Experts at a field-level training programme on Tuesday said the government is trying to popularise agricultural machinery among farmers with a view to increasing crop production.
They said, at a two-day training programme at village Nowbhanga Char in Jamalpur Sadar upazila, the government is providing subsidies for farmers to boost crop production.
Farm Machinery and Post Harvest Process (FMP) Engineering Division, BARI, Gazipur, under the project "Making Crop Production System More Profitable through Innovation of Agricultural Machinery and Appropriate Technology" arranged the training.
Chief Scientific Officer, Regional Agricultural Research Station, Jamalpur, Dr Md Manjurul Kadir presided over the inaugural function while Deputy Director, Department of Agriculture Extension, Zakia Sultana was present as chief guest.
Senior Scientific Officer, FMP, Engineering Division, BARI, Gazipur, Dr Muhammad Arshadul Hoque who led the training said a four-year-long research-based project on increasing and developing agricultural machinery is being implemented in Melandah and Jamalpur Sadar Upazila in the district.
He said BARI experts have provided training to the stakeholders in the field level on handling, repairing and maintaining of eight agricultural machineries specially bed planter, seeder, maize Sheller, power thresher, potato harvester, solar pump based solar home system and reaper.
Arshadul said Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) has developed 50 different agricultural machineries which are suitable for small scale farming community.
He said to meet the national demand for increasing mechanization level in agriculture; a project is going on aiming to developed entrepreneurs of agricultural machinery and manufacturers, increasing adoption level of agricultural machinery and searching talent on mechanization.
A total of 40 farmers in Jamalpur Sadar Upazila are taking part in the two-day training.