The Agricultural Engineering Institute (AEI) of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) has organized a seminar and training program for rice growers at Daska, Sialkot for enhancing rice yields through education and training on the advantages of utilizing specialized machinery for rice cultivation and harvesting. The seminar was also aimed to highlight the drawbacks of traditional methods, said a press release issued here on Saturday. Prominent participants were comprised of Dr Asif Ali Mirani, DG, AED, PARC, Dr Hafiz Sultan Mehmood, Director, AEI, NARC along with experts, researchers, engineers, program leaders and representatives from agricultural organizations. Dr Ghulam Muhammad Ali, Chairman PARC emphasized the significance of rice as Pakistan’s second major cash crop, following wheat and highlighted the need of using modern farming equipment and high-yielding varieties to enhance productivity and combat the impacts of climate change on the agricultural sector. Rice cultivation primarily takes place in fertile regions of Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan, providing a livelihood for a significant number of farmers, he said adding that as compared to wheat, rice mechanization in Pakistan was relatively low, leading to delays in sowing and reduced yields due to manual labor. Moreover, labor shortages caused by urbanization and industrialization pose a significant challenge for farmers, he added. Dr Ali suggested that adopting mechanization and utilizing head-feeding combine harvesters could provide viable solutions to tackle these issues. During the fiscal year 2021-22, he said rice cultivation encompasses a land area of 3,537 thousand hectares, yielding a total of 9.323 million tons. Nonetheless, the manual transplantation method resulted in a notable shortfall in seedlings compared to the recommended planting density of 80,000-85,000 plants per acre, with an average of merely 40,000-45,000 plants per acre. The average rice yield per acre in Pakistan, standing at 30 to 35 maunds, falls below the international average of 50 maunds per acre, he said adding that utilization of reconditioned combine harvesters and manual harvesting practices caused significant losses, ranging from 5 to 13 percent due to grain scattering and 2 to 7 percent due to threshing. In contrast, he said the application of a rice transplanter enabled the efficient establishment of 80,000 to 125,000 plants per acre, thereby substantially enhancing the yield per acre. Notably, head-feeding combine harvesters exhibited minimal losses, with crushing rates of 1.7 to 3.5 percent and threshing losses of 0.5 to 1.5 percent. At the end, the participants of the seminar shared their insights and experiences regarding mechanized production technology, emphasizing its potential to augment crop yields and encouraging wider adoption in the agricultural community.