ACI Motors received the 1st prize among the private sector participants at the three-day long Agro Machinery Fair 2019 held at the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) on 24-26 April 2019. Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzak as chief guest inaugurated the fair at the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB). The secretary of the ministry Nasiruzzaman was the chair of the session. The aim of the fair was to raise mechanization in agriculture to boost production. The minister said: “The process of mechanization in the agricultural system of the country is hugely contributing to the economy. Farmers are also reaping benefits in various ways including increase in production, waste reduction of crops, grain intensity, employment generation, and use of agricultural machinery. Secretary Nasiruzzaman said: “We will give incentive package for improvement in this sector, instead of subsidy, from the upcoming budget.”
Professor Manjurul Alam presented the keynote paper on ‘agricultural machinery in Bangladesh: potential and problem’. The paper shows that 79 percent of machinery is locally produced and most of the farmers now plow land using modern machinery instead of bullock-run plows.
Modern equipment, like combined harvesters, mini harvesters, reapers, rice and transplanter are popular among the farmers, it says. It costs a farmer Tk8,668 to cultivate one hectare of land by a bullock-run plow while it is only Tk3,942 for a mini combine harvester, according to the paper.
Some 4010 units of reaper, 1,136 units of combined harvester, 47,873 units of power tiller, 1,294 units of tractor, 9,172 units of power thresher, 1,100 units of foot pump, 500 units of sprayer, 1,964 units of seeders and 74 units of rice transplanter are now in use in the country under the project of farm mechanization, as per the report.
The farm mechanization project of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) was coordinating the fair. DAE director-general Sheikh Md Nazim Uddin said the fair would help raise awareness of farmers and traders about farm machinery.
ACI Motors along with other 28 companies, both from private and public sectors, took part in it. It demonstrated different innovative and efficient products including Sonalika Tractors to the visitors. ACI Motors received the 1st prize among the participating private sector entities as a prominent and large provider of modern, innovative and essential agro machinery equipment in the country.