Country’s rice consumers have been paying higher prices for rice in the market but farmers do not get fair prices – often they sell paddy or rice at a loss and the margins wind up in the pockets of the wholesalers, retailers and the middlemen, including the rice millers. Currently, the rice market has become volatile despite the peak Boro harvest season. Again farmers are also being deprived of getting a fair price.
In this Boro season, thousands of farmers in the northern and north east region, who lost their paddy due to excessive water-logging amid untimely rain, are now worried about the upcoming Aman season as many of them have lost their capital. So, how will they cultivate Aman paddy after incurring such a huge loss? Thus, the affected farmers need government subsidies for Aman cultivation. According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), around 8,852 hectares of paddy across six districts in the region have been affected by flooding while the damage to other crops has not been assessed yet. However, the farmers say the amount of Boro paddy damaged is actually higher than the amount quoted by the DAE. They argue that the real amount of damage will be eight to ten times higher than the DAE estimate.
It is alleged that the rice millers and unscrupulous traders are allegedly involved with illegal stockpiling of rice, which is making the market unstable. However, the Food Ministry is reportedly considering taking tough measures against these dishonest people. It is further alleged that most of the mill owners are buying paddy from the market at this moment, but they are not going into production. As a result, new rice has not yet come into the market. The old rice is now being sold in the market, which was collected last year. The question is where is the new rice going? Like in the previous, the food ministry warns that if anyone found involved in creating an unstable situation in the rice market he will have to face music. The government needs to adopt effective policies for ensuring fair prices for the growers through procurement and other means. Otherwise, they will be moving away from paddy cultivation in future, which will be a disaster for the country.
