Farmers who come to sell paddy at government warehouses are being forced to dry their crops on-site due to excess moisture content. Unfavorable weather conditions at the beginning of the Bengali month of Boishakh, including heavy rainfall and waterlogging, prevented farmers from drying their harvested paddy properly in open fields.
At the Mallikpur food warehouse area, over a hundred farmers were seen spreading paddy along roadsides inside the warehouse premises to dry it under the sun before selling it to the government. Farmers said the paddy brought from the fields remained slightly wet, and according to government procurement standards, they must reduce the moisture level before the grain can be accepted.
According to the District Food Controller’s Office, the government’s paddy and rice procurement drive began on May 3. As of May 18, the district had procured 2,037 tonnes of paddy, 2,268 tonnes of parboiled rice, and 785 tonnes of non-parboiled (atap) rice.
Meanwhile, Sunamganj District Auto Rice Mill and Husking Mill Owners Association President Ziaul Haque said millers are also facing difficulties because of the poor quality of paddy caused by natural disasters. He said mill owners are being compelled to buy mixed and insufficiently dried paddy from local markets, which is affecting rice output after milling.
“Last year, one maund of paddy produced around 26 kilograms of rice after milling, but this year it is yielding only 20 to 22 kilograms,” he said. According to him, automated milling machines separate blackened, underdeveloped, and foreign grains during sorting, reducing the final rice yield. As a result, mill owners are suffering financial losses and are demanding an increase in government-fixed rice prices.
There are around 360 rice mills in the district.
Farmers who came to sell paddy at the warehouse said continuous rain, waterlogging, and lack of sunlight during early Boishakh prevented them from drying their crops properly. However, they acknowledged that the government procurement process is being conducted transparently and without harassment.
Mallikpur Food Warehouse Officer-in-Charge Shahinur Reza said persistent rainfall made it difficult for farmers to dry paddy adequately in open yards. “Rain at night and weak sunlight during the day are not enough to dry paddy properly. Therefore, farmers are drying their paddy again at the warehouse premises to bring the moisture content down to 14% before procurement,” he said.
He added that due to lower-quality grains and moisture-related issues, mill owners are not getting enough high-quality paddy this season. Although the rice recovery ratio after milling has declined, he believes the government-fixed procurement price should still prevent millers from incurring major losses.
