In Nabinagar of Brahmanbaria, farmers are struggling to harvest ripe Boro paddy due to a severe shortage of laborers during peak season. Despite fields being filled with golden paddy, they cannot bring the crop home as labor wages have doubled. Even the price of two maunds of paddy is not enough to hire one worker, leaving many farmers in distress as ripe paddy begins to spoil in the fields.

Local farmers report that laborers now demand between Tk 1,600 and Tk 1,800 per day, while a maund of raw paddy sells for only Tk 750 to Tk 900. The government’s fixed price for a maund of dry paddy is Tk 1,440. Rising costs of plowing, irrigation, fertilizer, pesticides, and labor have worsened the situation, while recent heavy rains have caused additional crop damage.

According to the Upazila Agriculture Office, Boro paddy was cultivated on 18,115 hectares this season, with 151 hectares affected by storms. Officials hope that government procurement at fixed prices will help farmers recover some losses.