In the villages of Chunarughat upazila, Habiganj, farmers used to head out at dawn with a yoke of oxen and a plough. As power tillers and tractors have spread, that sight has largely gone.
Kachhan Shil, a farmer over 85 in Barail village, said: "We used to plough our fields with our cattle, with real care. Since the power tiller came, that tradition is becoming a thing of the past."
Mortuj Ali of Kalenga said the ox plough loosened the lower layer of soil and cow dung improved fertility. He believes power tillers are reducing soil fertility and quality; that is his own experience, and the report gives no soil test to support it.
Ayub Ali, an elderly farmer in Kadirkhil, said ploughing with oxen is part of Bengali farming culture and its tools should be preserved so younger people know its history.
Chunarughat's upazila nirbahi officer, Galib Chowdhury, said the ox plough was a foundation of folk culture and environment-friendly farming that machines are replacing, and the upazila administration is planning steps to preserve such parts of rural heritage.
Machines save farmers time and labour, which is why they are turning to them. Agricare24 carried the report from the Daily Sangbad.
Photo: Ploughing with a pair of oxen, Muhammad Amdad Hossain / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Agricare24
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