Government assistance promised after recent flash floods and heavy rainfall in the haor region, which destroyed a vast amount of Boro crops, has yet to reach farmers, leaving many struggling to survive after losing their harvests.
Farmers say they have only heard announcements and still do not know when the support will arrive.
Officials also appeared uncertain about the timeline.
“It is not possible to say right now when the assistance will be distributed. We have not yet received any instruction regarding the matter,” said Itna Upazila Project Implementation Officer Javed Pathan, speaking to TIMES of Bangladesh.
The government announced food and cash support after crops on at least 47,000 hectares of land went under water in the haor areas of Sunamganj, Kishoreganj and Netrokona at the end of April.
Farmers have also expressed dissatisfaction over the amount of the support.
Under the plan, each listed family is supposed to receive 20 kilograms of rice every month for the next three months through ration cards.
The government also announced three categories of financial assistance depending on the scale of damage. Farmers who lost all crops are set to receive Tk7,500, those with partial losses Tk5,000, and those with lower levels of damage Tk2,500.
The uncertainty has added to frustration among farmers already facing mounting debts after borrowing heavily to cultivate their fields.
Many are now taking fresh loans just to run their households, while previous lenders are pressing for repayments.
In Kalimpur haor under Khairpur-Abdullahpur union of Austagram upazila in Kishoreganj, farmer Ratan Mia cultivated Boro paddy on 10 acres of land with borrowed money. He said the entire crop was destroyed by floodwater.
“Once a crop is lost, it takes at least 10 years to recover,” he said.
“The most painful thing is that we will now have to buy food for the whole year.”
Asked whether he had received any government assistance, he said nobody had contacted him so far.
“We have been hearing for days that support will be given. But nobody has contacted us yet. We do not even know when we will receive it,” he added.
Another farmer from the same village, Iqbal Hossain, said the uncertainty was increasing anxiety among affected families.
“We are only hearing that the government will provide support, but we do not understand when it will come,” he said.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, the financial loss in Kishoreganj alone is estimated at nearly Tk259 crore, while the number of affected farmers has crossed 50,000.
Local farmers, however, say the actual damage is likely to be far higher.
Farmer Mohidul Islam from Chiloni village in Itna upazila said he was deeply disappointed with the government’s assistance plan.
He leased 5.5 acres of land in Mrigar haor from another farmer for Tk1 lakh and spent nearly Tk1.5 lakh more on cultivation. He had expected to harvest between 450 and 500 maunds of paddy.
But he could not save a single grain after floodwater submerged the fields.
“We are hearing that the government will provide Tk7,000 every month for three months. But there is no way this support can make up for the losses caused by the flooding,” he told TIMES.
Farmer Monir Hossain from Shantipur village in Mithamoin upazila said he had heard authorities were preparing lists of affected farmers, but nobody had contacted him so far.
“I have not received any assurance either,” he said.
He fears that only people with connections to influential figures “at the higher level” will eventually receive the assistance.
Responding to the frustration among farmers, Itna Upazila Agriculture Officer Bijoy Kumar Hawlader said officials were now compiling lists of affected farmers.
“We are collecting information from the field and preparing a list of affected farmers. At the same time, separate lists are also being prepared by union parishads,” he said.
“The two lists will later be coordinated and submitted to the upazila project implementation officer,” he added.
“However, the upazila project implementation officers will be able to say when the assistance will be distributed,” he added.
Mithamoin Upazila Agriculture Officer Obaidul Islam Khan and Austagram Upazila Agriculture Officer Abhijit Sarkar also could not say when the assistance would be distributed. Austagram Upazila Project Implementation Officer Majnu Mia was likewise unable to provide any timeline.
Later, Kishoreganj District Relief and Rehabilitation Officer Md Badruddoza said assistance distribution among affected farmers would begin within this month.
However, he also could not specify when during the month the support would start reaching farmers.
Repeated calls to the official mobile phone number of Kishoreganj Deputy Commissioner Sohana Nasrin for comments went unanswered.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, crops on 32,015 hectares of land in Sunamganj were submerged, causing losses estimated at around Tk700 crore.
Taherpur upazila agricultural entrepreneur Faisal Abedin told TIMES that the three-month support package would be far from enough to compensate farmers for their losses.
“It is impossible to make up such huge losses with incentives for only three months,” he said.
Shalla upazila agricultural entrepreneur Sandipan Talukdar Sujon said crop losses had become a recurring problem in the haor region.
“Every year crops are damaged, but no permanent solution is taken,” he said.
Sunamganj Department of Agricultural Extension Additional Deputy Director (Horticulture) Dwipak Kumar Pal said around 24,000 farmers were initially estimated to have been affected.
However, Deputy Commissioner Samar Kumar Pal said the number of affected farming families was more than 50,000.
