AGRICULTURISTS UPDATED ON FARM TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
Eight university professors from Japan and Thailand were among 50 who participated in an international workshop on appropriate farm and engineering technology for small scale farmers.
Organised by the agriculture machinery centre (AMC) in Paro, the workshop was aimed at establishing technical linkage with institutes in the neighboring countries.
The participants, mainly agriculture and forestry officials, also learned the techniques of improving the professionalism of staff by motivating them and accelerating their learning process.
The workshop is a follow to a similar one held at Thamasat University in Thailand last year where three staff from the AMC attended along with the centre’s chief advisor for strengthening farm mechanization project.
According to Chetem Wangchen, the farm mechanization specialist at the AMC, the workshop updated the knowledge of the participants on the status of farm machinery around the world and evolving approaches.
Presentations also made on the prospect of training programmes offered by the universities and training institutes in Japan and Thailand which are relevant to Bhutan.
He said the workshop strengthened the relation between the institutes and the AMC to carry out collaborative activities in the field of training, research and development.
Collaborations are, in fact, already underway. IN future, AMC technicians can visit these institutes to observe, and undertake training and research works.
“The benefit will be tremendous,” said Chetem Wangchen. “The information and link established will enable the AMC to source in appropriate farming technologies.”
The AMC can henceforth speed up the promotion of appropriate technologies that can be used in Bhutan with slight modifications.
While Japan is the leading technology source, both software and hardware, for Bhutan, Thailand has many practical project which can be adopted in Bhutan.
Three professors at the workshop also presented papers on the rehabilitation of pico- and micro-hydropower projects in the rural and remote areas of Chaingmai in Thailand.
The presentation was highly relevant to Bhutan, especially in areas where the power grid system cannot reach. “The technology is very simple and very appropriate for every small communities and individual farmers,” said Chetem Wangchen.
The second paper presented was on “Food versus Energy”, highlighting the current world issue of the food crops being grown for energy (bio diesel and bio ethanol), which affects food prices.
The third paper was on the possibility of producing biomass from micro algae for energy production, which has the potential of supplementing the growing fuel crisis.
Source: bhutantoday