The promise of a power tiller, free or at subsidised rate, among our rural voters, could garner good support for any political party. A power tiller, farmers are aware, can reduce farm drudgery and speed up farm work.

Called the “farmers’ friend,” a power tiller means much more than a Toyota Prado to a rich businessman or a contractor. It can till and flatten land, with the output equal or more than what three pairs of bulls can do in a day. It can thresh paddy, pump water and when it is off-farming season, transport farm produce, building materials and even provide emergency ambulance service.

If we are to find a solution to the increasing googtongs (empty households) and encouraging farmers to stay in their villages and grow food, farm mechanisation is crucial. With helping hands rare or becoming expensive in the villages, mechanisation like power tillers, threshers, winnowers and many more could  stop farmers from abandoning their farm  and migrate to the town to live with their children or relatives.

Recognising this, successive governments have tried this. Power tillers were distributed to the gewogs to help farmers. Farmers could hire the tillers at a cheaper rate. It worked for a while. Hiring a private power tiller, for instance in 2018 was Nu 500 an hour. Many waited for the “Zhungi Potela”. But given the short cultivation season and dependence on the tradition of irrigation water distribution system, not many could avail themselves the service. The intention was good, it could not fulfil the needs of farmers.

It is not surprising to see many of the tillers out of service, needing repair or waiting to be disposed of. What lacked was ownership of the valuable machines. The attitude was that the tillers belonged to everyone, and at the same, to no one. Owned privately, a tiller can last many years. There are many in the villages that outlasted the guarantee period because of care and the difference it made.

While the government power tiller scheme may sound like a failed project, it should not be discontinued. In fact, we need to support farmers with improved mechanisation. Every year, the work cycle is a problem with farmers waiting for government intervention. Farmers need pumps to irrigate their fields, tillers to plough, transplanters in flatland, harvesters and threshers to  ease farming and encourage them to grow food.

Import of food, including our staple, rice, is increasing every year. So are the fallowing of scarce arable land in the country. AgriTech or agrotechnology has been recoginsed as the solution to improve yield, efficiency if not profitability. We should not back out just because the tillers are languishing in a sad state of repair.