How one family turned Bogura into the country's agritech capital 

In the late 19th century, during the British colonial era, most agricultural and household tools, especially the metal appliances used in this part of then Bengal, were manufactured in Kolkata. 

At the time, a common man from Bogura, Tamijuddin, used to roam the city's streets to observe the activities of the metal industry. At one point, he collected metals from there and founded a blacksmith's shop in his hometown. 

The first products he manufactured were horseshoes and cattle shoes for animals used in pulling carriages. The products were sold countrywide, and his name spread everywhere. It was 1880.

Fast forward to last year, I visited an agricultural equipment market in Kishoreganj to buy a centrifugal pump for some experiment. The shopkeeper showed me a pump. The build was strong, but the finishing was not world-class, it rather had a deshi look. 

Curious, I asked where the pump was from, and the seller said it was made in Bogura. To my surprise, the seller told me that many other farming equipment also came from the same place. 

In fact, about 80% of the country's farming machinery is made in Bogura, sales of which are worth thousands of crore taka per annum, according to Bangladesh Engineering Shilpa Malik Samity. The industry also saves at least Tk1,000 crore equivalent of forex through import substitution. 

Among the machinery are the paddy and maize threshers, potato grading machines, irrigation pumps, paddy reapers, tilling machines, drum seeders and many more. Also, 30% spare parts of diesel engine and power tiller, and 95% of liners and pistons of engines are manufactured in Bogura.

Turns out, Tamijuddin's family, over three generations, has been leading the revolution in metal equipment.

Now his grandson, Amir Hossain, the proprietor of Rahim Engineering Works located in Bogura town's Gorer Haat area, is the torchbearer of the innovation through reverse engineering, using locally-made and locally available parts. 

Of course, the activities have long spread across the district, outside this family. Today, there are 500 to 600 factories in the district that make various farm equipment as well as spare parts for imported agricultural machinery. 

"In 1940, my father, who was known as Dholu Maker, transformed the blacksmith's shop founded by my grandfather to an engineering workshop, and began manufacturing spare parts of contemporary advanced agricultural machinery. He also had to travel to Kolkata to buy scrap metal," Amir Hossain told The Business Standard. 

To up his game, Dholu Maker planned to buy a lathe machine (a machine used for cutting, sanding, drilling etc) but it was too expensive for him. But that didn't stop him. Gradually, he bought some spare parts and built a lathe machine himself. There was no electricity in Bogura at that time, so the machine was hand-operated. 

Dholu Maker started making spare parts of paddy threshers imported from Europe, and diesel engines. These parts gained popularity in the northern districts.

"My father badly felt the need for electricity and with the knowledge acquired from Kolkata, he built a small generator, primarily to power light bulbs," Amir said. 

"The endeavour grew rapidly, and my father even made spare parts for the car used by the Zamindar of Tajhat in Rangpur, and some parts used in the Teesta Barrage," he added.

Amir had six brothers and a sister. Along with studies, it was compulsory for the boys to work two hours in the workshop every day. This was how Amir got hands-on experience in engineering work. Later, he acquired a diploma in mechanical engineering from Bogura Polytechnic Institute. 

"My first build was a piston of a Japanese diesel engine in 1980. I collected a piston from a salvage yard, made a mould of it, and made a copy of it in our foundry. My father then allowed me to build more parts," he said. 

Rahim Engineering Works then started supplying various parts of these engines, locally known as shallow machines, all over the country. 

"We worked day and night. It inspired many others in the district. Hundreds of factories mushroomed in Bogura, and they all started making such parts. Of course, following our family's footsteps, many such factories had been founded in the 1960s," Amir continued, adding, "in the 1980s, there were 10 to 12 foundries in Bogura. Now there are 100 to 150 of them." 

And there are 500 to 600 factories that make spare parts for agricultural equipment he informed, who is a member of Bogura Chamber of Commerce.

All of it was done through private initiative, said Amir Hossain, who is also the joint secretary of Bangladesh Engineering Shilpa Malik Samity's Bogura branch. He complained that no government did anything for the industry. There is also no price control for raw materials (scrap metal), as a result of which price shoots up, leaving the farmers facing a domino effect by increasing production cost of crops.

