A farmer gets hands-on training on zero-tillage concept at Araria on Tuesday. Telegraph picture

Araria, Feb. 8: Farmers from several districts received training today on the zero-tillage concept.

A daylong workshop was organised today by Begusarai branch of International Centre for Maize and Wheat Improvement, under the chairmanship of the district agriculture officer Baid Nath Yadav.

Farmers from Purnea, Katihar, Kishanganj and Araria attended the workshop and learnt the concept.

Agriculture scientists like Raj Kumar Jaat, Ashok Kumar Yadav and Dinesh Kumar spoke on the occasion, giving tips on how to adopt the technique and how it would help increase the produce.

The scientists gave demonstration on the technique by standing on a piece of land and sowing seeds and then with the use of zero-tillage method. Zero-tillage technique does not involve cultivation, but planting seeds 4cm into the cultivable soil through a machine called zero till seed drill.

The seeds sown using this machine yield faster than other seeds implanted without using these machines.

These machines are available at the district agriculture office at 80 per cent subsidy.

The farmers who want to buy this machine must have a tractor, without which the machine cannot be used.

The zero-tillage technique has been employed in six states — Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal. The states of Bihar and Bengal come under the Begusarai centre.

Farmers from 10 districts in Bihar are using this technique at the moment. Farmers from Patna, Purnea, Katihar, Araria, Begusarai, Samastipur, Nawada, Jamui, Muzaffarpur and Begusarai have employed this technique over 50,000 acres.

Farmers using the technique said they required less time in watering the seeds after they have been planted, as the land has not been tilled at the time of sowing the crops. Apart from human labour, even fertilisers are not required if this technique is used.

However, if the scientists are to be believed, it was not easy to convince everyone about the benefits of zero tillage.

“In Araria, it was very difficult to convince the farmers to employ this technique. Scientist Ashok Kumar Yadav travelled from village to village trying to explain people about the benefits of the machine and the technique,” Yadav told The Telegraph.