"Unless there is enough rain over the next two weeks, we will have to pull off the fields and leave them barren," he said.

Weather officials said on Sunday they expected "some good rainfall" in about a week but they were not sure it would be enough to satisfy the needs of agriculture.

"We are indeed experiencing an unusually dry monsoon," said a Dhaka meteorology official.

He said so far in August the meteorological office had recorded 7,688 mm (307.52 inches) of rainfall against 11,987 mm over the same period last year.

Rainfall so far this monsoon season, which lasts from mid-June to end-September, was a third less than last year, he said, without giving details.

Agriculture officials said up to 2.0 million hectares (800,000 acres), or 40 percent of land supposed to grow Aman this year, might remain unplanted for want of rain.

Fields already planted with the help of irrigation were also drying up since farmers could not keep watering them because of the high price and short supply of diesel needed to run pumps.

Rice is the main staple of Bangladeshis. The country produces 26 million tonnes annually, with Aman accounting for a third.

"Only God can help us out of the very frustrating situation," said one official with the government's agricultural extention department in the northern district of Bogra.

He said if lands could be planted by Aug. 31, the production loss would be 15 percent. A further week's delay would push the loss to 25 percent.

Bangladesh's top Muslim cleric, Moulana Obaidul Haque, has asked Bangladeshis to hold special prayers to seek divine blessing to bring rain.

FUEL PRICES UP

Rain is the main lifeline for Bangladesh's agricultural sector, which accounts for 21 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Rain fell across Bangladesh last week for a couple of days, raising hopes briefly, but weather officials said on Sunday they now expected dryer weather, leaving water levels in rivers and canals far below normal.

Major rivers including the Padma, Meghna and Jamuna were flowing much below their usual monsoon level, hydrology officials said.

"This may be a good news for people who are routinely battered by monsoon floods but it's very bad news for agriculture," said Abul Bashar, a government official.

The government raised fuel prices by an average of 22 percent around the middle of this year because of soaring world oil prices. This has particularly hurt farmers and those on low incomes, who account for two-thirds of Bangladesh's 140 million people.

Nearly half of the population lives in poverty, surviving on less than a dollar a day.