In many northern districts farmers are using their family members for harvesting paddy to save the labour cost. As the production cost has already exceeded the market price in this season. They give up loss of tk 100 to tk 150 for a maund means 40 kg in paddy. They selling them for tk 400 to tk 450 but there is the avarage production cost is tk 550. Under the government's current paddy & rice procurement drive, the price of a kg of Boro paddy has been fixed at tk 14. Accordingly, a farmar is supposed to get around tk 560 for one mound of paddy. But the government's drive seems to work little as the drive is going on at a snail's pace. Middlemans are taking advantage to the situation, they buy the paddy at the low cost. To save tk 600 to tk 700 as havesting cost per bigha, especially small & medium farmers are now cutting, carrying & thrashing paddy with family labour. Even women members of a farmer's family including his wife, daughters & daughters-in-law are going to paddy field for the purpose. Beside many farmars are now hiring woman day labourers for lower pay. Meanwhile, like other monga-prone areas, the day labourers of Nilphamari & Lalmonirhat districts are now going to distant areas to work in the Boro harvesting season for higher pay. Day labourers are often seen waiting at rail stations or bus stands with small bundles on their heads to go to distant districts for Boro harvesting. This paying is vary area to area.
---collected from DAILY STAR
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