A worker harvests rice with the harvester in Maungtaw. Photo: MNA
According to the Agricultural Mechanisation Department (AMD), ripe monsoon rice in Buthidaung and Maungtaw region is being harvested by AMD to prevent waste, with the harvested rice systematically handed over to rice receiving and storing committees.
The AMD is using a total of 32 harvesters, 14 owned by the AMD and 18 owned by the state government, to harvest rice in Maungtaw region. The effort began on 26 October, and all ripe monsoon rice in Maungtaw region will be harvested within a 3-month period, it is learnt.
“Rice in Buthidaung and Maungtaw region is now ripe. We are using our harvesters to harvest it in order to prevent it from being wasted. After the rice is harvested, records are made of the amount harvested from each farmland based on ownership, and then systematically handed over to rice receiving and storing committees together with the record”, said AMD Director General U Soe Hlaing on 5 November.
The AMD is using harvesters in the region where the harvesting of rice was made more difficult due to terrorist incidents, it is learnt. In order to do this, AMD personnel from Mandalay Region and Sagaing Region were brought in to support local AMD personnel. Seven front line stations were setup in Maungtaw Township, Kyeinchaung, Chanpyin, Four Mile, Mawrawadi, Inndin, Khamaungsate and Taungpyo.
“Maungtaw Township is facing a shortage of farmhands, and in order to prevent ripe rice from being wasted we are working with 42 personnel from Nay Pyi Taw”, said the head of the Mawrawadi front line station.
The harvested rice was systematically recorded with the quantity, owner’s name, plot number, and moisture level (13 per cent), then bagged and stored in a designated storage area, said Rakhine State AMD head U Tin Maung Kyi.
There is more than 70,000 acres of monsoon rice in Maungtaw Township this year, and in the coming planting season, assistance will be provided to prepare the land while the Department of Agriculture will prioritise efforts to increase the yield, it is learnt.
Machinery will be used in the months of November and December to harvest. If required, preparations will be made to continue the harvest into January. Depending upon the size of the plots, these machines can complete 5 to 10 acres a day, said Rakhine State AMD head.
The Maungtaw region is an area where rice is planted extensively, and every year AMD has conducted training on using and maintaining the machinery, it is learnt.
“Our department is conducting training on driving and maintaining the farm machineries every year. The course provided includes maintaining and repairing tillers, tractors, pumps and engines”, said U Tin Maung Kyi.
The offspring of the farmers were given priority to attend a four-month machinery course at the Meiktila Central Agriculture School, and a number of local farmers’ relatives were learnt to be attending.
By Honey Win
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