INNOVATION TO TRANSFORM RICE SEEDLINGS TRANSPLANTING

The new technology, once fully adopted, is set to transform rice seedlings transplanting by increasing efficiency, reducing labor, and allowing the correct spacing hence maximizing the seedlings used per acre. The transplanting machine, called Paddy Ropak 637, that was tested in the Mwea irrigation scheme, will be a game changer in the production chain. The Paddy Ropak 37, developed bythe Indian company –Shaktiman, is a specialized rice transplanter for relocating rice seedlings onto paddy fields. Agronomic practices like transplanting, plant spacing, and good water management are skills that, when put into practice by farmers, can greatly increase rice yields within the same area of production. Peterson Gicobi, fromthe National Irrigation Authority, said the machine will be time saving as it takes human labor almost the whole day to transplant for an acre, while the machine can accurately do it within an hour. The equipment is loaded with seedlings at the nursery due to its flexibility and transport to the field reducing the number of seedlings damaged in human processes of transplanting. This will allow farmers to set up their nurseries at places where they can keep close against pests and diseases before they transport them to the field.