Maize harvesters will be soon available on hire basis at 35 centres in the districts of Kalaburagi and Bidar with a Germany-based company entering into an agreement with the State government.
Briefing about the hi-tech maize harvester at the Krishi Mela organised by University of Agricultural Sciences in Dharwad on Tuesday, head of sales of CLAAS Agriculture Machinery India Pvt. Ltd. Prem Kumar said that 35 custom hiring service centres (CHSC) would be set up in these two districts soon.
He said that while the State ranked number one in terms of maize growing area in the country, it was ranked second after Andhra Pradesh in maize production.
Consider the labour problem involved in the harvesting of maize, the State government had tied up with CLAAS to help farmers in getting the advantage of technology, he said.
Mr. Prem Kumar said that the maize harvester (CT-40) developed by the company was equivalent to 100 labour and it minimised grain damage too. He said that the company had introduced Dominator-40, a straw walker combined harvester, with rubber tracks which had already been well received by the farming community.
The State government would be hiring 127 harvesters under the Krishi Yanthradhare scheme and in the long-term, the government had plans to set up 800 CHSCs across the State by providing 70 % subsidy for purchasing farm machinery and equipment, he said.
