Rice, Rain and Ruin in Haor Landscape

An apparent agricultural abundance has masked a deeply fragile environmental reality in the wide haor wetlands in Kishoreganj district. A field-based observation made between 1 and 4 May has revealed that the haor looks like an uninterrupted golden expanse of boro rice from a distance. But this visual prosperity does not tell the whole story. Boro cultivation in these wetlands depends critically on precise seasonal timing, which was disrupted by upstream hill torrents and prolonged rainfall this year, just weeks before harvest. Farmers described water arriving “without warning", submerging nearly mature crops, leaving fields of golden rice half-drowned, a powerful image of productivity turning into loss before their eyes.
In relatively elevated areas where partial harvesting remained possible, a second, less visible crisis unfolded. Some farmers managed to cut portions of their boro crop under difficult and time-sensitive conditions. But the absence of adequate drying space, combined with continuous rainfall, turned recovery into yet another form of loss. Traditionally, harvested paddy is sun-dried in courtyards or designated open spaces, but this year those options were either unavailable or ineffective. Roadsides, school grounds, and narrow embankments were repurposed as improvised drying zones, where freshly cut rice lay exposed under persistent cloud cover. High humidity and intermittent rain prevented proper drying, causing grains to ferment, sprout, or rot within hours. Farmers expressed frustration that harvesting no longer ensured food security, as losses continued beyond the field stage. In several locations, bundles of paddy had begun to germinate, indicating irreversible damage. They described it as “losing food twice", first in the field and then after the harvest. Women and children worked tirelessly to salvage what they could, yet their efforts proved insufficient. This is a problem that, while production gets priority, post-harvest resilience remains neglected.
Beyond the visible crop losses, the field visit exposed a deeper layer of socio-economic distress rooted in debt dependency and fragile rural livelihoods. Conversations with farmers such as Umar Ali and Abdullah reflected a shared sense of uncertainty and eroding trust in external support systems. Most operate within sharecropping or seasonal credit arrangements, investing borrowed capital in seeds, fertiliser, and irrigation. In a typical year, harvest ensures loan repayment with modest returns, but this season the entire financial cycle has collapsed. Even partial recovery, many noted, will not be enough to cover outstanding debts, pushing households towards prolonged financial vulnerability.
One of the most visually and symbolically striking observations during the field visit in Itna, Mithamoin and Austagram areas was that roads were turned into an extensive drying ground for harvested rice. Under normal circumstances, using a public road for agricultural drying would be considered a violation of usage norms. However, in the present context, this adaptation reflects a breakdown of available space and institutional flexibility. The road, typically a symbol of connectivity and development, had effectively become a substitute for lost agricultural infrastructure. This phenomenon raises important questions about rural infrastructure planning in climate-vulnerable regions.
A key analytical insight from this field engagement is that the haor crisis cannot be attributed to extreme weather alone. It is the product of climatic unpredictability intersecting with systemic unpreparedness. The region operates within a highly compressed agricultural calendar, where boro rice must be harvested within a narrow window before pre-monsoon flooding. This limited timeframe leaves virtually no margin for disruption. Farmers emphasised that even when warnings are issued, the absence of coordinated harvesting support renders preparedness largely theoretical. This disconnects between policy intent and field-level execution.
A four-day field observation did not only give the observers the imagery of submerged fields or rice drying on roadsides but also a deeper awareness of systemic fragility embedded in everyday agricultural life. The haor is widely recognised as a productive wetland ecosystem, contributing significantly to the national rice supply, fisheries, and rural livelihoods. So, it demands a fundamental rethinking of agricultural planning, water governance, infrastructure design, and post-harvest systems to protect agriculture in this area. Most importantly, farmers must be recognised not merely as beneficiaries of policy but as central knowledge actors in climate adaptation.
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The writer is an Assistant Professor, Institute of Development Studies and Sustainability, United International University (UIU). She can be reached at [email protected]