Kadavallur farmers bert on drum seeder to slash labour, seed costs

Kadavallur: Faced with rising farm wages and a shortage of labour, paddy farmers at Adimanathazham have turned to a drum seeder in a bid to halve cultivation costs and cut sowing time.

Following advice from the Agriculture Department, a trial of the machine-based sowing method was conducted on 20 cents of the paddy field on Wednesday. If proven successful, the method is expected to significantly reduce labour and seed costs while also saving time.

Traditionally, paddy cultivation during the Mundakan season involves raising seedlings in a nursery and then transplanting them to the field. The process costs around Rs.6,000 an acre. With a drum seeder, however, farmers can sow the seeds directly in the field and complete the job themselves in about an hour

The method eliminates the need to prepare and plough a nursery bed as well as the cost of transplanting seedlings. “The shortage of farm workers and rising wages prompted us to try the new technology,” said Modern Basheer, secretary of the Padasekhara Samiti (Polder Committee).

Farmers say the drum seeder could also make subsequent operations, including weeding, fertiliser application and harvesting, much easier. Padasekhara Samiti president C R Aravindakshan and farmers Manamkandath Muhammad Haji and Kunjumuhammad led the sowing initiative.

Sowing made simpler
A drum seeder allows germinated paddy seeds to be sown directly in the field in evenly spaced rows by eliminating the need to raise and transplant seedlings. The seeds are loaded into plastic or fibre drums fitted with small holes. As the device is pulled across the field, the seeds fall through the holes onto the soil in neat rows.

The method helps reduce seed requirements by nearly half. Uniform spacing gives the plants better access to sunlight and air, potentially improving yields. The orderly rows also make mechanical weeding and other crop management operations easier.