Steps taken to gear up agri machinery production

TALHA BIN HABIB | Published: May 02, 2020 21:06:52

The government has taken measures to ramp up the production of agriculture machinery amid high demand during the current Boro harvest season, an official said.
Under the move, the ministry of industries (MoI) has directed the authority of Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) to increase the volume of production of agriculture machinery and light engineering tools during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in the country.
"We have taken measures to continue our production of agriculture machinery and light engineering tools considering high demand of the items during the Boro harvesting season," BSCIC chairman Md Mostaque Hassan told the FE on Saturday. To this end the industrial units at BSCIC industrial estate in Bogura have been manufacturing agriculture machines and light engineering tools round the clock considering the demand of the agriculture tools among the farmers for quick harvesting of Boro paddy.
The whole country is now under lockdown following the outbreak of Covid-19 in Bangladesh on March 8.
The lockdown has put a halt on vehicular movement and thus deprived the paddy reapers to travel to different areas for reaping of Boro paddy.
The farmers in haor and other areas where Boro paddy got a bumper production started to depend on agriculture machinery like combined harvester and other tools following the shortage of manpower (reapers).
The BSCIC chairman said the officials and workers at all BSCIC industrial estates in Bogura and other parts of the country have been working to produce essential commodities like food and medicines by strictly following safety health guidelines to save themselves from the infection of the deadly virus.
Mr Hassan said 35 industrial units out of 45 in Bogura industrial estate have been engaged in producing/ manufacturing agriculture machinery or tools worth over Tk 10 million daily.
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