The first rice transplanting machine was used in Mazandaran Province on Saturday, said Azizollah Shahidifar, an official at Mazandran Agriculture Jihad Organization. Mechanization is required to cut costs and increase production, IRNA reported.
Several factors including lack of youth’s interest in the job and higher costs of traditional rice transplanting have encouraged farmers to adopt the new farming method.
Mechanized rice farming can reduce production costs by 50% and boost production as much as 15%.
