Thakurgaon is the northern district of the country that is developed and self-sufficient in agriculture, although it is underdeveloped in industrialization. Although no significant industrial establishments have been established in this district, Thakurgaon can be easily distinguished from other districts due to the quality and production rate of agriculture here. Being dependent on agriculture, the agriculture of this district is constantly undergoing various changes.
Although experimental cultivation of this synchronous method has been done in different districts of the country, the largest boro cultivation in the country is being done in Thakurgaon. Buropaddy is being cultivated in 110 acres of land of 7 farmers of Nekmrod village of Ranishankoilupazila of the district with the help of agriculture department. Mechanization in agriculture, more production in less time, less cost and with the aim of solving the labor shortage, farmers have started getting benefits in this method of farming.
Also labor shortage during harvest is now a perennial problem in Bangladesh. Due to the direct and indirect effects of industrialization, people have been moving toward cities for decades. Therefore, agricultural workers are constantly decreasing. This crisis will increase in the future. One solution to this could be the mechanization and synchronization of agriculture.
The present government has taken various measures for sustainable mechanization to make agriculture modern and profitable. One of which is cooperative farming system. Farmers on the other hand complain that paddy cultivation is not profitable. One of the ways to make it profitable is to reduce production costs. And to reduce production costs, there is no alternative to simultaneous cultivation. Machines are used in every step of crop production from seedling production to harvesting. Seedlings are produced by sowing rice seeds in trays with the help of seed sowing machine. Then the seedlings are sown in the field with the help of rice trans planter machine. It used to cost 2000 to 2200 taka per acre in traditional method. Another 700 to 800 rupees is being spent for planting saplings through machines. UD pipe has been installed to measure the level of irrigation in the land. The farmer said that five irrigation costs have been reduced. In this method the paddy will be harvested through a combined harvester machine where cutting and threshing will be done simultaneously. In addition to paddy cultivation, gourd, shrimp and pumpkin trees have been planted in the land. It also fulfills the nutritional needs of family vegetables. As a result of simultaneous farming, three crops are being produced on the same land, as a result of which, besides increasing the production of food grains, the concentration of agricultural land is also increasing. Pesticide costs are reduced as crop pests are reduced.
Akhlaq Hossain, Mojibur Rahman, Mahfuzur Rahman, farmers who cultivated the system, said that we did not know anything about this system before. We used to cultivate differently. Through the Upazila Agriculture Officer, we are interested to learn about this method. Synchronized farming on the one hand reduces the cost of irrigation along with solving the crisis of agricultural laborers, on the other hand we can harvest at the same time and the production is expected to be higher than in other seasons. As a result, the price will be good. In addition, in this method, we have provided an additional income by cultivating various additional crops and vegetables including gourd, shrimp, pumpkin in the aisle of the crop field. We have also received good support in fertilizers and seeds from the Upazila Agriculture Office.
RanisongkoilUpazila Agriculture Officer Sanjay Debnath said, I believe that our efforts will play a big role in the project that the government has taken with the aim of mechanization in agriculture and production of additional food in less time. Because ours is the country's largest synchronized farming field. The present government is working relentlessly to make agriculture modern and profitable by increasing the use of machinery in agriculture. Various projects have been given great importance in agricultural mechanization. Besides, 284 posts of agricultural engineers have been created at the field level to create skilled manpower to accelerate agricultural mechanization. As a result, our agriculture is going towards mechanization. 'Synchronized' cultivation will facilitate the use of machinery. Farmer's time, labor and cost will be reduced. Farmers will benefit. Farmers will survive, the country will survive.
