To aid the gap between agriculture and technology, the agriculture department of West Bengal distributed 13000+ farm equipment such as tractors, harvesters, power tillers, and rice transplanters among farmers in East Bardhaman.
As per the officials, the farm machinery was distributed in East Bardhaman during a programme held at Matigantha (residential training centre). Moreover, they added to their statement that the 13554 units of farm equipment have been distributed at the residential training centre by the government’s farm mechanization schemes.
The West Bengal Agriculture Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay said that the training centre in Bengal was incorporated by the Honourable Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee. He also said that the process was started after Mamata Banerjee came into power as Chief Minister. Through this training centre, 365 trainees have completed the training programme till March 31 and 150+ trainees started teaching at the centre, he added.
Earlier, we do not have skilled and capable workers to be a part of this mechanisation system. The workers from Punjab and Haryana had high rates and local workers were run-down down their wages.
However, “The government has developed 77 agricultural machinery custom hiring centres amounting to Rs 59.28 crore during the year 2022-23. Out of this, 2,567 power tillers, 102 tractors, 47 combine harvesters, 144 multi-crop threshers, 228 solar pump sets, 12 rice transplanters, 23 maize sheller/threshers, 690 power weeders, 1,249 rotavators, 21 mini oil mills, 39 potato diggers, and 180 mini rice mills are included” an official reported.
