Vizianagaram: Farm equipment should be available at low cost

Vizianagaram: Farm equipment and tools should be made at a low cost to reduce agriculture expenditure, district project manager of natural farming K Prakash said. All the material like ploughs, weeders and sickles should be made at affordable price to support farmers, he said.

On Friday he visited farm equipment manufacturing unit at Jattu Trust in Thotapalli village and observed the products available there and advised the manufacturers that the weeder tool which is used to smash the unwanted weed in paddy farm should be of less weight to ease the work.

Jattu Trust founder Dr D Parinaidu said that the unit is making hundreds of weeders and supplying them to farmers at lesser price. Weeders would convert the weed into useful organic manure.

The tool would reduce the requirement of manpower and a single person can weed an acre of land in a day, he said. Later Prakash distributed weeders to farmers and advised them to use them in a proper way to increase the production.

G Hemasundar, agriculture officer, and others have participated in the programme.