BIRGUNJ, June 30: The long-closed Agricultural Tools Factory in Birgunj has resumed production and started distributing agricultural machinery to farmers once again.
After 29 years, the National Innovation Center (NIC) has restarted the manufacturing and sale of agricultural tools from the previously shut-down factory. Among the various machines produced, the hand-operated rice planting machine currently has the highest demand.
The factory, which had been producing agricultural machinery for Nepali farmers, was closed following a government decision to privatize it on May 30, 1996. To revive the country’s only agricultural tools factory, the government entrusted the NIC with its management starting January 15, 2023. Production resumed 28 months after the NIC’s scientific team took charge of the factory.
Engineer Ritesh Dev, head of the National Innovation Center in Birgunj, stated that hand-operated rice planting machines produced by the Agricultural Tools Factory have been sold to farmers in Chitwan. Each hand-operated rice planter is priced at Rs 21,500. Additionally, 15 more hand-operated rice planters have been manufactured and are available for sale.
Engineer Dev said that, since it is currently the rice planting season, farmers have shown keen interest and curiosity about the hand-operated rice planting machines. He added that the machines produced are likely to be sold even before the planting begins.
Dev also mentioned that after months of hard work, the commercial sale and distribution of agricultural tools produced by the Birgunj Agricultural Tools Factory started in the last week of June, leading to increased demand from farmers and boosting the motivation of the workers.
In addition to the hand-operated rice planting machines, production and sales have also started for other agricultural tools, including paddy weeders with cage wheels useful for removing weeds from muddy fields, rice planters, millet planters for planting kodo, and fish farming equipment such as fish incubators and oxygen towers, he said.
The price of the paddy weeder cage wheel ranges from Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000, the fish incubator and oxygen tower set costs Rs 100,000, the rice planter machines are priced between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000, and the millet planter machines are priced at Rs 15,000. So far, more than 100 paddy weeder cage wheel units have been sold, with an additional demand for 500 more units, he added.
The National Innovation Center, Birgunj, has reported that 12 sets of fish incubators and oxygen towers have been sold so far. Engineer Dev also noted that farmers have shown interest in the millet planter for kodo cultivation, indicating good market potential. He added that these agricultural tools are the first of their kind to be produced in Nepal. Dev claimed that locally made Nepali agricultural machinery is stronger and more affordable compared to imported equipment.
Since the rice planting season is just beginning, production and sales efforts are currently focused primarily on rice-related agricultural tools. After the rice season ends, the center plans to prioritize the production and sale of other equipment. Engineer Dev further mentioned that the factory has recently installed a new laser welding machine at the Agricultural Tools Factory in Birgunj.
The 3,000-watt laser welding machine was purchased through a tender process for Rs 1.8 million. Engineer Dev explained that the machine, which can clean rust, cut, and weld metal, will help increase the factory’s production capacity. The chairman and scientist of the National Innovation Center, Mahabir Pun, revealed that the entire operation of the factory is currently being funded through the proceeds from the sale of his autobiography.
So far, the center has successfully trial-produced various machines, including paddy reapers, potato diggers, potato planters, rice planters, dung dewatering machines, plastic mulch makers, dry grass cutters, rice threshers, and other weeder machines. Additionally, they have manufactured small agricultural tools such as pestles, spades, and chaff cutters. After taking over the operation of the Agricultural Tools Factory, which had been closed for three decades, the NIC’s team of scientists has begun producing and distributing 14 to 15 types of agricultural machinery, Dev said.
The factory, gifted by the former Soviet Union government, was inaugurated by the-then King Mahendra on March 10, 1968. The factory produced not only agricultural tools like sickles, hoes, pestles, and spades but also electric poles for the Nepal Electricity Authority, tankers for the then Transport Corporation, and boarding stairs for the Royal Nepal Airlines. At full capacity, the factory employed around 325 workers, including 210 permanent and 115 temporary staff.
However, the government decided to privatize and close the factory on May 30, 1996. When attempting to privatize it for Rs 130 million, it was decided that 65 percent ownership would go to the private sector for Rs 95.1 million, while the remaining 35 percent ownership would be retained by the Nepalese government.