Indian Tobacco Company (ITC) personnel gave a demonstration of transplantation of tobacco saplings, using new technology, at Emmekoppalu, in the taluk, recently.

Arun Prakash, an executive from the ITC, said, the margin of profit for farmers reduces due to dependence on manual labour.

“Non-availability of labourers for transplantation during the right time also affects the quality of the yield. So, we are introducing the technology, which is being used in South Africa. Using the new technology, farmers can complete transplantation on one acre of land in just one hour. If one uses manual labour, one has to spend at least Rs 3,000 for transplantation in one acre of land. The new technology incurs an expenditure of not more than Rs 1,000 per acre. It also saves a lot of water,” he said.

ITC is entering into an agreement with the Tobacco Board to provide the transplantation equipment to farmers at subsidised rates, he added.