The West Godavari district administration is planning to deploy 150 paddy transplanters as a remedy for shortage of agricultural workers and increasing labour cost during the coming khariff season.
Collector G. Vani Mohan on Saturday said the administration was trying to arrange a bank tie-up with farmers for financial assistance to purchase the machines. The transplanters will undertake ploughing, nursery raising, transplantation and harvesting. Paddy growers in Achanta and other delta areas were constrained to go in for a crop holiday mainly because of the labour problem. Ms. Mohan said the official machinery would lay focus on seed and fertilizder distribution, supply of irrigation water and credit disbursement. To check spurious seed, it was proposed to issue licence to all dealers selling seed through the Seed Development Corporation.