With ‘Black Rice’, the dreams of two friends have also been lost
Photo Collected
Two friends Nurul Tapadar (32) and Al-Amin (30) planted black rice on a three-bigha plot of land in Hakaluki Hawar. The yield was also good. The market price of this type of rice is almost double than other rice. So they tend to cultivate it. The two dreamed of an additional income by cultivating black rice. But the recent heavy rains and landslides from the upstream have drowned their crops like other farmers, along with their dreams.
Nurul and Al-Amin’s house is in Bachirpur village of West Juri Union of Juri Upazila of Moulvibazar. Nurul was repairing a paddy drying machine (dryer) in the courtyard of the house on Tuesday afternoon. Al-Amin was also helping him. Despite many attempts, the device could not be activated. At one point the two friends were disappointed. The machine was given to another farmer at a subsidized price by the government. It has become useless due to lack of maintenance.
বিজ্ঞাপন
Al-Amin said, “I was cultivating black rice with two friends on three bighas of land on the upper side of the Kaierkona bill of Hawr. All rice is under water. I can’t bring even a handful.’
Nurul said about the reason for cultivating black rice other than conventional rice, in 2024, they got curious and bought two kg of that rice seed from a seed company. In the beginning, plant half a bigha of land and get good yield. Break the paddy and distribute the rice among the relatives. But no one got satisfaction from eating that rice because they were not used to it. The next year in 2025, he bought four kg of seeds and planted them on one bigha of land. About 20 maunds of paddy were obtained that year.
বিজ্ঞাপন
Nurul said, ‘Last year I was in danger with rice. No one in the area wants to buy. Later I got the address of a person from Comilla named Manjurul Alam, who was in the agricultural office. I contacted him and explained the details. He said, he will buy rice at the rate of 2 thousand 200 taka per maund. I lived with great tension (anxiety). Later he bought it. But keep some paddy in the house for seeds.
Nurul said that the production cost of all rice is the same. The market price of other types of rice is 1 thousand to 1 thousand 100 taka per maund. If sold in food warehouses, the official price of paddy per maund is 1 thousand 440 taka (at the rate of 36 taka per kg). There the market price of black rice is almost double. It also has less morbidity. He said that due to good prices, the enthusiasm for black rice cultivation increases. This time his friend Al-Amin also joined him.
Two friends said that Manjurul Alam of Comilla buys black paddy from farmers in different parts of the country and prepares rice. He (Manjurul) packed that rice and sold it in different countries of the world. At the beginning of this season, the selling price of black rice was fixed at 2500 taka. They said, this time they used to get at least 60 maunds of paddy for 3 bighas. He planned to plant this rice in a more extensive manner. But along with black rice, their dreams have also sunk.
Black rice is high in antioxidants. Apart from this, these rices are rich in fiber, protein and iron. Upazila Agriculture Officer said this information. Mahmudul Alam Khan said that black rice has more nutrients than white rice. Apart from keeping the heart healthy, it helps control weight and diabetes. Apart from this, it is effective in ‘de-toxifying’ the body.
Mentioning that not only black rice, but the ripe rice of many farmers in Howr has gone under the water, the agricultural official said, this time many farmers in Howr area like Nurul and Al-Amin have lost their crops. The government has taken initiative to stand by them. The affected farmers will be assisted by the government.
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