Babul Akhtar Rana, Naogaon
Crisis of agricultural workers is increasing as industrialization is going on in full swing. In order to earn more, the workers are leaning towards various industrial sector including construction industry. Due to this, there is a huge labor crisis in the agricultural sector.
The crisis becomes more acute, especially during the paddy planting and harvesting season. Therefore, the use of instruments to deal with this crisis is also increasing at an equal pace.
The power tiller and the paddy threshing machines are very old and there is no alternative to these. However, in the meantime, 'Rice Transplanter' has been introduced. There is no alternative to ‘Rice Transplanter’ to plant young seedlings at low cost on more land in less time.
In order to popularize the machine and to motivate the farmers, a field exhibition was organized at Mahadevpur in Naogaon for planting Mini Shail (RU Paddy-1) rice seedlings through Rice Transplanter. The field exhibition was held at Jothari area of Uttargram Union under the initiative of ACI Motors by planting saplings on one-acre land of farmer Biman.
According to the Upazila Agricultural Extension Department, farmers get multiple benefits from planting rice using ‘Rice Transplanters’. This allows seedlings to be planted at different distances and depths in a fully automated manner.
The device also consumes very little fuel, requiring only half a liter of petrol per hour. There is also the facility to plant a certain amount of seedlings in a controlled and accurate manner.
Moreover, there is no risk of seedling damage. Using the device does not require a separate plot of land to create a seedbed. It is possible to make a seedbed in the backyard. Seedlings can be planted very easily even in the rainy season. Farmers are attracted to the machine, as it is possible to plant saplings on more land in less time with less labor.
Traditionally, at least four workers have to work to plant rice seedlings in one Bigha of land causing the farmers to pay higher wages. Agriculturists believe the use of the ‘Rice Transplenter’ machine would reduce the cost of seeds, labor and production over time while the yield of paddy will increase too.
Farmer Biman from Jothari village in the upazila said that by planting paddy at low cost, the farmers would be profiting financially. If the cost of planting rice seedlings with human labor were Tk. 1,000, it would cost only Tk. 150 to plant seedlings with this machine on the same quantity of land.
Mahadevpur Upazila Agriculture Officer Arun Chandra Roy said farmers are not getting much benefit from planting paddy due to various reasons including labor crisis. The main reason for this is that the wages of the workers have increased a lot. Therefore, the government has taken initiative to mechanize the agriculture sector.
Government is also providing financial assistance to the farmers for purchasing the machines so that they can benefit by using the machines.
