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More farmers go in for mechanisation
Mechanisation of agriculture is gaining momentum in the district, due to acute labour shortage, unavailability of skilled labour and steep increase in wages and other expenses.
- Ryots have been facing severe shortage of labourers at the time of transplanting and harvesting
- The main reason is migration of workers to urban areas for employment
- Agriculture department has been encouraging farmers to derive utility of farm equipment for saving time, money and labour
Srikakulam: Mechanisation of agriculture is gaining momentum in the district, due to acute labour shortage, unavailability of skilled labour and steep increase in wages and other expenses.
With farming activities picking up in the district, farm owners have been struggling to get farm workers for labour-intensive activities like transplantation, weeding and other farm related works.
Migration of labour to other sources of livelihood activities and availability of less labour intensive jobs has escalated shortage of manpower on farms and has forced farmers go in for machines.
The State government has been offering farm equipment like power tillers, transplanting machines and weed remover to farmers with 50 per cent subsidy to small, marginal and women farmers and with 70 per cent subsidy to SC and ST farmers, said assistant director of agriculture department Kutikuppala Krishna Rao.
“In 2014-15, 7,000 farmers purchased farm equipment by availing subsidy and in 2015 -16, 5,865 farmers purchased the equipment. The government allotted Rs 12.02 crore funds for subsidy under farm mechanisation for the current financial year,” Krishna Rao explained.
“The government was providing subsidy to farmers on 16 farm machines like ploughing sets, power sprayers, mini-tractors, power tillers, thrashing machines, paddy plantation tools etc., under different schemes by providing 50 and 70 per cent subsidy on actual cost,” said joint director of department G Rama Rao.
He said the growing disenchantment among farmers, migration from agriculture to other sources of livelihood and the introduction of several labour-oriented schemes by the government have had a cascading effect on the availability of manpower on the farm. As a result, mechanisation was tipped the only option to fill the gap, he added.
Ch Lakshunnaidu, a farmer of Gorinta village in Ponduru mandal, said that mechanised farming was the only way for farmers to make paddy cultivation profitable.
Chowdari Lakshmana Rao
