SB-Sujon :
the past, cow-drawn ploughing was seen on the village roads for ploughing the land. But it is disappearing now. Modern technologies have replaced ploughing with animals. Therefore, the scene of ploughing the land with cows and ploughing with cows is unfamiliar to the new generation.
That method is on the verge of extinction with the touch of modernity. The traditional ploughing with ploughs and cows has been crushed by the benefit of technology! However, even a century ago, farmers used to go to the field in the morning and till the evening to plough. But the tradition of Bengalis, cow-drawn ploughing, cherished for thousands of years, is on the verge of extinction with the touch of modernity.
Perhaps this traditional method of ploughing will one day emerge from the lives of farmers in stories, poems, plays, and movies. It will reach modern society in the paintings of artists on the covers of books. Local senior farmers said that for generations, farming families used to cultivate the land using a piece of iron forged by a blacksmith, a wooden plow made by a carpenter or woodworker, a yoke and a bamboo pestle, a hoe made of leaves, a cow’s mouth (gomai) or a hoe made of pacuni sticks and a ladder. On the other hand, cows were raised commercially for plowing. Plowing with cows was often seen in the fields and fields.
Along with plowing on their own small land, there was a source of livelihood. These images are not seen now. In the modern era, plowing with cows is seen in the cultivation of cropland in Naegartari village of Saptibari UP in Aditmari upazila of Lalmonirhat district. Munsur, a senior farmer of that village, said that he spent most of his life with plowing. Now those days are a memory of the past for him. When asked about the benefits of plowing with cows, he said, “The plow turns the soil deep and brings nutrients to the surface. It increases air circulation and helps retain soil moisture. In natural farming, beneficial insects including earthworms are not destroyed, there is less grass in the land, and the organic fertilizer of cow dung falling on the land would have improved the crop. Even though the land is cultivated in a short time, the fertility of the land is decreasing.”
In this regard, Aditmari Upazila Agriculture Officer Omar Faruk said, “At one time, it was unthinkable to cultivate land without a bullock plow. Ploughing with bullocks is better for crops and soil. However, to ensure food security for the growing population, to make agriculture modern and profitable, we have to move towards the use of modern machinery in agriculture, that is, agricultural mechanization. To transform agriculture into commercial agriculture, we have to ensure the use of modern machinery in agriculture.
Views: 2
