Farmers say that the rainfall volume is heavy this time that the harvest had to be delayed
With the rains showing no signs of stopping and farmers still experiencing excessive rainfall, it has disturbed the regular harvest of paddy in Trashigang.
Farmers say that such things do not usually happen.
Though they get rain at this time, they added that the rainfall volume is heavy this time that the harvest had to be delayed.
A farmer from Shongphu gewog, Chador Wangmo said they are worried about the continuous rainfall, which has hindered them from harvesting their paddy on time.
“If the paddy is not harvested on time when it is ready, the grains and panicles will fall and there would not be a good harvest,” she said.
“And when the stems of the paddy get soaked after cutting, the process of threshing the paddy would not be possible. As a result our work is delayed until the stems and panicles are dried,” she added.
Chador Wangmo has already completed the cutting process of the paddy in her 16 decimals land, but she said she had to stop the threshing, cleaning, and hauling processes due to the heavy rainfall.
“Towards the evening, we get rain every time and we have to wait for the sun to dry up everything,” she said, adding the rainfall pattern is unusual this time and it has delayed their work.
Another farmer from Bidung Gewog, Karma said most of them harvested their paddy amidst the rain and the work was difficult for them as there was continuous rainfall this time.
“We had to manage the harvest according to the weather and most of our work was delayed by two to four days,” he said.
He said the planting of paddy by a few households is done after a couple of weeks and some do earlier to prevent water shortage and labor shortage.
“So those who do their work earlier get the rain as the monsoon season does not end fully. Those individuals who will harvest in October month might not experience excessive rainfall,” he added.
Another farmer, Pema Dorji, said he will wait for a few more days to harvest his paddy though they are ready for harvesting.
“If I cut and leave them on the ground, it will get drenched and too much water makes the stems moist, resulting in fungus and molds in grains,” he said.
“After the cutting process if the grains are not dried well, the grains will grow fungus and molds which can change the taste of the rice. Moreover, if the harvest is delayed after reaping, the grains break down while sun-drying them,” he said.
“We have to follow the timing for the harvest season as we don’t get the yield we expect,” he added.
However, farmers, who have not harvested their paddy and not reaped the paddy grains, are expecting to get better yield and that rainfall disturbance will be minimal.
Tenzin Lhamo from Trashigang
