John Deere to sign PPPs with state govts

Tractor manufacturer and crop solutions provider John Deere India, a subsidiary of US farm equipment major Deere & Company, is evaluating the possibility of signing more public-private partnerships (PPPs) with state governments.

Early this year, the company entered into a PPP with the Gujarat government under which it deployed 529 tractors, each with a set of 13 implements, for the benefit of marginalised tribal farmers within that state.

Launching the company’s new 60 horse power (hp) ‘Smart’ tractor here on Wednesday, John Deere India vice-president Narendar Ghuman said: “The three-month-old tie-up with the Gujarat government is under experimentation. If proved successful, we will go forward with signing PPPs with other state governments as well.”

Stating that increase in food demand and the various schemes that the Indian government is initiating to increase farm productivity is driving tractor sales in the country, Shailendra Jagtap, director (India manufacturing), said 480,000 tractors were sold in India last year, and the market was expected to grow 20 per cent this year.

John Deere, which currently enjoys an 8 per cent share of the Indian tractor market, exported 16,000 units besides delivering 35,000 units to the domestic market last year (November-to-October financial year).

“The tractor industry in the country is one a positive trend over the last five years and we expect it to continue that momentum. We are expanding our capacities with that hope,” said Mahesh Boolchandani, senior deputy general manager (marketing services) of John Deere India.

John Deere, which has its 80,000-unit per year tractor manufacturing facility in Pune, is looking at setting up a new plant in the northern region as part of its Rs 450-crore expansion plan. Boolchandani said the new plant will have capacities similar to the Pune facility.

“We have already approached a couple of governments, and they are trying to identify land for us. We need to evaluate the infrastructure facilities available at those locations. The new plant will be up and running sometime in 2012-13,” he said.

Having expanded its higher hp tractor portfolio with the launch of ‘Smart' tractor’, taking the total number of models to 12, John Deere is now gearing up to augment its non-tractor business by introducing new products such as sugar cane harvesters.

Boolchandani said the company would be expanding its implements category in a phased manner, plows and levellers to begin with. “These are long-term projects and some of them have a high lead time of two to three years to develop as a full-fledged business,” he added.