Punjab village leads in selling farming implements

Ferozepur (Kabul Shah Khubban village), Feb.14 (ANI): Known to be a predominantly agricultural state, Punjab has a huge demand for agricultural implements. Travelling in Kabul Shah Khubban village in south-west side of Punjab is known as a hub for manufacturing farm implements.

Located near the India-Pakistan border in Ferozepur district, almost every household in the Kabul Shah Khubban village manufactures agricultural equipments like disc harrows, disc ploughs, tractor trolleys.

Villagers here, who have traditionally been farmers earlier, used to make farm implements for their own use. But gradually they started selling them to others in nearby villages.

The village is now known for producing farming equipments. Youngsters have take to family traditions like ducks to water.

"This is the first and the only village of Punjab where everybody is employed. You will not find any unemployed perosn in our village. Around 1,000 boys here remain busy in various activities everyday. They don't have any bad habits and other things like theft and robbery don't happen here. We have only one problem that we are get an erratic supply of electricity and also there is no banking service in the village," said Fateh Singh, a mechanic in the village.

Kabul Shah Khubban today draws buyers from neighbouring states of Haryana and Rajasthan. The village attracts buyers not just from across Punjab but also from Jammu and Kashmir and even South India.

The reputation and high demand contributes to the village's monthly income from agricultural farm equipments to a whopping 400,000 dollars!

There is a feeling among villagers that the income can be multiplied with the availability of the latest technology, 24-hour electricity supply and proper finance.

There are 10 large and 60 small-scale manufacturing units in the village. Other households are engaged in making components of farm implements.

"The mechanics themselves practically test the farming implements in the fields. They are completely aware of the use of these machines in the fields, whereas other traders just sell implements to the customers. The mechanics keep on experimenting with new machines. In this way, it's a tradition, that we have kept going for generations," said Ranjit Singh, another villager.

Even as diversification of crops is taking place in the state and farmers are taking to newer crops, the availability of suitable farm equipments is vital. For instance, Punjab's south-west region growing cotton has taken to horticulture. It requires farm equipment that is not easily available in the market. by Avtar Gill (ANI)