A meet with farmers was arranged in Dirua village in Assam's Nalbari today on the occasion of Field Day. The meet was organised by Krishi Vigyan Kendra of Assam Agricultural University (AAU) in association with Assam Agri-Business And Rural Transformation Project (APART).
The head of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Nalbari, Dr. Manasi Chakraborty was present at the event along with a team from APART. They interacted with around 35 farmers and tried to understand the problems that they face. They also demonstrated a new machine to help them in harvesting.
Addressing the media, Dr. Chakraborty said, "We undertook the cultivation of Sali Paddy in Dirua village in Nalbari in about 112 hectares of farmland as a project under the Krishi Vigyan Kendra under Assam Agricultural University and in collaboration with APART. We have achieved good results in that regard. We have also demonstrated how the process of harvesting can be mechanised".
She then added, "The farmers were introduced to the machine that would help them in reducing manual labour during harvesting. I also applaud the efforts from APART, due to which the farmers have been introduced to various high yielding varieties of paddy and also have been introduced to the process of mechanisation".
Highlighting the importance of mechanisation of farming, she said, "We have seen an acute shortage of field workers as well as an increase in farming expenditure. In view of that, if we do not take the farmers forward by the process of mechanisation, then the government's proposal to double their earnings will not be fulfilled".