Surinder Sud: Ease of farming with mechanisation

Individuals, who are coming forward to set up custom-hiring units to rent out farm machines to farmers or to get work done on their fields, need to be supported in the same way as start-ups

Farm mechanisation is no longer the requirement of only large farmers who want to save on labour and reduce drudgery of field work. Small and marginal farmers, too, need it to boost productivity, reduce costs and raise income. That is why the clamour for easy access to farm machinery is coming from all sections of farmers, irrespective of the size of their landholdings and the nature of agricultural and allied activities they undertake. Most of the new technologies respond better to automated operations. For, these ensure greater precision in field work and more efficient use of farm inputs, such as seeds, fertilisers, water and plant protection chemicals, to minimise input losses and slash per-unit cost of output. Besides, these help save time to increase cropping intensity by allowing, in many cases, growing of an additional quick-maturing crop in multi-cropping systems. The ease of doing farming with mechanical tools, moreover, can discourage rural youth, especially the educated ones who do not want to do manual farm work, from quitting their traditional family occupation.

Beginning with heavy-duty tasks like working up land and preparing seedbeds, the scope of mechanisation has now expanded to almost all farm chores right from sowing to harvesting and threshing of grains. Farm engineers are designing machinery with an eye on the specific needs of emerging technologies and different farm activities. As a result, the variety of devices available for farmers to choose from has proliferated substantially. It is neither feasible, nor desirable, for individual farmers, not even large landholders, to own such an assorted variety of machines, implements and other form equipments. In many cases, individual ownership of costly equipment is not even economically justified as these are used only for specific farm chores for a limited period, thus, remaining idle for most part of the year.

The solution, therefore, lies in promotion of the system of custom-hiring of farm machines. This trend has, luckily, begun in some parts of the country and needs to be extended to others. Enterprising individuals, who are coming forward to set up custom-hiring units to rent out farm machines to farmers or to get the work done on their fields for a charge, need to be supported in the same way as is being done in the case of start-ups in other sectors. It is noteworthy that some states have begun to do so, even if in their own manner. Some farm machinery manufacturers, too, have sensed business in this field and are ready to join hands with state governments to offer custom-hiring services to farmers.

The Madhya Pradesh government’s Yantradoot village scheme was one of the earliest programmes for promoting custom-hiring of farm equipment. Under this, implements are made available to cultivators on nominal charges. Over 200 villages are reported to have been covered under this programme. As a side-gain, this scheme has quickened the pace of adoption of new and even sophisticated techniques by the farmers who earlier could not do so for want of access to appropriate mechanical devices.

Among the other states that have recently formulated programmes to promote custom-hiring of farm machines, the most noteworthy is Karnataka. It has roped in tractor manufacturers and makers of other farm contraptions to hire out their equipment to farmers on the lines of car-hiring services offered by Uber in urban areas. Non-government organisations are being encouraged to set up similar ventures. Some of these enterprises are planning to let farmers book their services online.

Once these initiatives overcome their teething troubles, the next logical step should be to encourage establishment of service stations or workshops for repair and maintenance of farm machinery. Specialised facilities for this purpose are woefully inadequate at present. Also needed are centres which can offer equipment needed for basic on-farm agro-processing to reduce wastage and add value to farm produce. These centres can also offer consultancy and equipment for gainful utilisation of crop residues as well. There is no dearth of similar other novel ideas that can boost rural incomes.

surinder.sud@gmail.com