Farmer participatory research on the Chinese hand tractor, Rupandehi, Nepal, 1997
1998
Pradhan, G. | Khan, S.U. | Justice, S. | Gami, V.K.
The Chinese hand tractor (CHT) and its implements were tested over one complete crop season of wheat in Rupandehi District in a joint program that included Rupandehi farmers, the National Wheat Research Program/Regional Agricultural Research Station (NWDP/RARS), Bhairahawa, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)-Nepal, along with the District Agriculture Development Office (DADO)-Bhairahawa, the Bhairahawa Lumbini Ground Water Project (BLGWP), and the Agricultural Engineering Division (AED)-Khumaltar. A farmer participatory research approach was used in testing and evaluating the CHT. Farmers utilized the tractors under their own conditions and then gave a high approval rating of the technology. With additional testing and proper support programs, the tractor can alleviate Nepali farmers' problems of late wheat planting, poor crop establishment, and labor shortages, as well as diminish the stoop labor that is inherent in the current practices, in a socially and economically sustainable manner. What the seed drill can accomplish in a single pass (tilling soil to a fine tilth, drilling seed in rows, and planking) is remarkable to the farmers and reduces their turnaround time and cost of preparatory tillage. Moreover, with additional testing and evaluating of the tractors' other uses (e.g. harvesting, threshing, winnowing, fodder cutting, milling, pumping of water, pulling traditional oxcart), valuable dimensions can be added to this technology package.
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