The Agriculture Ministry began distributing subsidized machinery among farmers under the biggest farm mechanization project ever involving Tk3,020 crore.
Agriculture Minister Mohammad Abdur Razzaque inaugurated the distribution in a virtual meeting on Tuesday morning and said, the machinery would help farmers reduce production cost and help in timely plantation and reaping of crops.
The virtual meeting was attended by over 450 agriculture officials and farmers from across the country.
State Minister for Social Welfare Ashraf Ali Khan Khasru distributed the machines among the farmers by joining the virtual meeting from Netrokona.
In the five-year long project, 51,300 pieces of machinery would be distributed at a 70% subsidized prices in haor and coastal districts, while at 50% subsidized rates in other parts of the country.
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Of the total, at least 5,776 pieces of machinery will be distributed in 500 upazilas during the current fiscal year which include 1,617 combined harvesters, 701 reapers, and 184 rice trans-planters.
Other machines include seeders, power threshers, bed planters, maize shellers, drier, potato diggers, and chips-making equipment.
The agriculture minister, in his inaugural speech, said that farm mechanization was part of the 21-point electoral manifesto of his government, and the project implementation expresses his government's firm determination for agricultural progress.
"Our main target is to modernize and make agriculture profitable by industrializing the farm sector and keeping up with the growing international market of agricultural products," the minister said.
DAE Director General Md Asadullah said if all the paddy can be harvested using the machines, the country's farmers would be able to save at least Tk5,371 crore on the costs of harvest.
The meeting was also attended by the senior secretary of Agriculture Ministry Md Mesbahul Islam and others.
