DNA

Islamabad: Agricultural Engineering Institute, PARC organised an inauguration demo of a state-of-the-art groundnut digger-inverter machine at National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad. Chief guest Dr. Muhammad Azeem Khan, Chairman PARC with DG (NARC), heads of institutes, scientists and engineers of PARC/NARC were also there eyeing the performance of machines.

Dr. Azeem Khan informed through a press release, in order to succeed farmers in near future will require much more than just a reliable tractor. The groundnut digging inverting is a labor intensive task for groundnut farmers and despite of the hard input by using conventional technologies, our farmers are losing 30-35% crops. Seeing the postharvest losses, high production cost and labor preconditions, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council has decided to bring forth this Groundnut Digger-Inverter Machine, which is capable of simultaneously digging and inverting the crop.Thus saving 100% labor cost and reducing post-harvest losses this technology will bring an economical change in groundnut crop mechanization. While showing interest in developing accords with potential machine manufacturers for further development, he added that the machine should be indigenized. The Chairmen also proposed that service facility to farmers should be provided on rental basis for PARC income generation.

DG, NARC at this occasion informed, this machine has a great demand for the last many years.
It is hoped that it will play a pivotal role in development of groundnut enterprises and surely save the precious foreign exchange being incurred on the import of quality groundnut from abroad.