The Bhutanese Leading the way.
A release by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests said the National Research Centre for Animal Nutrition, Bumthang has conducted the promotional program on use of Root Crop Chopping Machine starting from Ura Geog in Bumthang Dzongkhag in pursuit of mechanising feed and fodder development activities in the country. The main objective of initiating such program was to create awareness on advantage of using handy machine among dairy farmers.
The majority of farmers in Ura Geog cultivate fodder root crop especially Swede (Brassica napus) for feeding their livestock during winter season when green fodders are not available. On average, each household harvests 2 to 3 tractor loads of Swede and thus, time required on daily manual chopping is backbreaking.
The Root Crop Chopping Machine is locally designed by the NRCAN keeping in mind the difficulty faced by livestock farmers when chopping root crops before feeding their cattle. It has many advantages in terms of labour saving and also the small chop size ensures that the root crop is easily digested for optimum nutritional value.
Around 100 dairy farmers attended the demonstration for operating and using Root Crop Chopping Machine. Many farmers are encouraged to use new machine following promotional program and thirty two of them placed the demand for the same on cost sharing basis. The similar program will be carried out around the country where root crops are abundantly grown for winter livestock feeding.
