Seeing clouds in the sky makes the heart of farmers in the haor region tremble. As one farmer described it, “When the weather is good, it may turn bad at any time. Everyone is living in fear of floods. If we harvest the paddy, it is a risk; if we do not harvest, that is also a risk. Half of the paddy is still standing in the haor. If we could get 10–15 more days, it would be enough.”
This situation was described by farmer Rafiqul Islam (50) from Lakshmipur village beside Pagnar Haor in Sunamganj. He owns 10 bighas of land in the haor, of which only one bigha has been harvested so far. The rest is still standing, but harvesting has become extremely difficult due to waterlogging. Machinery cannot operate properly, and labourers are also hard to find. Rafiqul explained that due to lack of sunshine, harvested paddy cannot be properly threshed and dried. At the same time, the risk of sudden flooding remains, leaving farmers trapped in a difficult situation.
He is not alone. Farmers across the haor region are struggling due to adverse weather conditions and the fear of flash floods. Continuous rainfall, combined with flood warnings, has disrupted harvesting and post-harvest processing. Farmers are working urgently to save whatever crops they can.
Another farmer, Al Amin (31) from Astoma village in Sadar upazila, said that after hearing flood warnings, he harvested all four bighas of his paddy field, even though some of it was not fully ripe. He has not yet threshed the harvested paddy. He explained that if the grain is not dried properly, it will be damaged. According to him, “It is better to get whatever we can rather than losing everything to flooding. That is why I did not wait for full ripening.”
Table of Contents
Rain continues intermittently
Sunamganj experienced intermittent rainfall throughout Sunday, including heavy rain in the morning. Rainfall was also recorded on Saturday night. According to weather forecasts, light to moderate rain is expected on Monday, while heavier rainfall is likely from 28 April onwards. Heavy rainfall is also expected in the upstream Indian region of Cherrapunji, which may trigger hill torrents and increase flood risk in the haor areas. In recent days, rising water from upstream flow has already increased river levels in Sunamganj.
Embankments under pressure
According to the Water Development Board (WDB) in Sunamganj, continued rainfall will intensify in the coming days. Officials warn that the soil of flood protection embankments has already become weak due to earlier rainfall. If upstream water flow increases, many embankments may not be able to withstand the pressure.
The WDB has implemented 710 projects in Sunamganj this year for haor crop protection, with an estimated cost of Tk 14.5 billion, covering around 602 kilometres of embankments for construction and repair.
Large area still under standing crops
Sunamganj has 137 haors where Boro rice is cultivated on a large scale. This year, 223,511 hectares of land have been used for Boro cultivation, with a production target of around 1.4 million metric tonnes.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, until Saturday:
| Indicator | Figure |
|---|---|
| Harvested land | 78,228 hectares |
| Damaged by waterlogging | 5,050 hectares |
| Standing crop remaining | 145,282 hectares |
| Combined harvesters available | 602 units |
More than half of the standing crop is still in the fields, and a significant portion has not yet matured. Due to irregular weather at the beginning of the season, ripening has been delayed this year. Although 602 combined harvesters are available, waterlogged fields are restricting their use, and labour shortages are further slowing down harvesting activities.
Experts’ concern
Agriculture officials have advised farmers to harvest as quickly as possible. Sunamganj Agriculture Extension Department Deputy Director Mohammad Omar Faruq said that standing crops are now under high risk due to unpredictable weather. He added that harvesting, threshing, and drying are all being affected, along with the ongoing threat of flooding.
The region remains highly vulnerable to sudden floods caused by heavy rainfall upstream, especially in Cherrapunji, where rainfall directly influences water flow into haor basins. Officials warn that if rainfall increases from 28 April, there is a strong risk of flash floods affecting standing Boro crops in Sunamganj.