Only 2.0 per cent of the country's total crops have so far been brought under mechanised harvesting, experts revealed at a two-day workshop on Monday.
Mechanised fertiliser application and seed sowing have been implemented only on 3.0 per cent and 2.0 per cent land respectively, says Department of Agricultural Extension director-general Md Benojir Alam.
He was addressing the workshop styled 'Agricultural Mechanisation in Bangladesh-The Future' hosted by USAID, funded by the Feed the Future Bangladesh Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia-Mechanisation and Extension Activity (CSISA-MEA), in collaboration with Bangladesh Agriculture University at a city hotel.
Md Alam says the government has been implementing farm mechanisation projects since 2010 to increase the use of machinery at different stages of farming to modernise agriculture across the country.
In his presentation, the DAE director general says the use of agricultural machinery is increasing in some cases.
Of them, 78 per cent of threshing, 95 per cent of pesticide application and 98 per cent of plough or land preparation have come under mechanisation.
To increase the use of agricultural implements, Mr Alam says, the supply of inputs as per the demand of the farmers is increased and work is also underway to make agricultural equipments within the reach of farmers.
At the same time, the government has made initiatives to boost machinery production locally.
Agriculture minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque says a Tk 30-billion project is underway to help farmers collect machinery at 50-70 per cent subsidy.
Despite such incentives, he adds, the farmers are not able to afford such high-priced equipment.
In order to bring prices to a tolerable level, the government is working to boost the local machinery industry.
The minister says his government is working for the expansion of commercial agriculture as mechanisation is compulsory for such cultivation.
In order to machanise, he adds, it is necessary to create skilled manpower for making, repairing and maintaining agricultural machinery.
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute director general Dr Md Shahjahan Kabir says higher prices of raw materials are a key deterrent to machine manufacturing locally.
He suggests removing this barrier to boost farm machinery production locally.
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