Ismail’s meagre farm earnings cost his children their education

Ismail Hossain, a farmer who lives in Daulatpur village in Patuakhali’s Kalapara, employs every member of his family in cultivating and threshing rice paddy.

Despite this, he still struggles to pay for household expenses and the education of his children.

Though they work all year round, Ismail says his family cannot escape poverty.

Ismail told Hello that his children work in the fields to cut down on costs.

Farmers in more remote areas are not paid according to the prices set by the government, he said. Instead, a certain set of people buy his product at a much lower rate.

Despite the losses, Ismail says he has to continue farming because he does not know how to do anything else. He wants his children to get an education so they can learn a different trade. Though the field work harms their ability to pursue their studies, Ismail says he has no other choice.

Many other farmers like him have quit growing rice because they cannot earn a living, he said.

Reporter’s age: 16 | Patuakhali