MYAGDI: Mangala Rural Municipality in Myagdi has distributed agricultural equipment worth Rs 10 million to around 200 farmers under a subsidy program aimed at promoting agricultural mechanization.
The tools, including mini-tiller ploughs, mills, and thresher machines, were distributed at a 50 percent subsidy during a program held on Tuesday at Matebagar in Babiyachaur, the center of the rural municipality.
According to Bimal Roka, chief of the municipality’s Agriculture Branch, the distribution included 149 mini-tiller ploughs, 35 mills, and 11 threshers.
Rural Municipality Chairperson Sat Prasad Roka said the local government has prioritized mechanization programs to reduce farming costs, ease labor shortages, and save farmers’ time. He noted that the use of mini-tillers has been increasing as an alternative to oxen for ploughing fields.
Dhanmaya Roka, a farmer from Ward No. 4 of Mangala Rural Municipality, said mini-tillers have significantly reduced both labor and expenses. “Work that used to take three days with oxen can now be completed in about three hours using a mini-tiller,” she said, adding that farmers no longer need to bear the burden of raising oxen for ploughing.
Another farmer, Nandakala Sunar, said the use of mini-tillers has relieved farmers from the difficulties of arranging grass and water for cattle. Similarly, farmer Jagat Gharti said agricultural machinery has helped address labor shortages while making farm work faster and more efficient.
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