Farmers in Tangail are showing interest in harvesting and threshing Boro paddy using combined harvester machines as the technology helps them to save cost and time.
The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) encourages farmers to use modern machinery.
When this correspondent visited Basail, Sakhipur, and Kalihati upazilas of the district, he found that farmers were bringing harvested paddy using modern technology.
According to the DAE office, the target to cultivate Boro paddy has been set to 1,76,200 hectares of land in the district. Cultivation has been done on 1,76,320 hectares of land. The target for paddy production from here is set at 11,00,000 tonnes.
“High-yielding variety seeds and fertilisers have been provided to small and marginal farmers listed under the encouragement programme of the department for increasing Boro paddy farming. Officials at the field level are constantly supporting farmers for increasing productivity,” the DAE office said.
The DAE office added that due to comprehensive cooperation and relentless efforts of the farmers, the target for paddy cultivation has been exceeded. Favourable weather conditions increased the yield of paddy than last year. This time, there is no attack of pests and diseases due to proper land management. As a result, farmers are happy. With the intense heat, the rice in the fields is already ripe. Farmers are now busy bringing the ripe rice home from the fields using the combined harvester machinery.
A local farmer Sanowar Hossain said, “Due to labour shortages and increased wages, I am harvesting rice with a combined harvester machine. By using the machine, not only does it harvest the rice quickly, but the cost is also halved. Previously, it used to cost Tk 8,000 to Tk 10,000 to do the task.”
Another farmer, Anowar Hossain, said, “It costs Tk 5,000 to Tk 5,500 to harvest rice with the machine. It saved me Tk 4,000.”
Farmer Munu Mia said, “Labourers are reluctant to harvest in this area along with the demand for more wages. The use of such machines has increased our convenience and facilities. On the one hand, it takes less time, and on the other hand, the cost is also decreasing.”
Tangail DAE officer Dulal Uddin said, “Now there is a fragrance of ripe Boro paddy everywhere. Farmers are busy harvesting ripe paddy before the Kalbaishakhi storm. Almost 20 per cent work of harvesting is already done using modern cultivation technology. I hope that in the coming month, we will finish harvesting the whole land.”
