvest within 10 to 15 days but was flattened by the unseasonal weather.
The Ishwardi weather office recorded 114 millimeters of rain in the upazila from October 28 to 30. It recorded 56 millimeters on Wednesday, 26 on Thursday and 32 on Friday, office chief Md Helalur Rahman said.
Farmer Murad Ali of Patirajpur village cultivated BRRI-75 and Dhani Gold Aman rice on 20 bighas of land this season. Paddy on about 15 bighas was flattened.
Murad said he had expected 20 to 25 maunds per bigha under normal conditions. With the crop submerged, he now feared a sharp fall in yield. Even after the water receded, a delayed harvest could leave him with no more than four or five maunds per bigha, he said.
He said he bought seeds, fertilizer, pesticides and irrigation on credit and planned to repay the debt after selling the crop. The damage has left him worried about repayment, while harvesting flattened rice will require additional labor.
Farmers Kalu Sardar, Mizan Malitha, Mujahid Mondal, Shafi Mondal, Korban Malitha and Rabiul said hundreds of bighas in the area had been affected. Fields expected to yield 15 to 20 maunds may now struggle to produce five to seven maunds, they said.
Rice whose panicles had only recently emerged suffered the most damage, the farmers said, calling for prompt government assistance.
The upazila agriculture office said transplanted Aman rice was cultivated on 3,660 hectares in Ishwardi this season, with a production target of 13,661 metric tons. Officials have not yet determined the full area damaged.
Upazila Agriculture Officer Md Abdul Momin said prospects had been strong, with BRRI-103 expected to yield 20 to 22 maunds per bigha. Field workers are now assessing the affected land, he said.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report