Paddy was planted in a 60 bigha field using Charuwa technique
Farmers of Jagarnathpur rural municipality have been attracted to paddy cultivation in dry season by the chharuwa paddy technique. They are cultivating paddy by sowing paddy seeds in dry fields, different from traditional farming, by means of zero till seed cum fertilizer drill machine.
For this technology, Abhay Prasad Yadav, the leading farmer of the village, has purchased the equipment and is using it for a decade. In the last few years, other farmers of the village have also hired Yadav's equipment and started farming using the Charuwa technique.
This year, the farmers of Jagarnathpur Rural Municipality-3 Bijbania have grown paddy crops in more than 60 bigha fields using this technique. Yadav himself has planted 16 bighas of land. His neighbor Zaheer Gaddi has 3, Mozahir Mia 3, Loha Singh 2 and a half, Dharmendra Patel has cultivated paddy with this technique in one bigha. Many other farmers have also cultivated paddy with the help of this equipment.
This tractor-driven device can spread rice seeds in 9 to 10 kattha fields in 1 hour . After employing only 2 people, seeds can be easily sown in this way. Chemical fertilizers can also be sown along with the seeds. Yadav bought this equipment for 80 thousand rupees a decade ago and is planting it in his field. After using it in his farm, he also rents it to neighboring farmers for 1,500 rupees per hour.
Yadav says that he is attracted to mechanization as he has many farms and cannot even plant and bring in crops on time when agricultural work is dependent on agricultural workers. He said that mechanization is both his desire and compulsion.
In the beginning, the neighbors used to make fun of him while planting with the machine, but now he is happy that all the three neighbors have rented this equipment and started cultivating rice . Zaheer Gaddi, another farmer, says that mechanization has reduced the cost of planting by 60 percent compared to the traditional method.
Earlier, 20 agricultural laborers were needed to uproot and plant seeds in 1 bigha field, he said. He has experience that he does not have to irrigate or wait for rain from the sky as he does not have to turn the field to soil for planting.
Head of Agricultural Tools Research Center, Ranighat, Engineer Sachin Kumar Mishra says that with this equipment, rice can be planted in one bigha field within one to one and a half hours. He said that once the field is plowed and the rice seeds can be sown, the irrigation cost of the farmers will also decrease.
He said that mechanization in agriculture is inevitable in the context of increasing shortage of agricultural laborers in Nepal since last decade and problems like lack of rain and excessive rain are also increasing due to climate change . He said that since the farmers are gradually understanding the importance of mechanization, the local levels can manage the agricultural equipment needed for agricultural work in each ward so that most of the farmers can benefit from the mechanization.