Among the 500 to 600 agritech factories, only 48 are located at the Bscic Industrial Area, who are blessed with some specialised infrastructure built by the government. Of them, 37 are in the old area and the rest are in the extended area, according to the Bscic District Office, Bogura.

Amir Hossain's endeavours did not stop with spare parts only. Currently, about 50 of his machines - full fledged agricultural equipment like maize threshers, paddy threshers, potato grading machines, irrigation pumps, paddy reapers - are sold around the country. 

The innovator also manufactures non-agricultural machinery. The auto-bricks machine and stone crusher machine widely used across the country are also made by Amir. The man even built two vintage-looking cars which now adorn his workshop in Bogura.

"I go to farmers all around the country, try to understand what could make their work easier, and build the machine for them. I sell them for a minimal profit. Often I also make several versions of a machine at different price ranges so farmers can buy them according to their financial ability. In 2003, a China-made auto-bricks machine cost Tk1 crore; I sold my version of it for Tk6 to 8 lakh," he said.

Amir is an entrepreneur who is also an inventor. During the experiment and development phase, models fail, and that costs money. He said government aid would be useful in this regard.

"It would be helpful if we got research funds. Interest-free loans would also help us a lot. Electricity at a special discounted rate is also necessary for the growth of this sector. We are working for the agriculture sector, its fate is tied with that of ours. We are not the ones who launder money, we work for the betterment of our farmers," he said with a hint of dissatisfaction.

Amir said that the market is flooded with Chinese agricultural equipment that does not last long. The local industry can do better, but it needs small support and cooperation from the government. It would save a lot of forex as well.

"The combined harvesters imported currently are not suitable for our conditions. These are good for flat, dry land, but our farmlands often get inundated before the harvest. As a result, these machines are already breaking down. We can make it better, keeping in mind our conditions." said Amir, adding, "but we need funds for the research and development."

He said many big businesses are now importing agri-machineries that are hard to open, hence unrepairable. 

However, the potential of this light engineering sector is not limited to agricultural machinery, he said.

"I also made a machine that can make granular biofertiliser from municipal waste. There are huge landfills in Dhaka and other cities. They produce methane gas and pollute the environment. I can build a machine that can separate waste according to their type, make organic fertiliser, and also collect the plastic that can be recycled," he said.

Amir says foreign buyers have shown interest in taking biofertilisers from Bangladesh, and he thinks this industry could be bigger than Ready Made Garment (RMG) with the right kind of support.

In fact, according to Bscic officials, the agricultural equipment manufactured in Bogura not only substitute imports but also get exported.

"Irrigation pumps manufactured at Bogura Bscic are exported to other countries. Filters made by Bogura Motors used to be exported to Canada. Milton pump is exported to India," AKM Mahfuzur Rahman, deputy general manager of Bscic District Office, Bogura, told TBS.

"India is a technologically advanced country yet they are taking our pumps. I think this indicates the superior quality of our products," he added.

According to the Agriculture Information Service (AIS) of the government of Bangladesh, the country has 800 factories that are manufacturing agri-machineries. The industry is worth Tk3,385 crore per annum. 

At present there are about 8,50,000 shallow tube wells and the annual demand for its pumps is about 1,50,000, all of which is manufactured in the country. Except power sprayers, almost all types of hand- and foot-operated sprayers are currently being manufactured in the country. Every year, its demand is about 1,40,000. 

AIS further says that the threshing machines used in the country are now being manufactured in the local factories of the country. The number of different types of threshing machines used in the country now exceeds 4,00,000 and the demand is about 60,000 per year. Also, the demand for other agricultural machinery in the country is increasing day by day.

Information published by the agency confirms that small agricultural equipment manufactured in Bogura are being exported to countries including Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and India after meeting the needs of the country.

Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (Bari) and Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (Brri) also designs such machinery and collaborates with local manufacturers to develop suitable farming equipment.