November 18: It is harvesting time, a busy period for farmers in rice growing areas. But farmers in Chuzergang, Sarpang, are hoping that they will be less busy during the harvest time from this year on. They are also hoping that harvesting, a tough, back breaking job, will become easier. The reason is the Agriculture Ministry has introduced a harvesting machine.

The farmers of Chuzergang geog in Sarpang are looking forward to using the harvesting machine.

On Saturday, the Dzongkhag agriculture sector and the Bhur Regional Agriculture Machinery Centre demonstrated the machine for the benefit of the farmers. For the farmers, it was an impressive show. They said with the use of the machine, they would be able to overcome the farm labour shortage.

The Sarpang Dzongda said with rural urban migration, farm labour shortage is a problem especially during the harvesting period which is a labor intensive activity. He said farm mechanization is necessary to overcome the problem.

The Dzongkhag Agriculture Officer said they chose Chuzergang to conduct the trial. He said the response from the farmers has been encouraging. Some of the farmers said they hope to purchase the machine.