Unseasonal heavy rainfall and gusty winds in late October and early November, bolstered by Cyclone Mantha, caused crop losses amounting to Tk 211.82 crore across 29 districts, according to data from the Department of Agricultural Extension's (DAE) field wing.

Farmers in the northern 16 districts suffered the worst impact, incurring losses of Tk 189 crore, the DAE said.

Data show that a total of 125,926 farmers were affected across the country, with crops on 32,450 hectares damaged. Of this, 6,235 hectares were completely destroyed.

The damaged crops include transplanted Aman paddy, vegetables, potatoes, onions, chillies, maize, mustard, garlic, banana, papaya, black gram (mashkalai), sweet pumpkin, groundnut, grass pea (khesari), betel leaf (paan), and strawberry.

Rajshahi became the worst-hit region, where four districts – Rajshahi, Naogaon, Chapainawabganj, and Natore – recorded losses worth Tk 131.31 crore. The region saw 1,649 hectares of crops wiped out, including 585 hectares of Aman paddy and 180 hectares of vegetables. An equal area suffered partial damage.

Among other northern zones, the DAE reported losses of Tk 38.76 crore in Bogura, Tk 5.2 crore in Dinajpur, and Tk 13.7 crore in Rangpur.

Farmers reported staggering losses, with many forced to harvest early as their crops were submerged and later attacked by pests.

"The rain came out of the blue, submerging my nearly one-hectare Aman paddy. The crop needed another 10-12 days to ripen. But I had to harvest early and ended up with less than half the usual yield," said Akbar Ali, 45, of Malekabad village in Gaibandha's Gobindaganj upazila.

Rashedunnabi Manik, 38, from Nilphamari's Saidpur upazila, said there was a lot of rain at the end of October and during the first week of November.

"More than two bighas (0.67 hectares) of Aman paddy were inundated. I've lost around Tk 45,000 as the crop later suffered pest attacks," he said.

Hafizur Rahman, 42, of Khetlal upazila in Joypurhat, said, "I planted early potatoes on one and a half bighas (0.5 hectares), but the rain submerged everything. Even after the water receded, the potato plants didn't sprout. I will have to replant."

In Tangail, heavy rainfall affected crops in nine of the district's 12 upazilas, according to Nargis Akhter, sub-assistant agriculture officer at Tangail DAE.

She said various crops across 252 hectares of vegetables, 6 hectares of potatoes, 4 hectares of mustard, 2 hectares of onions, and 3 hectares of maize were reported damaged due to waterlogging caused by excessive rainfall.

In Bhuyapur upazila's Shialkhol village, farmer Malek Talukder said two days of untimely, continuous rain damaged both his paddy and vegetables. "It will be difficult for me to recover without government assistance," he said.

In Munshiganj, according to the district DAE, vegetables grown on 54 hectares of land have been affected across the district this season due to erratic rainfall, while vegetables on 5 hectares have been completely destroyed.

The DAE estimates the total financial loss at around Tk 40 lakh.

Munshiganj farmers cultivated vegetables on 1,153 hectares of land and Aman paddy on 3,681 hectares across the district this year. In the low-lying areas of Sadar upazila's Adhara union, farmers say the rain has inundated their paddy fields, ruining most of their standing crops.

Alamgir, a farmer from Bhasanchar village, said he cultivated around 1.3 hectares of Ropa Aman paddy every year. "About 80 percent of my paddy has been damaged by rain."

"Every year, I keep some rice for household consumption and sell the rest. Last year, I sold rice at Tk 1,000-Tk 1,100 per maund. This year, I will have to buy rice instead of selling it. Three months of labour have gone in vain. I don't know how I'll recover the financial losses or repay my debts," he added.

He said although the DAE distributed mustard seeds and some fertiliser to affected farmers, "no support has been provided for the damaged paddy crops."

When contacted, Tajul Islam, district training officer at the DAE, said, "Normally, paddy shouldn't be damaged just by rain. As far as we know, there hasn't been any major damage to paddy in the district. However, we are collecting field-level information to assess the situation."

Khalilur Rahman, additional deputy director of the Naogaon DAE, said they would request an incentive package for affected farmers. "The incentives will be allocated to affected farmers on a priority basis."

Abdul Wadud, additional director of the Bogura Region DAE, said they could not offer direct assistance at present but had reported the extent of damage to higher authorities.

"Further action will follow their directives," he noted.

AN UNFAMILIAR, DEVASTATING RAINY SEASON

According to Kazi Jebunnesa, a meteorologist at the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), October saw 35 percent more rainfall than usual, with heavy showers recorded on November 1 under the influence of Mantha.

Unusual rainfall has wreaked havoc on croplands for months this year. Throughout September, rain fell somewhere in the country almost every day, flooding seedbeds and drowning newly planted crops. Then came October, the first ten days of which saw more rainfall than is normal for the entire month, according to the BMD.

According to DAE data, erratic and heavy rainfall damaged nearly 2,572 hectares of cropland between September 5 and 30, affecting more than 5,600 farmers.

Later, between September 16 and 30, a further 488 hectares were damaged, and the destruction continued into October.

"Rainfall that used to taper off in September is now persisting into October, and sometimes even November," Tariful Newaz Kabir of the BMD told The Daily Star last month. "This pattern has become evident over the past two to three years."

During this period, rainfall has increased significantly, with showers recorded almost daily in different parts of the country. As a result, early vegetable fields and seedbeds have been severely damaged this year, he added.

(Our Tangail correspondent Mirza Shakil and Munshiganj correspondent Tanjil Hasan contributed to the report.)