The Agriculture Department will implement a Rs. 44.86-lakh mechanisation programme aimed at reducing the cost of farming and meeting the severe shortage of farm labourers in the district.
As part of it, farmers will get power tillers at 40 per cent subsidy, pump sets at 50 per cent subsidy and sowing machines, harvesting machines, driers, weed cutters and plant protection equipment at 25 per cent subsidy.
The executive engineer of the agriculture department has been entrusted with the responsibility to make arrangements for providing farming machines to the farmers at a fair price.
Principal Agriculture Officer K.K. Chandran said that a mobile service centre would be set up to repair and conduct servicing works of the machines free of cost. Nearly 25 youths would be trained by the engineering department to provide the required services to the farmers. During the training period, the department will bear their cost of training and allowances will be provided to them, he said and added that the farmer who needs their service will be provided it through the department.
The programme is meant for weed control, plant protection and mechanisation to reduce labour, he said.
Order has already been placed for purchasing 10 power tiller each at the State Vegetable Farm, Vandiperiyar, State Seed Farm, Karimannur and the District Agriculture Farm, Areekuzha.
"These tillers will be rented out to the farmers and the service support will be provided by trained personnel," said Mr Chandran. Due to lack of facilities at the Krishi Bhavans and the difficulty in conducting timely repair works in the remote areas of Krishi Bhavans, the three farms will work jointly with the Krishi Bahavans in making the farm tillers available to the farmers in time, he said.
