Labour shortages in agriculture keep getting worse, especially at planting and harvesting time, and machine use is rising to meet the gap. In Sundarganj, Gaibandha, rice seedlings are now being planted with rice transplanters as part of the move to make traditional farming smart, saving farmers time, labour and money.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), a rice transplanter plants seedlings fully automatically at set spacing and depth.

• One operator can plant about 40 to 50 decimals an hour.
• It uses only half a litre of petrol an hour, so fuel costs are low.
• It plants a controlled, precise number of seedlings with no risk of damaging them.
• No separate land is needed for a seedbed, which can be made in the yard, and planting is easy even in rain.

With support from the Rangpur Division Agriculture and Rural Development Project, the upazila DAE office has trained farmers in transplanter use, and officials are teaching the method in the field.

Farmer Nahid Mia of Bamondanga union said he was worried because of the labour shortage; labourers asked Tk 2,300 to plant one bigha, but with the upazila office's help he planted with a transplanter at lower cost and in less time. Farmer Amjad Hossain said planting that costs Tk 2,000 in labour costs Tk 300 by machine.

Upazila agriculture officer Agriculturist Md. Rashidul Kabir said rising wages and labour shortages keep farmers from profiting from rice, so the government has launched smart farming through mechanisation; planting and threshing by machine greatly benefits farmers, and the government is providing financial help to buy machines.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.