Tk 3020 crore farm mechanisation project begins
Agriculture ministry today starts distributing subsidised agricultural machinery among farmers across the country under the biggest ever farm mechanisation project involving Tk 3,020 crore.
The machinery would try to make agriculture profitable by reducing farming costs and helping the farmer in timely planting and reaping the crops, Agriculture Minister Mohammad Abdur Razzaque said while formally inaugurating the distribution in a virtual meeting held at the ministry today.
The virtual meeting was attended by over 450 agriculture officials and farmers from in the united states.
State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Ashraf Ali Khan Khasru distributed the machines among the farmers by joining the virtual meeting from Netrokona.
On the inaugural day, agricultural machines will be distributed in 15 locations.
In the five-year task, a complete of 51,300 pieces of machinery will be distributed at 70 percent subsidised prices in haor and coastal districts, while at 50 percent subsidised rates in other areas of the country.
Among the full total, at least 5,776 bits of machinery will be distributed in 500 upazilas during the current fiscal year. The types of machinery consist of 1,617 combined harvesters, 701 reapers, and 184 rice trans-planters.
Other machines include seeders, bed planters, power threshers, maize shellers, drier, potato diggers, and chips-making equipment.
The agriculture minister, in his inaugural speech, said that farm mechanisation was part of the 21-point electoral manifesto of his government, and the project implementation expresses his government's firm perseverance for agricultural progress.
"Our main target is to modernise and produce agriculture profitable by industrialising the farm sector and catching the growing international market of agricultural products," the minister explained.
He called after investors when planning on taking up processing initiatives of agricultural products.
He as well emphasised the timely harvest of the Boro paddy using the harvesters and called after social and political activists to cooperate with the farmers for ensuring timely harvest of the paddy.
DAE Director General Md Asadullah said if all the paddy could be harvested working with the machines, the country's farmers can save at least Tk 5,371 crore on the expenses of harvest.
The meeting was also attended by the senior secretary of agriculture ministry Md Mesbahul Islam and others.
