In order to help famers to automate more of their production and reduce labor input with smart farming techniques, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) and the Agriculture and Food Agency have joined up to hold the “Farm Equipment Maintenance Training Class”. On August 25th and 26th, Assistant Professor Wei-Cheng Chen of the Department of Biomechatronic Engineering was joined by students and professionals from business, academia and government for a course designed to improve safe operations of machinery and teach farmers how to maintain and repair equipment.
Deputy Director Yao Chih-wang of the Agriculture and Food Agency said that “farmers play an important role in Taiwan’s agricultural production. In the production processes they rely on subsidies for machinery—and the government is subsidizing the purchase of equipment. But we have overlooked the importance of repair and maintenance. The purpose of this training class is to teach farmers skills in farm equipment maintenance and repairs, so they can overcome obstacles and dominate in their field. When farm equipment is lacking, we are also actively promoting a farm equipment “uber” service, so that farmers have access to more machinery. Additionally, with respect to safe operations, in the future we will work with the university to set up a site for tractor operator license exams and teach operators the correct principles so that we can reduce accidents.”
NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang said “NPUST is a university which is founded on agriculture. In addition to conducting education and R&D in this area, we are also actively serving the community. For this purpose, we have invited the dean of our College of Engineering, Tien- Chie Chen, and the dean of our College of Agriculture, Jue-Liang Hsu, to come and take a look at the problems that farmers are facing. The creation of this training class is an important part of our university’s services. If agricultural machinery is not maintained well, frequent break-downs will occur. This will effect farm production and even reduce willingness to produce.”
Assistant Professor Wei-Cheng Chen said that “many farmers are not familiar with the maintenance and repair of farm equipment, and this results in breakdowns. We will hold training classes at the university, and will also go to towns in Kaohsiung and Pingtung to provide services. When the farmers bring their equipment to the locations, the equipment can be used as teaching materials and demonstrations can be provided to show farmers how to avoid malfunctions and repair their tools.”
The content of the current training class covered small equipment which are frequently used by farmers, including gas engines, diesel engines, tractors, electric farm equipment and drying machines for produce. Many professors and lecturers from related fields of study have formed a professional team to conduct the educational activities and help improve people’s understanding of engines and equipment.
