A multi-grain drying machine for drying maize and paddy has been brought into operation in Jhapa for the first time.
The machine has been introduced in Kankai Municipality with the objective of increasing the income of the farmers in the Maize Zone by reducing the losses incurred during the threshing of maize and Chaite paddy.
The municipality has bought the machine sharing its costs with the provincial government.
Adarsha Agro Private Limited of Kankai Municipality-5 started using the dryer.
According to Khagendra Silwal, a leading farmer and member of the Maize Zone Steering Committee, the multi-grain dryer has been brought in the participation of eight farmers, including him in Adarsha Agro by investing around of Rs. 13.2 million.
The province government has given a grant of Rs. 8 million. “We have invested more than Rs. 4 million to purchase the machine,” said Silwal.
They are also making necessary preparations to use the technology from production to storage, he said.
He said that the local farmers would not have any problem as the machine would dry up to 3,000 kgs (75 mans) of maize and paddy per hour.
“At present, we are drying maize and paddy at the rate of 1,200 kgs (30 mans) per hour though its capacity is 75 man per hour,” said Silwal.
He also said that it would be easier to sell maize and paddy when they get reasonable price.
Due to lack of dryers for drying paddy and maize, the farmers were forced to sell paddy and maize at the price fixed by the middlemen.
The farmers were compelled to sell as much as they could as raw rice and maize would be spoilt. Now this problem is expected to come to an end.
Paddy super zone has been expanded in Jhapa since last year. The paddy super zone in the municipality has been expanded across the district.
Maize zone has also been developed. Despite the increase in production, there is a problem in marketing. It has been repeatedly said that the farmers are not even getting the production cost.
According to Rabindra Subedi, Chief and Senior Agriculture Officer of the Prime Minister’s Agriculture Modernisation Project Implementation Unit, Jhapa, a multi-grain dryer has entered the district for the first time at the community level to dry maize and paddy.
He said that the project had repeatedly tried to share in the dryer but the budget for the dryer had not been utilised.
The maize crop zone under the Prime Minister’s Agriculture Modernisation Project, Project Implementation Unit, Jhapa was approved in August 2019 and came into operation since.
Maize zone was implemented in Kankai Municipality-5 and Jhapa Rural Municipality-7 in the fiscal year 2019/20 and the area was expanded in fiscal year 2020/21.
The programme has been implemented in Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 of Jhapa Rural Municipality. There is suitable and fertile soil for maize cultivation, Subedi said.
Source : TRN,
