Mechanization Boosts Potato and Wheat Farming Efficiency for Farmers in Parsa and Bara Districts

Parsa. A decade ago, farmer Paras Thakur of Triveni in Feta Rural Municipality, Bara, struggled to find laborers for traditional potato farming. If laborers were found, the cost was high and the time taken was long. Now, he has found some relief from that problem. The reason is the use of technology.

Thakur now uses potato planting and digging machines (potato planter and potato digger), which has saved more than half the cost incurred in planting and digging potatoes. "When farming potatoes traditionally, I had to employ more than three laborers per Katha. Even at a rate of Rs 500 per laborer, it cost Rs 1,500," he said. "Now, planting with machines costs only about Rs 500 per Katha. On one hand, the cost is decreasing, and on the other hand, we are free from the problem of not finding laborers."

Thakur stated that he cultivated potatoes on three and a quarter bighas this time and that technology has been very helpful. "When farming potatoes traditionally, it was difficult to save even Rs 100,000 annually. After using technology, after deducting all expenses, the income is now more than Rs 300,000," he said.

Feta Rural Municipality Chairman Rustam Ansari said that the municipality has provided potato planting machines on subsidy, and many other farmers here have also benefited. "Production has increased after the use of technology. For the encouragement of farmers, we will bring a program to cultivate using more modern machines in the budget of the next fiscal year," he said.

Sachinkumar Mishra, Chief of the Agricultural Tools Research Center, Rani Ghat, stated that the use of technology is greatly helping farmers by reducing costs and time while increasing their income. "After long research, we have facilitated the emphasis on using technology that reduces the cost and time of farmers and increases income. The use of machines is very beneficial for farmers. The center has been emphasizing the use of technology not only in potato farming but also in wheat farming," he said.

Farmers in Bijbaniya, Jagarannathpur Rural Municipality-3, Parsa, have also reported a reduction in cost and labor expenses while cultivating wheat with the help of a 'harvester machine'. Local farmer Abhayprasad Yadav said that the cost of crop planting has decreased significantly compared to before when using machines for wheat cultivation. "Traditional farming used to incur high costs. We were also facing a shortage of laborers," he said. "Now, with the use of machines, we are producing wheat crops at a lower cost by reducing expenses."

Bishweshwar Prasad Yadav, Director of the Agricultural Research Directorate, stated that the government has been encouraging farmers to cultivate using technology. "The use of technology is making farming much easier and more accessible," he said. "It has become necessary for local governments to transfer technology to farmers for collective farming."

Dr. Krishna Timalsina, Executive Director of the Nepal Agricultural Research Council, stated that the government has been encouraging farmers to use improved seeds and technology-friendly agriculture. "Farmers cannot get expected benefits by farming in the traditional manner anymore. Therefore, it has become necessary to advance the agricultural sector along with modern technology. Along with this, we urge farmers in the border areas to use indigenous seeds rather than Indian seeds for cultivation," he said.