Mechanization of production and post-production operations of rice cultivation for higher productivity

摘要

Rice is one of the staple foods and its present global production is about 403 million tonnes with an average rice yield of 2,800 kg/ha. As of now, Indian rice production is 85-90 million tonnes having a productivity of 1,800-2,000 kg/ha which is muchbelow the world average and need to be enhanced. One of the options is use of improved tools, implements and machines for production and post-production operations in rice cultivation. Time, energy and cost-effective package of equipment for tillage, puddling, seeding, transplanting, weeding, fertilizer and chemical application, irrigation, harvesting, threshing, drying, storage, milling etc. have been developed for rice production, post-harvest management and value-addition. Application of such machines would help to enhance paddy productivity by 10-15% and total rice yield by 3-5%, augmenting total rice supply by 5-6 million tonnes at a nominal cost.