Greetings!
I am excited to share with the community what a rice farmer like me usually does before transplanting rice seedlings to the rice field. Two weeks ago, on the morning of July 2, 2022, our rice seedlings were finally transplanted to our rice field. The transplanting is done manually with bare hands. The following are some of the necessary preparation required for transplanting the rice seedlings: Flattening the rice field's deck and repairing the small dams.
Flattening the Rice Field's Deck
One of the primary jobs that a farmer usually does is flattening the deck of the rice field before transplanting the rice seedlings (a rice field's deck usually consists of mud and water). Flattening the rice field's deck is the third and final step in preparing the rice field prior to rice seedlings transplanting. In flattening the rice field's deck a farmer here in our province commonly uses a hand-tractor (see gif and images below).
A hand-tractor commonly consists of a transmission with paddy wheels, a gasoline or diesel engine, a floater (where a driver sits), and a flattening bar made of metal where the driver rests his two feet. The flattening bar will flatten the deck of the rice field. A hand-tractor is commonly turned on manually like what I did in the gif image above.
As you can see in the gif image below I am fully covered except with my two feet (see the gif image below). I also wore a pair of hand gloves. The purpose of the gloves is primarily to prevent blisters in my palm and also to block the sunlight. In this kind of job, it is necessary to cover all parts of my body except of course my two feet. If I do not cover up I will get sunburns on the exposed parts of my body.
By the way, as experience taught us, farmers here in our province usually drive a hand-tractor barefoot for added control and agility. Wearing rain boots will only get it stuck in the mud.
Flattening the rice field's deck usually start in riding the hand-tractor, our feet rests on top of the flattening bar (as can be seen on the gif images below). The engine moves the transmission forward with fan belts attached to two pulleys.
This hand-tractor that I am driving does not have a gear shift or a brake. It only goes forward, it does not have a reverse function but it does have a clutch that tightens the fan belts to make the hand-tractor go forward.
Driving a hand-tractor while flattening the rice field's deck is serious business. While driving a hand-tractor a driver has multiple things to consider. first is to flatten the deck, second is to not let the hand-tractor go on top of the small dams that separates the sections of the rice field, if it does, it might tumble down which can cause serious injuries and break the hand-tractor, third is to not fall down from your chair, if you do, you might get injured.
Repairing the small dams that separate the sections of the rice field
Another primary job that a farmer performs prior to rice transplanting is to repair the small dams that separate the section of the rice field. The small dam's purpose is to even out the level of water on top of each section of the rice fields.
In repairing the small dams I have to put mud on top of the old small dam to even out its height. Also, the mud that I put on top acts as a water inhibitor so that the water will not leak and make the water stay on each section of the rice field as long as possible.
That is all for now guys, see you next time. Wishing you all safety, good health, and abundance.
