Farmers in the haor region of Sunamganj are growing increasingly anxious as the Boro paddy harvesting season continues in full swing. Despite the government’s fixed procurement price of Tk1,400 per maund, many farmers fear price manipulation by organised syndicates and are urging authorities to dismantle these rackets to ensure fair pricing.
Local farmers and agricultural leaders argue that direct government procurement from remote areas in larger volumes would force middlemen and rice millers to offer fairer prices, ultimately benefiting the producers.
As of Saturday, around 24% of the Boro crop was harvested across both haor and non-haor areas. However, many farmers are already selling their paddy to millers and advance buyers at prices lower than the government rate, driven by rising harvesting expenses. Others are holding out in the hope that prices will improve once the government’s procurement drive begins.
Mohibur Rahman, a farmer from the region, shared that he expects to harvest around 150 maunds of paddy from both leased and owned land. He plans to sell 120-130 maunds and hopes to sell at least one tonne to a government warehouse. Otherwise, he fears he will be forced to turn to private traders.
In the Muktikhola area of Bishwamvarpur Upazila, another farmer revealed that he had accepted an advance of Tk50,000 in exchange for supplying dry paddy at Tk1,000 per maund.
Mukul Roy, a farmer from Rahimapur in Jamalganj, is facing challenges in hiring harvest workers or machinery. He is negotiating with labourers from neighbouring areas who are demanding upfront cash payments and a share of the crop.
Other farmers, such as Samayun Ahmed from Tahirpur, are frustrated with what they perceive as corruption in the procurement process. Ahmed alleges that in previous years, political intermediaries controlled farmer ID cards and submitted rice on behalf of actual producers, leaving smallholders excluded from the system.
Agricultural activist Khairul Bashar Thakur Khan noted that farmers are currently selling wet paddy at only Tk900 per maund in the fields. He believes that if the government buys even one or two tonnes per farmer, many marginal producers will benefit—unlike in previous years when middlemen dominated the procurement process.
Chitta Ranjan Talukder, president of the Haor Agriculture Protection Council, criticised the government’s procurement centres, which are often far from villages and largely run by brokers. He suggested that mobile trucks should be deployed to villages, with the help of union agriculture officers, to directly purchase dry paddy—even if transport costs are borne by farmers. There are also growing concerns about fraudulent practices, with reports of fake farmers and brokers collecting agricultural ID cards from genuine farmers for a few hundred taka to exploit procurement quotas.
Leaders from various political and farmers’ organisations have called on the authorities to ensure fair pricing and protect small-scale producers from exploitation. According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, over 223,000 hectares of land in Sunamganj have been cultivated with Boro paddy this season, with an expected yield of over 1.84 million tonnes. So far, approximately 24% of the crop has been harvested.
Sunamganj District Food Controller, Humayun Kabir, said the government aims to procure 14,645 metric tonnes of paddy starting from tomorrow. Farmers will be allowed to sell between 120 kg and 3 tonnes of paddy, with possible local adjustments to accommodate more smallholders.
Officials are hopeful that the deployment of over 100 agricultural supervisors will help ensure fairer access for marginal farmers and contribute to stabilising prices in the local market.