Staff Reporter :
Use of combine harvester may reduce ongoing labour crisis in paddy harvesting across the country as the cost savings in mechanical harvesting of paddy were found 57.61 percent for using combine harvester over manual harvesting.
Similarly, labour savings for using combine harvester was found 70 percent. The estimated BCR of combine harvester is found 1.55. The break-even use of combine harvester is 35 ha/yr which indicates a combine harvester must operate above 35 ha/yr profit, according to a study of the Department of Agricultural Engineering and Machinery of Bangladesh Agricultural University.
It also said that, the average total harvesting losses (including harvesting, threshing and cleaning) were also found 1.61 per cent and 6.08 per cent for using combine harvester and manual harvesting, respectively.
The losses of paddy will be reduced 4.47 per cent using combine harvester over manual harvesting. The above results revealed that manual harvesting is a labour and cost involving system.
As a result, total paddy production might be increased, and which will help to contribute significantly to the development of livelihood of rural community of the country, he added. Bangladesh would require approximately 30,000 harvesters, of the size chosen, to enable all the area cultivated to be mechanically harvested. Currently Bangladesh has less than 100 harvesters, of which less than 50 are in commercial operation.
The labour shortage created by the current shutdown is worrying farmers ahead of the Boro paddy harvest, despite different measures were taken by the government to ensure maximum crop yield.
Considering the need for machinery, the government has allocated Tk 200 crore for supplying harvester and reaper for cutting of paddy across the country. Of the allocated money, farmers will be able to buy harvester with 50-70 subsidized, although it is less than the requirement, insiders said.
Prof Dr Md Monjurul Alam, Professor of Department of Agricultural Engineering and Machinery of Bangladesh Agricultural University, said, “A small number of workers are working now and they are unable to maintain social distancy while harvesting paddy. As a result, in many causes the coronavirus is increasing the risk of infection.”
“So, the equipment that the government has allocated needs to be further enhanced to reduce the risk and to ensure food safety in the country,” he added.
