Moin Uddin, a 50-year-old farmer of the scenic Hakaluki Haor in Kulaura upazila of Moulvibazar district, attended the Eid prayers in the morning and went directly to his paddy field.

He has an eight-member family. The fertile land of the haor provides the family with a livelihood.

The field full of paddy brings joy to Moin's heart. The livelihood of his entire family hinges upon the success of this harvest.

However, the previous year brought distress as the crops suffered significant damage due to natural disasters.

Despite taking guidance from agricultural officers, Moin's efforts failed to yield positive results. The harvest was so bad that he had to buy rice to eat for four months.

"This time, the paddy production has been very good. But since my land is low-lying, rainwater gets stuck. I thought I would harvest the day after Eid. But after seeing rainwater, I harvested half-ripe paddy four days before Eid due to fear of water ruining the paddy," he says.

"Today, I prayed to Allah to make the paddy harvest a success for me," he adds.

Like him, hundreds of thousands of farmers in the region are happy despite their fears of hailstorms, rains, and floods damaging the farms.

Monir Ali, another farmer, said he took a loan and used that money to do the Eid shopping for his children.

"I will be able to repay the loans after harvesting the paddy," he says.

"I cultivate paddy and also fish in monsoon. Last year, there was no rice in the house on Eid day. I ate one meal with my family. By the grace of Allah, the fields are full of paddy now. If there is good paddy, there is joy for everyone.

"I would harvest the paddy in the next two days. When I see clouds in the sky, I feel scared."

Samsuddin Ahmed, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension, Moulvibazar, says Boro paddy has been cultivated on a total of 61,050 hectares of land in Moulvibazar.

"Harvest will be better this time. Farmers contact us directly for any problem," he adds.