“Since my childhood I have been fascinated by machines and always look for ways to improve efficiency of my farming operations,” says 82 year-old farmer, Md. Abdur Rahman from Jessore district in southern Bangladesh. After attending a machinery demonstration event by CSISA-Mechanization and Irrigation (CSISA-MI) this year, Rahman started using the seeder fertilizer drill (SFD).

 “I came to know about seeder fertilizer drill, which could be attached to my existing two-wheel tractor and can simultaneously till, seed and fertilize in line with greater precision and saves energy,” adds Rahman. His excitement is shared by farmers in the district, who are adopting new agricultural machines to generate more profit.

Through CSISA-MI, resource-conserving and labor saving farm machines such as axial flow pumps, seeder fertilizer drills, rice transplanters and reapers have been introduced in southern Bangladesh. As part of USAID’s Feed the Future initiative, the program works in collaboration with private sector and government (Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute and the Department of Agricultural Extension) partners to expand sustainable intensification, reduce fallow areas, increase farm incomes and help solve agriculture labor crisis.

“Last season, I saved over US $25 and hope to save the same amount in this season by tilling, seeding, fertilizing and leveling my land with this seeder machine,” says Rahman, who bought the SFD for US $458 and works with his nephew to operate this machine on his farm. He also plans to start an SFD service business in his area from this coming dry season. He will charge US $25 per acre and hopes to cover 30 acres, which will give him a revenue of US $770 for tilling and seeding.

Rahman likes to work on machines and has worked with the CSISA-MI team to improve his machine performance by modifying the metal work under the seed box, preventing dirt from clogging and infiltrating the seed box during use. “With this machine, you can do a number of things at one go and so you are saving your money, time and reducing intervals between crops.  In agriculture if you can save time, you can maximize production as well as increase cropping intensity that will earn additional income,” says Rahman to other farmers in the area, who are eager to adopt the SFD after seeing Rahman’s profit.

This article is authored by M. Shahidul Haque Khan, Communications Officer, CSISA-MI.