Farmers in Atrai upazila of Naogaon are facing severe distress due to an outbreak of blast disease affecting their paddy fields. According to the District Agriculture Office, the target for Boro paddy cultivation in the district for the current year (2026) was set at 189,000 hectares (approximately 467,000 acres or nearly 14 million bighas).
Among this, 8,280 hectares of land were cultivated with paddy in Atrai upazila during the current Kharif-2 season, which includes 1,435 hectares dedicated to Chini Atab paddy. However, while the agriculture office's records put the total affected land under blast disease at 535.12 hectares—roughly 4,000 bighas—local farmers claim that the actual amount of damaged land is significantly higher.
According to locals, vast tracts of land across various fields in the upazila have been hit by the disease. The paddy panicles on the affected lands are drying up, destroying the golden dreams of a bountiful harvest for the farmers. This substantial gap between the farmers' claims and the statistics provided by the agricultural department has sparked numerous questions.
Farmer Jahangir Alam Babu from Sahebganj Sardarpara village in Pachupur union cultivated Chini Atab paddy on 13 bighas of land this season. Expressing frustration over the state of his crops, he shared that he invested around BDT 140,000 in cultivation and could have sold paddy worth about BDT 400,000 under normal conditions. However, a sudden outbreak of blast disease has caused massive losses, leaving him deeply worried about how to repay his loans.
Read nextOver 200 Meritorious Students Accorded Reception and Gifted Saplings in ShibganjAnother local farmer, Md. Mozammel Molla, said he cultivated paddy on 18 bighas, out of which two bighas have been infected by blast disease. Although taking timely measures helped minimize the damage to some extent, he still suffered financial losses of roughly BDT 30,000.
Farmer Faruk from Moniyari village in Moniyari union reported that the disease struck just as the paddy in their fields was reaching maturity, ruining about one bigha of his crop. Furthermore, symptoms of blast disease have appeared across most fields in the Naoduli Dighirpar area. Despite spraying various pesticides, farmers have been unable to bring the disease under control, raising fears of significant losses as everything stands ruined within a single week.
Farmers have complained that although symptoms of blast disease are visible on the leaves and grains of paddy plants in various areas, the true extent of the affected land at the field level is not being accurately assessed. Due to a lack of regular monitoring and appropriate initiatives, the real picture of damage is failing to make its way into the agriculture office's reports. Affected farmers have demanded immediate field-level inspections of the damaged lands, proper diagnosis, and effective expert guidance.
In response, Atrai Upazila Agriculture Officer and Agriculturist Mohaiminul Islam stated that sudden weather changes—specifically cold nights and excessive daytime heat—have escalated the spread of blast disease, leading to the outbreak in the upazila. However, he claimed that the overall damage is not exceedingly high, adding that efforts are underway to bring the disease under control within a short period while providing regular advice to the farmers.
— Daily Best News Desk • Fearless in the search for truth
Reported by A. H. Bijoy, Rajshahi Bureau Chief, Daily Best News • Edited by the Daily Best News desk. Send corrections to [email protected].
