With a view to food boost production, the government has distributed agricultural machineries at subsided prices among the farmers in Khulna region.
Under a project ‘Farm Mechanization through Integrated Management’, the machineries have been provided to the farmers at 50% subsided prices for the current boro season.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), a total of 16,067 agricultural machineries were given among the farmers of Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira and Narial districts.
The machineries include 102 combine harvesters, 248 reaper machines, 8 rice transplanters, 11,063 power-tillers, 177 tractors and 4,469 power threshers.
A total of 4,987 agricultural machineries were given to the farmers of Khulna district, 3,063 in Bagerhat, 6,064 in Satkhira, and 1,953 in Narail respectively, DAE sources said.
Talking to BSS, Additional Director of the DAE in Khulna Zone Mohon Kumar Ghosh today said that the government has attached the highest priority to the agriculture sector, adding that the farm-machinery distribution initiative has been contributing a lot towards boosting food production.
The grassroots farmers are gradually being habituated and accustomed to the need-based machinery and technologies through diversified interventions so that they can derive total benefits from various types of machinery, he said, adding that in 2007, cyclone ‘Sidr’ and in 2009, cyclone Aila hit the south-west coast of Bangladesh which caused salinity in the farming land and cultivation in this region has become more difficult in the last few years due to insufficient rain.
“The cost of agricultural production has increased many times. Keeping this in mind, the government has been distributing agricultural machinery at a 50% government subsidized price during the current Boro season,” he added.
Rahim Mia, a farmer of Samantosena village under Rupsa upazila of Khulna district, said, “The farmers are expecting higher production of Boro rice as the use of agricultural machinery has been increased in this season.”
Expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Tanjer Ali Sikder, a farming land owner of Paylatola village under Morrelganj upazila in Bagerhat district, told BSS, “Poor farmers of our village are very happy after getting modern agricultural machineries specially power tillers and power threshers at a discount price in comparison to the market price.”
