Farmers in Sunamganj’s haor region are worried about harvesting Boro paddy on time as nearly 400 harvesting machines have become inoperative ahead of the peak cutting season.
The concern has deepened as construction of crop protection embankments is yet to be fully completed while the harvesting season is approaching rapidly in the flood-prone wetlands.
Farmers fear a major harvesting crisis if the machines are not repaired and made operational quickly.
Agriculture in the haor region has undergone significant changes in recent years with the introduction of modern farm machinery. Under the government’s agricultural mechanisation programme, farmers received combine harvesters and reaper machines at a subsidy covering 70 per cent of the cost.
The machines allowed farmers to harvest large areas of paddy within a short period, reducing dependence on manual labour and enabling quicker harvesting during the Boro season.
However, after several seasons of use, many machines have developed mechanical faults. A shortage of skilled technicians, spare parts and accessible repair services has left many machines out of order, increasing anxiety among farmers as the harvest approaches.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, more than one thousand harvesting machines were supplied to farmers in Sunamganj district under the subsidy programme, including 876 combine harvesters.
Currently, 570 combine harvesters are operational while 306 have become inoperative for various reasons. Of the faulty machines, 130 are repairable and 176 are beyond repair.
The district’s 12 upazilas also have 219 reaper machines, of which 146 are operational, 45 repairable and 28 completely inoperative.
In total, nearly 400 harvesting machines across the district are now out of service, according to the agriculture department.
Farmers living along the haor wetlands say timely harvesting is crucial because the crop remains highly vulnerable to natural disasters.
Sudden storms, Kalbaishakhi winds or early rainfall can damage mature paddy if it cannot be harvested quickly.
Taherpur Upazila farmer Abdul Karim said harvesting time in the haor is very limited and machines help cut paddy quickly.
“But now many machines are lying broken. It is impossible to harvest such large fields quickly with labourers alone. If storms or rain arrive early, farmers may face huge losses,” he said.
Derai Upazila farmer Zainal Abedin said many machines in the area are out of order and repair services are difficult to find.
“Spare parts are often unavailable and technicians are not easy to get. If the government does not take quick steps to repair these machines, farmers will face serious problems during the harvest,” he said.
Meanwhile, work on crop protection embankments in the haor region is in its final stage. These embankments are constructed every year to protect crops from early upstream flash floods from the hills.
As the embankment work nears completion, farmers are preparing for the harvest season. The large number of broken machines has added to their concerns.
The Department of Agricultural Extension set a target to cultivate Boro paddy on 223,505 hectares of land in Sunamganj this season, but actual cultivation has reached 223,511 hectares.
The district has set a production target of about 1.4 million tonnes of paddy this season.
Department of Agricultural Extension Sunamganj Deputy Director Mohammad Omar Faruk said authorities are monitoring the condition of harvesting machines ahead of the season.
“Steps have been taken to repair the machines that can be fixed quickly. Many of the older machines have broken down after years of use,” he said.
