Nestled in the district of Darrang, with tributaries of Brahmaputra flowing through it and having fertile soil conducive for cultivation, Gorukhuti is now in the limelight due to an agriculture project being undertaken by the Govt. of Assam.
The project is a multipurpose agriculture initiative spanning several thousand bighas of riverine char land with various farm enterprises including paddy, mustard and other vegetable cultivation, dairy, apiculture and fishery. The project began a mechanised approach in every field and processing activities in different crop value chains.
Assam, being dominated by small and marginal farmers, faces the challenge of using the machines in their field. Moreover, the awareness level of farmers on the machinery is still in its nascent stage.
Under the Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) with its implementing partners has been promoting technologies in the rice value chain since 2018.
The Department of Agriculture (DoA), with the technical support from IRRI, organized an exposure visit on February 24, 2022 under APART. The organizers demonstrated the use of tools and equipment such as mechanical transplanter (MTR), drum seeder, seed-cum-fertilizer drill, fertilizer spreader-cum sprayer, reaper, axial flow thresher, solar bubble dryer, and super bag. Farmers and extension officials from 15 districts of Assam participated. They also engaged in hands-on training on using the mechanical transplanter.
With the primary aim of increasing farmer income, APART also encourages women participation. To support this, the transplanter demonstrated at the event was run by a progressive woman farmer, setting an example of women-friendly machines in agriculture.
“We have come to Gorukhuti for the first time. We have heard that all agricultural machines and modern technologies are being used for cultivation and post-harvest operations of different crops at this project site. Here we have experienced the technologies that are specific to rice cultivation and postharvest. This is the first time, when we have witnessed such a large number of technologies at one time. We are happy that IRRI and the Department of Agriculture, Assam have organised such a good exposure visit for us,” a farmer participant said.
The program was attended by Dr. Kanwar Singh, Sr. Associate Scientist, Vipin Kumar and Jyoti Bikash Nath, Specialists, IRRI along with some senior officials of the Department of Agriculture including Mr. M. Patiri, Nodal officer, OPIU-Agri, APART, Mr. Jyotish Nath, District Agricultural Officer, and Mr. Raoshaeb Bendre, Agriculture Specialist, OPIU-Agri, APART.