Agriculture is changing with the touch of technology.

 

Agriculture is changing with the touch of technology. The place where the plough-yoke and the 'plough ox' were the principal implements of the farmer's cultivation is now occupied by the 'caller plough' tractor, power tiller. The day is not far when you must go to the museum to see the plow.

On the one hand, time, labour and money are being saved due to cultivation using modern technology in agriculture, and crop production has also increased. As a result, farmers are increasingly interested in using modern machinery. Not only the cultivation of the land but also threshing, fertilizing, spraying of pesticides, harvesting, threshing, drying and rice from paddy are all done with modern machinery.

According to the calculations of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) and Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRI), 90 per cent of the country's total arable land is currently cultivated by mechanized methods. However, the country's farmers still need to catch up in using other agricultural machinery. Agriculture will be a revolution if thoroughly modern machinery is used in all stages of cultivation, from land preparation to rice production.

Meanwhile, due to modern machinery in agriculture, wooden plow makers are now in dire straits. Artisans are changing their occupations to other occupations.

According to many researchers, during China's Han Dynasty [202 BC to 220 AD], people started cultivating land using ploughs. They were the first to make ploughs out of wood—an iron rod used for making ploughshares. Wood was used to make yokes. By the sixth century AD, as the number of people in the world gradually increased, this practice of ploughing became widely popular worldwide.

Those concerned said that at the beginning of the eighties in the country, the use of modern machinery gradually started. At that time, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute and agricultural scientists undertook the work of inventing agricultural machinery. The concerned said about 25 to 30 types of modern machinery are being used in agriculture.

Agricultural scientists say it is possible to achieve the desired success in agriculture by utilizing the benefits of the latest technology. The combined harvester is one of the farm machinery currently being used in the country. Through this machine, the work of harvesting and separating the crop grain is being done. Besides, a power tiller for small land cultivation, a tractor or wheel tractor for extensive land cultivation, broadcast seeder for seed sowing, fertilizer application and pesticide spraying. Various machinery, including seed drills for seeding in specific locations, sub broilers for deep tillage, paddy/seed dryers, rice, wheat, maize dryers, batch dryers, power reapers, threshers, and users Being used in agriculture. Using indigenous technology, power tiller, power reaper threshing machine, Threshing machines under, paddy and wheat threshing mills, corn threshing mills etc., are being manufactured. Several factories manufacturing irrigation pumps, tractors and power tillers have been established in different parts of the country, including Sirajganj, Pabna, Natore, Bogra, Rangpur, Jessore, and Sherpur.

The most labor-intensive activities in agriculture are planting seeds or seedlings, weeding and harvesting. At certain times of the season, the farmer has to face a lot of trouble sowing seeds, planting seedlings, and harvesting the crops. At that time, the wages of agricultural laborers also increased abnormally. Sometimes agricultural laborers are only available with double salaries. As a result, late planting results in lower yields and increased insect and pest attacks.

Sometimes a large part of the produce is wasted due to late harvesting and lousy weather. Besides, farmers are also deprived of the expected price due to needing to be able to sell the crops in advance. Modern machinery is being used in agriculture to avoid these. As it takes less time, more crops are also produced.

It is to be noted that it costs three thousand takas to harvest one bigha of paddy with the help of a farmer. And cutting paddy with 'Reaper' costs only 500 rupees per bigha. It takes less time. On the other hand, it costs 700 rupees per bigha to plough with cows. And it costs 400 rupees per bigha to cultivate with a power tiller. The tractor costs only 250 rupees. So farmers are leaning towards using these modern machines. However, the price of these devices needs to be reduced.

Agricultural experts said the country produces about four crore tonnes of food grains annually. About 14 per cent of food grains are wasted from production to marketing, amounting to 4.2 million tons. Who can eliminate these problems by using thoroughly modern machinery in farming?

Muhammad Manjurul Alam, director of the recently completed agricultural machinery technology innovation and expansion project, said modern machinery is being used in agriculture. However, we still need to catch up to neighbouring countries India and China. Our country's agricultural machinery are power tillers, tractors and Threshing machines with multiple uses. But the use of other appliances has yet to figure into the percentage calculation. He said the farmers are disappointed as the crop price is not fair. But if they can be encouraged to use modern machinery at all stages of cultivation, then WHat will reduce the cost of production of crops, and they will see a profit.

Most of the agricultural machinery is now being manufactured in the country. Again the price is reasonable. So we have to encourage farmers to use modern machinery.

Director General of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (Bari) Rafiqul Islam Mondal said that the engineering department of the institute is constantly working to make modern agricultural machinery. Giving the example of the Power Tiller Operated Seeder invented by Bari, he said with this machine, Who can cultivate the land, land levelled, can sow fertilizer and seed simultaneously. He said that our land is decreasing daily, but the demand for food is increasing. So to revolutionize agriculture, Who must use modern machinery at all stages of cultivation. Then the desired success will come.