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Saturday | October 10, 2026 | Dhaka

Labour shortages, rising wages fuel agri yield costs

Mechanised planting costs Tk 1,000 per 33 decimals of land, against Tk 3,000 using traditional methods
 Khulna Correspondent
 Published: 12:01 AM, 09 October 2026
Agricultural officials of DAE Khulna visited paddy field in Batiaghata of Khulna district on Thursday.

Rice farmers in Batiaghata Upazila of Khulna are exploring mechanised planting as labour shortages and rising wages continue to push up agricultural production costs.

A rice transplanter can plant seedlings on 33 decimals of land for around Tk 1,000, compared with approximately Tk 3,000 using conventional methods, farmers said at a field day held in the Gangarampur Madhyapara area on Thursday.

The event aimed to familiarise farmers with the technology and encourage its wider adoption to reduce planting costs, save time and address the shortage of agricultural workers.

Md Rafiqul Islam, additional director of the DAE’s Khulna region said”Farm labour shortages, rising labour costs and the need to complete agricultural operations on time have made mechanisation increasingly important.”

He added that machinery could create new opportunities for farmers, particularly in labour-intensive operations such as rice transplanting. Greater coordination among government agencies, research institutions, development partners, entrepreneurs and farmers would be essential to expand the technology, he said. The Jashore regional office of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) organised the field day with support from the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), the Satkhira regional office of the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and local development organisation Lokoj.

The event was chaired by Md Nazrul Islam, deputy director of the DAE in Khulna district.
Other speakers included agricultural scientist Dr SM Ferdous, former principal of an Agricultural Training Institute and consultant to Solidaridad; Dr Md Mamunur Rashid, chief scientific officer at BRRI’s Satkhira regional office; Md Zakaria Hasan, CIMMYT’s Jashore regional coordinator; and representatives of agricultural projects, local administration and development organisations.

Farmers and entrepreneurs also shared their experiences with the technology. Participants included rice transplanter entrepreneur Al Azad, farmers Chandana Mahaldar and Arun Roy, and Hirannmoy Mondal, a farmer from Brittisholua village. Representatives from ACI Motors and CIMMYT also spoke at the event.

Speakers cautioned that supplying machinery alone would not ensure sustainable mechanisation. Access to quality seedlings, trained machine operators and mechanics, and reliable local-level services would be necessary to make the technology more accessible to farmers. They also noted that mechanised planting could create opportunities for local entrepreneurs to provide agricultural services while reducing farmers’ expenditure on labour.

As part of this year’s initiative, rice transplanters are being used for field demonstrations and farmer-engagement activities on 15 acres of land in Batiaghata.

The programme seeks to promote modern rice-planting technology, reduce production costs and encourage wider adoption of agricultural machinery.

Agricultural officials and development partners hope that stronger local service networks and continued farmer engagement will help expand the use of rice transplanters in the region.