<i>Tegra, a farming package that increases rice output</i>
A farmer of Nandigram in Bogra district planting paddy seedlings using Tegra technology. The system increases yield by around 20 percent and reduces dependence on labourers. Inset, seedlings raised under the package. Courtesy: FIDA
Shamsher Ali of Nandigram upazila of Bogra district is confident of getting better Aman crop than many other farmers in his neighbourhood this year as he has mechanised his paddy farming with the help of a leading global life science company. "Insha'Allah, I'll get more rice this year using the modern technology" said a beaming Ali. Like Ali, Mohammad Aftab Uddin and a few other co-villagers are also replacing their traditional crop growing by a modern way of paddy farming named Tegra. Tegra, a brand name developed by Switzerland-based multi-national company Syngenta, is a farming package comprising of seed, raised seedlings, transplanting, labour for logistics while transplanting and application of herbicides at the time of transplanting, besides advisory on agronomic practices. "Farmers will get at least 20 percent more crop by using Tegra as this solution provides them with comprehensive services to ensure risk and tension-free paddy production," Dr ABM Ziaur Rahman, head of Tegra in Bangladesh told a group of journalists who went to see the use of Tegra in the district. FIDA, an organisation for agriculture reporters organised the field visit, in association with Syngenta, Bangladesh. Syngenta, after successful launching of Tegra in India in 2009, introduced the mechanised paddy farming services this year in Bangladesh on 150 acres of land in Bogra district. Many farmers in this area said they are dependant on labourers from neighbouring districts and disruption of labour flow often hinders paddy production. Rahman said the technology would help farmers overcome labour shortage and rising cost of labourers besides enhancing the yields by an average of up to 20 percent. Some farmers in Nandigram this year planted BRRI 32 and BRRI 59 on 150 acres of land by using Tegra, a four- stage comprehensive services for paddy cultivation. At the first phase, paddy seeds are placed in specially designed trays by a machine, which puts rice bran, water, nutrients and chemicals there. The trays are then taken to the seedling area where a team looks after the seedling process that takes 16 days. "This is much earlier than the traditional process of growing seedling, which takes 30 days or more," Rahman said. After 16 days, the seedlings are taken to the paddy field and transplanted by a machine, which effectively replaces the age old time consuming hand transplantation process. The younger seedlings can produce as many as 50 tillers per hill whereas farmers produce only 30 tillers in their usual process. "More tillers mean more grain-bearing panicles," Rahman said and added that the machine also helps farmers save seeds as it plants two seedling per hill compared to the traditional 4 to 6 seedlings per hill. Farmer Ali said the price of a smaller version of the transplanter is around Tk 300,000. But, currently he is getting the comprehensive services from Syngenta for Tk 4,500 per acre, which is almost same as manual farming process. He said the transplanter also helps save time and labourers as only two persons can plant 4-5 acres a day. Besides, the machine consumes only half a litre of fuel oil per hour.
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