Abdur Rahman, a farmer of Purbachandrapur village in Daganbhuiyan upazila of Feni. In the current boro season, he has planted 60 manas of paddy in 280 acres of land.
The yield has also been quite good due to good irrigation system, but the problem is with the price of paddy. He is worried about not getting good price of paddy from local traders.
In such a situation, Abdullah Al Marf, a local deputy assistant agriculture officer, met farmer Abdur Rahman. Talking about the problem, the agriculture official said there is no reason to worry, paddy will be bought by the government at a fair price. That is why you have to register in the mobile app called 'Farmer's App' of the Ministry of Information and Technology, then the paddy will be bought in the government warehouse at the appointed time. The farmer was relieved to hear the words of the agricultural officer.
This is not just one farmer - thousands of farmers who are benefiting from the growth of information technology services in the agricultural sector. Now you don't need many years of experience to work in agriculture. Many people are succeeding in agricultural work by using various agricultural apps, web sites and social media like Facebook and YouTube.
Such a district coastal Sonagazi paddy research area young. Abu Saeed Rubel. The young man worked in the management of an international hotel in Saudi Arabia. Earning income on foreign soil was also quite good. Due to various adversities and tensions, he did not stay there till the end. He returned to the country. He was wandering here and there in frustration. An official of Sonagazi Paddy Research Center noticed his frustration. On the advice of that official, Rubel is now a successful agricultural entrepreneur. He didn't have to learn agriculture from anyone - he became a farmer himself by looking at the farmer's window and today's agriculture app and various web sites.
Now his income has exceeded half a million rupees every month. On an average, 20 to 25 workers work on his farm every day. Rubel said he is cultivating their family's 32 acres of land. Besides cultivating various vegetables including boro and aus aman paddy, he also has fish and poultry farms.
Rabiul Haque, a farmer, cultivates paddy on one bigha of land in Gel Boro season at Alokdia village in Kalidah union of Feni Sadar upazila. After preparing the land, he went to plant saplings and fell into danger. Matching workers due to lockdown. The solution was given by the local Sadar Upazila Agriculture Office. His paddy is planted with modern machine rice transplanter.
Farmer Rabiul told banglanews that it used to take three to four workers to plant boro paddy saplings in one bigha of land. It would have cost three to four thousand rupees. With the help of this modern machine, rice seedlings can be planted in one bigha of land in just one hour. The cost is much less.
Abu Taher, Additional Deputy Director, Department of Agricultural Extension, told banglanews that the Department of Agriculture is working to develop farmers as modern farmers. Under the project of use and mechanization of modern information technology, the Department of Agriculture is providing these and other modern equipments through subsidy for the convenience of the farmers. Farmers are benefiting a lot from this.
Muhammad Shahidul Islam (acting), deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Feni and an agronomist, said that at one time the oxen, plows and yokes were the main reliance of the farmers. The harvest of dreams in the field in return for manual labor all day. With the advancement of modern technology, that day is no more. The use of new information technology and the use of machinery has revolutionized the agricultural sector of the country. As a result of the use of these machines, the labor and cost of the farmer has decreased, on the other hand the production has increased several times.
In the past, when plows, yokes and oxen were the main tools of the farmer's farming, the place has now been taken up by all the modern devices and various agricultural mobile based apps and web sites. As the agricultural machinery has become modern, so has the cultivation in an improved manner. The government has taken various initiatives through digital to make farming easier by reducing the labor of farmers. Various projects are being implemented using e-agriculture or advanced technology. He cites the Farmer's Window app as an example.
Through this mobile app, farmers are getting all the information of agriculture including paddy planting, insect control, fertilizer application and vegetable cultivation very easily. You don't have to go to anyone, all the solutions match on the screen of the mobile.
Agriculture officials say farmers using information technology and machinery in agriculture are able to produce more crops with less labor. The government has already taken some steps to increase the use of technology and machinery in agriculture. And they are working at the field level to implement it.