A labourer in one mound paddy

A bumper harvest of Boro paddy is being expected in Cumilla district, exceeding the season’s target. But the labour crisis has worried the growers.

Crisis of hired farm labourers is hampering Boro harvest in many areas of the district.

As a result, farmers in different upazilas of the district are facing huge difficulty in harvesting their ripe paddy for want of adequate number of labourers.

Meanwhile, finding no other alternatives, many growers and their family members are working for harvesting Boro crops from the field.

Now, one has to pay Tk 800-Tk 850 plus two meals as daily wage to hire a farm labour. One mound paddy is being sold at Tk 820 to Tk 850 in the market, said a farmer.

During visit to different areas of the district, it was seen that labourers are being paid from Tk 3,500 to 4,000 for harvesting paddy per bigha. Farmers are worried about increasing production cost due to lack of good price of rice in the market. However, they are hoping that the price will be higher if the government starts buying rice.