Six bighas of banana on last year's prices; one night's storm cost Tk 2.5 lakh

According to a report in Amar Desh, on the night of 15 March 2026 an early nor'wester (kalbaishakhi) storm and hailstorm lasting about 30 minutes struck 11 upazilas of Naogaon; the wind blew at up to 50 kilometres an hour. According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, crops on 731.5 hectares of land, including 225 hectares of banana, were damaged, and of this about Tk 167 crore worth of banana was completely destroyed. A banana grower from Kusharmuri village in Balubhara union, Badalgachhi upazila, said that because he had got good prices the previous year, this time he had planted bananas on about 6 bighas of land. In one night's storm and hail, more than half the plants in his orchard broke and fell. Most of the bananas were becoming ready to take to market, and he had planned to sell within one or two weeks. In his words, "One night's storm cost me two and a half lakh taka." The deputy director of the district Department of Agricultural Extension said the losses to storm-hit banana, maize and papaya can no longer be made up; in the hostile weather, farmers are being advised to harvest mature fruit and crops quickly. The report makes no mention of compensation or insurance.