The development challenge
The Developmental Challenge Being one of the professional working in the sector of Market Development in Agriculture Sector in Nepal, the issue of farm mechanisation has always been the one of the sector of my interest. Even though the concept of farm mechanisation is ploddingly increasing, farmers access to related information and machineries in different crops are stumpy. In addition, the effort for farm mechanisation awareness and extension services are insufficient in the country.
Alike the national scenario, I found the situation similar in the Maize Subsector in Bara District; during initial assessment under the Promoting Climate Resilience Agriculture (PCRA) Project. Maize farmers in the project area were unaware and did not use modern farm plantation equipment which resulted low productivity and high cost of production.
On a positive note, this developmental hitch possessed a silver lining for promotion of farm mechanisation in the subsector. Thus, this challenge led identification and promotion of appropriate maize plantation machine in the area.
Exploring Solutions
With the help of the project team I started to identify possible service providers in nearby area of Bara district, which could fulfil our requirement. Though not a “Herculean Task”, the hunt was quite intricate and iterative to meet with service providers and select appropriate machine. After a week of market assessment, “Trishakti Traders” a supplier of farm machine and equipment was identified.
To our ecstasy, Mr. Dhurv Shah (Proprietor- Trishakti Traders) was not only supportive towards our concept but also extended support to the project by offering us a free demo of the machine along with technicians support. Though Mr. Shah knew that though there would not be an immediate return for his investment, he was guided by his deep rooted values that being a responsible citizen he should be contributing for the society through ways he can.
While returning from his sales outlet, a question kept knocking my mind: How vibrant would our society be, if we had more such heart warming people in the sector?
Execution of Identified Solution
Seven plots based upon developed criteria were selected for the demonstration activity. Those include; Affinity towards technology, having suitable land type for machine use, connector in the area for information dissemination and location. Based upon those criteria the selected plots were in Chiutaha, Kachaurwa, Paterwa, Pipradi and Lead Firm Plot Birgunj and the demonstration activities were conducted during 28 Nov- Dec 3, 2017.
Trishakti Traders provided the “Maize Seed Cum Fertiliser Plantation Machine” for demonstration period and also called two machine technicians from Punjab, India to support the process.
Major Outputs
The demo was successful in planting the maize as per the expectations. During the event, effectiveness, efficiency and economic benefits of the machine were also tested. The machine has been found to be simple to operate and could be employed to plant at least 2.5-3 hectares per day under normal conditions . Farm economics shows that it would save about 100 USD per hectare plantation through savings from seed, manure and labour. When the machine would be used as per the calculations above the machine purchase cost (1250 USD) recovery would take less than 5 days. This information was shared to the farmers during the demo activity.
Apart from the demo, the activity also raised a degree of curiosity and awareness in the areas. Being a new technology, farmers and passerby’s were keen to know about the technology and its benefits along with the purchase details. Some of the farmers wanted to test the machine to plant maize in their fields but due to inadequate time and incoming election, it was not possible.
The Final Takeaway: Though this activity cannot be considered as a “Silver Bullet” to solve all the farm mechanisation issues, it has undoubtedly added a brick to lay foundation for farm mechanisation in the maize subsector in the area. PCRA is hopeful that the purchase and use of machine in upcoming maize plantation season will initiate.
Description: Seed cum Fertiliser Maize Planter
The Seed Cum Fertiliser Maize Plantation Machine used for the demonstration consists of five trench liners through which seeds and fertilizers are shown in the field and covered subsequently. The machine acts as an add-on-unit in tractor which is used for agriculture purpose and is easy to operate as it does not have complicated mechanism. It can be handled by two persons after they have a general idea of how the machine operates and can plant up to 3.5 hectares per day. The major parts of the machine along with their functions are described below:
Seed and Fertiliser Holder: The seed and fertiliser holders have been designed in the machine at the topmost level of the machine. There are five seed holder compartments where the maize seeds are kept. Each compartment can hold more than 5 kg of seed. In case of fertiliser, there is only one compartment but has five drains from where the fertilisers fall down along with the maize as shown in the picture aside. The capacity of fertiliser holder is more than 50 Kilograms.
Rotating Wheel Rotating wheel in the machine is connected to the main body with the help of a chain and provides thrust to move the machine forward. It also balances wheels on two sides in order to maintain the required plantation depth. As the wheel rotates forward, the chain provides rotational force to the Axle and Pivot.
Axle and Pivot: As the axle and pivot receive torque, they rotate the seed holder and open the fertiliser holder. Due to the rotation, each seed move into the vacant space of the holder and are pushed down to the outlet. The seed holder is designed to accommodate only one seed and is pushed down by the brush attached in the seed holder. Similarly the opening of the fertiliser also allows a specific quantity to fall down the pipe to the trench developed.
Trench Liners and Outlet: As the rotating wheel pushes forward in the plot ready for plantation, the trench liner develops five trenches where the seeds and fertilizers get dropped. The trench is covered with the soil by base opening of the trench liner. The continuous rotation motion of the axle and pivot enables a specific spacing amongst the seeds shown. Generally the spacing maintained amongst the seed is about 17-20 cm and the spacing between two trench lines is about 60 cm.
Extra Liner for Mark up purpose: One of the peculiar characteristics of this machine, compared to zero till planter is the provision of extra trench liner. Due to the presence of extra liner, it helps tractor driver to mark up the planted area and maintain the crop spacing for proceeding plantation.