‘Can’t afford another loss’: Pirojpur farmers plan to cut Boro acreage

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Low returns and rising costs may leave large areas of farmland uncultivated in the district’s major rice-growing areas ...

"Even after selling the paddy, I could not recover my production costs last year because of the low market price," said Abinas Mondal, a farmer in Dakkhin Jhanjhania village of Pirojpur's Nazirpur upazila.

Having suffered losses last year, Abinas says he cannot afford to take the same risk again as the Boro season approaches.

He spent around Tk 36,000, including harvesting costs, to cultivate one bigha of land last year and harvested around 40 maunds of paddy. But the low selling price meant he failed to recover his investment.

Abinas is not alone. Across the vast wetlands of Pirojpur, farmers are reconsidering how much land they will bring under Boro cultivation this season, as low paddy prices and rising production costs make farming increasingly unprofitable.

Pradip Mondal of the same village has decided to reduce his Boro acreage from eight bighas last year to five this season. Each locally measured bigha is equivalent to 52 decimals.

"Last year, I could not get more than Tk 800 for a maund (40kg) of paddy, which caused losses. Rising fuel and pesticide prices will increase production costs further this year," he said, adding that he was also worried about getting fertiliser on time.

Khokan Halder, another farmer from the village, said many farmers were still unable to sell their previous harvest at expected prices, as wholesale buyers showed little interest.

Farmers said they could previously sell a maund of paddy for more than Tk 1,100. They now need Tk 1,200 to Tk 1,300 per maund to make a profit. But last year, they had to sell at a maximum of Tk 850.

They also questioned why buyers were reluctant to purchase paddy while rice prices remained high in the market.

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