Seminar on Enhancing Rice Cultivation through Mechanization and Addressing Drawbacks of Conventional Harvesting in Daska, Sialkot

Islamabad: (PR&P, PARC) The Agricultural Engineering Institute of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council Islamabad organized a seminar/training program in Daska, Sialkot with the objective of enhancing rice yields through education and training on the advantages of utilizing specialized machinery for rice cultivation and harvesting, while highlighting the drawbacks of traditional methods. Prominent participants comprised Dr. AsifAli Mirani, DG, AED, PARC, Dr. Hafiz Sultan Mehmood, Director, Agricultural Engineering Institute, NARC, along with experts, researchers, engineers, program leaders, and representatives from agricultural organizations.

Dr. Ghulam Muhammad Ali, Chairman of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, emphasized the significance of rice as Pakistan’s second major cash crop, following wheat. He highlighted the necessity of modern farming equipment and high-yielding varieties to enhance productivity and combat the impacts of climate change on the agricultural sector. Rice cultivation primarily takes place in fertile regions of Sindh, Punjab, and Balochistan, providing a livelihood for a significant number of farmers. However, compared to wheat, rice mechanization in Pakistan is relatively low, leading to delays in sowing and reduced yields due to manual labor. Moreover, labor shortages caused by urbanization and industrialization pose a significant challenge for farmers. Dr. Ali suggested that adopting mechanization and utilizing head-feeding combine harvesters could provide viable solutions to tackle these issues.

During the fiscal year 2021-22, rice cultivation encompassed a land area of 3,537 thousand hectares, yielding a total of 9.323 million tons. Nonetheless, the manual transplantation method resulted in a notable shortfall in seedlings compared to the recommended planting density of 80,000-85,000 plants per acre, with an average of merely 40,000-45,000 plants per acre. Furthermore, the average rice yield per acre in Pakistan, standing at 30 to 35 maunds, falls below the international average of 50 maunds per acre. The utilization of reconditioned combine harvesters and manual harvesting practices caused significant losses, ranging from 5 to 13 percent due to grain scattering and 2 to 7 percent due to threshing. In contrast, the application of a rice transplanter enabled the efficient establishment of 80,000 to 125,000 plants per acre, thereby substantially enhancing the yield per acre. Notably, head-feeding combine harvesters exhibited minimal losses, with crushing rates of 1.7 to 3.5 percent and threshing losses of 0.5 to 1.5 percent.

At the end, participants of the seminar shared their insights and experiences regarding mechanized production technology, emphasizing its potential to augment crop yields and encouraging wider adoption in the agricultural community.