While Sri Lanka’s use of agri machinery is low and under 10% in India this is moving up very fast and is around 45%, said world’s leading agricultural machinery manufacturer brand Shaktiman, India, Senior Vice President International Business, Shashank Watane told Daily News Business at their dealer convention in Negombo.
He said that in developed countries like the USA, it is over90% and due to this firstly the cost of production is low and yield is high as well. He said that use of machinery also reduces labor inputs and costs which can be invested for product development. There is a scarcity of labor in Sri Lanka’s agriculture industry. The younger generation is deviating from farming.
He also said that the use of machinery will also woo more youngsters to the agro sector as most of them opt out of the industry since they have to engage in hard labor. “Machinery will make the agri sector a more vibrant industry.”
He said that for several years they have been strengthening its presence in Sri Lanka, Empowering farmers with innovative and mechanized products.
“Surveys have confirmed that as the mechanization of the farmland increases, the income of the farmer also increases.”
Mechanization also provides sustainable solutions to the environment-friendly quality agriculture industry where weedicides and pesticides are used minimally. “For example, in the preparation of land for farming using the Shaktiman rotary machine, the soil is dug deep and the weeds in the field are suppressed due to the decay of the weeds. Shaktiman has also started work in Sri Lanka to provide access to mechanization, which is required for fruit crops like Mango and guava.
Shaktiman educates farmers to achieve maximum capacity with the currently used machinery as well as further mechanization to save time, labor, money and efficiency. “A program has already been started to impart knowledge to the youth working in universities and higher education about increasing the use of agricultural machinery”
“Another program has already been started to impart knowledge to the youth working in universities and higher education about increasing the use of agricultural machinery.”
Shaktiman, in Rajkot, India since 1997, has manufactured and distributed 107 types of agricultural machinery to more than 100 countries and about 25 of the latest products are in the final stages of research and some of them would be instructed to Sri Lanka as well. (SS)
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