Days of heavy rainfall and hill torrents from upstream have submerged at least 2,000 hectares of seedbeds prepared for aman rice, and flooding has also affected another 15,000 hectares of aus rice fields across Bangladesh.

The Department of Agricultural Extension cautioned that affected land does not mean total loss, adding that the seedbeds and rice plants could still survive if the rain eases and water recedes.

Under DAE estimates, seedbeds account for one-twentieth of the total rice area. The 2,000 hectares of submerged seedbeds would ordinarily supply seedlings for 40,000 hectares of rice planting.

Agricultural experts warned that if the water does not drain quickly, the seedbeds will rot. Farmers would then miss the aman transplanting window. Prolonged heavy rain could damage more seedbeds, trimming rice output and posing a risk to food security.

The DAE’s field wing reported that floods had struck crops across 12 districts by Saturday, affecting 28,610 hectares. That included the 2,000 hectares of aman seedbeds and 15,000 hectares of aus rice. Chattogram district alone absorbed the heaviest blow: 550 hectares of seedbeds and 6,500 hectares of aus rice. Agricultural officials said flood conditions there had not improved, making it highly likely the crops would be destroyed.

Md Obaidur Rahman Mondal, director of the DAE field wing, said heavy rain, upstream torrents and the resulting floods had hit cropland in 12 districts. “Affected crops include aus rice, transplanted aman seedbeds, summer vegetables, orchards and betel leaf plantations. It’s not possible yet to estimate the scale of damage,” he told Bonik Barta.

For the 2026–27 fiscal year, the government has set a transplanted aman rice target of 5,710,762 hectares with a production goal of 18,000,758 tonnes. The aus target stands at 1,022,387 hectares, with output projected at 3,048,212 tonnes.

Flash floods in late April and early May caused extensive damage to boro rice across Bangladesh’s haor region. DAE put the damage at 49,000 hectares, equivalent to a loss of 214,000 tonnes of rice. Farmers and private organisations say the true toll was higher.

Meanwhile, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) signalled in its June biannual Food Outlook report that weather uncertainty and shrinking farmer margins could reduce rice output in Bangladesh and several other countries. The FAO forecast that Bangladesh’s rice production would fall by 0.5 percent, or 200,000 tonnes, in FY 2026–27. Paddy, wheat and maize output could drop by 300,000 tonnes, or 0.62 percent, it added.

There is no immediate relief in the forecast for Sunday. The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre said yesterday that within the next 24 to 48 hours, short-duration flooding may hit low-lying riverside areas in Feni, Chattogram and Khagrachhari districts. Parts of Lakshmipur and Noakhali could also be temporarily inundated. Short-term floods may likewise emerge in low-lying zones of Sylhet, Sunamganj, Netrokona, Sherpur and Mymensingh. In Sylhet and Sunamganj, conditions along the Kushiyara could worsen modestly, while fresh short-lived flooding may develop along the Surma.

Further north, water levels in the Teesta, Dharla and Dudhkumar rivers are expected to rise above danger marks at some points, triggering short-term flooding in low-lying areas of Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Rangpur, Kurigram and Gaibandha.

Agricultural economists and sector specialists say a rapid retreat of water from the aman seedbeds would limit the damage. Even where losses occur, farmers could later recoup some of them. But a renewed rise in water levels, or the annual recurrence of flooding in northern Bangladesh, would hurt the overall aman harvest. They advise that preparations begin now.

Agricultural economist Dr Jahangir Alam told Bonik Barta: “They (farmers) can re-sow seedbeds if necessary. The government must step in with support. But the aus crop has already ripened. Those losses are irrecoverable. The haor floods earlier this year destroyed a large share of boro rice. Now aus and aman are also taking a hit. Taken together, rice cultivation this year is in a somewhat precarious position.”

Alam warned that major floods have repeatedly struck the Teesta basin in northern Bangladesh later in the season, around late July or August. A flood there would hit the aman crop hard. Food policy decisions, he argued, must factor in that northern flood risk. “There’s no immediate threat to food security, but if the flooding persists, the risk will rise. Advance preparation is essential.”

Professor AHM Saiful Islam of Bangladesh Agricultural University urged the government to rigorously assess the scale of damage already incurred and the outlook for further losses before deciding its response. He noted the growing popularity of floating seedbed technology and said public distribution of the system could shield seedbeds from flood damage. He also called for delivering long-range or seasonal forecasts to farmers through early warning systems. “This would allow farmers to stagger planting around periods of heightened disaster risk, helping to reduce potential losses,” he told Bonik Barta.

At an event in Cumilla on Saturday, Agriculture Minister Mohammed Amin Ur Rashid said the government would assist flood-hit farmers. “The local administration is now compiling lists of affected farmers at union and ward levels on the prime minister’s instructions,” he told reporters. “Once the lists are finalised, the government will provide them with the necessary support.”