School Farm Mechanization Programme as part of the School Agriculture Programme commences at Paro, Samtenling and Khangma offices of Agriculture Machinery Centre with clear objective and improved curriculum. There are three types of trainings under this programme (a) High school students (b) Technical Training Institute trainees and (c) College of Natural resources students.
Twenty five high school students from eastern Bhutan are undergoing one month farm mechanization training which started from January 3, 2017 in Khangma office of AMC. The training had been purposely coincided with their winter vacation to make it possible and to engage them fruitfully The objective of the training is to impart the importance, benefits and opportunities in farm mechanization activities in agriculture sector. The curriculum consists of operation and maintenance of different farm machineries including the power tiller. The knowledge and skills gained can also be utilized in informing their families, relatives and village folks on their return to villages. This training shall be a routine activity of AMC hereafter every January.
Also, twenty and twelve trainees from Technical Training Institute (TTI) Khuruthang and Jakar are undergoing the 3 months training in AMC, Paro and eight trainees from TTI Dekiling in Samtenling office. The training will end by March. They are taught the operation of power tiller, repair of power tiller and design and fabrication of farm machinery equipment during these three months. The training termed as “Technical Farm Machinery Training” under the School Farm Mechanization Programme is to instill the scope and opportunities for this section of trainees in Agriculture Mechanization Programme and in agriculture. They have the opportunities to get employed in FMCL, geog hiring services or set up their own enterprises to provide back- up services for farm mechanization in all corners of country.
Agriculture Machinery Centre had already started to work on improving the curriculum and to link objective of such trainings to the huge opportunities in the agriculture in discussion with the Department of Agriculture. The AMC management feels that there is huge long term benefit of such programme linking with general and technical school from now itself. This programme shall be spear headed and annually executed every winter hereafter.