Making inroads for food security through cutting-edge farming technology

IRRI News, Monday, August 19, 2019

“We could never imagine before today a farming equipment and technology exhibition being held in our village”, said Jadav Basumatary, a progressive farmer from Barkachari Gaon, block Kathiatoli, district Nagaon in Assam; a scenic state, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys in India.

“It is so encouraging to see so many new machines that could reinvigorate farming in our villages, making it profitable and maybe even generate more employment” he adds, looking over at the latest farm machinery lined up at the farm mechanization and technology exhibition organized in June by IRRI and partners under project ‘Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation’ (APART).

The world-bank funded project, in which IRRI is a technical partner, is a collaborative intervention supported by Assam Government and is being implemented along with partners since 2018. To add value and improve resilience of agriculture value chains in the state, the project is focused on smallholder farmers and agro-entrepreneurs in 16 districts. By increasing access to updated knowledge and technologies, the project is trying to empower farmers for better decision-making, such that yield gaps are reduced, leading to an increase in farmer incomes and improved sustainability of rice-based agrifood systems. A key activity under APART aims to organize training of trainers, field training, and demonstrations that will help farmers understand the critical interventions needed for better pre- and postharvest management practices and encourage them to adopt these. 

“Post-harvest management is a key component of the value chain of rice that helps in enhancing product quality, marketability and assures profitability. Moreover, motivating youth to purchase machines and opening up of localized Custom Hiring Centres can help speed up dissemination of technologies to farmers.” said Mr. Harin Baishya, Agriculture Coordinator, ARIAS Society.

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