07 February2023, New Delhi: The National Council of Applied Economic Research’s (NCAER) latest report on “Making India a Global Power House on Farm Machinery Industry” was released by the Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare, Ms. Shobha Karandlaje in New Delhi. The NCAER is one of India’s premier economic policy research think tanks. This study was sponsored by Mahindra & Mahindra.
NCAER has analyzed the non-tractor farm machinery industry from both demand and supply side perspectives, bringing out the challenges in the sector, and recommending measures & reforms by benchmarking global practices in their report. The report, amongst other things, stresses that India needs a vision for the next 15 years to convert itself into a production and export hub for non-tractor farm machinery.
Availability of adequate farm power is very crucial for timely farm operations for increasing production and productivity and reducing losses. With the increase in the intensity of cropping, the turnaround time is drastically reduced, which demands the availability of adequate power for timely farm operations for the subsequent crop. Though we are witnessing considerable progress in farm mechanization, its spread across the length and breadth of our country remains uneven. Our farm power availability is at 2.49 Kw/ha in the year 2018-19 which is much lower as compared to Korea (+7 kw/ha), Japan (+14kw/ha), USA(+7kw/ha).
Participating in the Roundtable, Ms. Shobha Karandlaje said that the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare is already promoting farm mechanization through various schemes and programs like SMAM, CRM, and Drones promotion. Training and testing by FMTTIs of agricultural machines including tractors, power tillers, combine harvesters, etc is equally noteworthy. The institutes have done commendable work in testing and training and have provided a pool of more than 2.3 lakh of skilled professionals in the area of farm mechanization.
The MoS said that the excellent work done by the industry for promoting farm mechanization in India is appreciated. The industry has been showing tremendous innovation and zeal in bringing and developing appropriate technologies, creating awareness, and making farm equipment more affordable to end users. Though the Government is implementing schemes to increase the intake of farm power by the farmers and the resultant increase in farm efficiency, it is also the endeavor of the government to work towards improving the effectiveness of these schemes. In this connection, impact studies and third-party audits of the schemes are being done regularly. Suggestions from various stakeholders like farmers, subject experts, research findings, and industries are always welcome. Hence the study report by NCAER on making India a Global Powerhouse in Agricultural Machinery is a welcome measure. It is hoped that the report will provide important insights to policymakers.
MoS further expressed her happiness to receive the study report on making India a Global Powerhouse in Agricultural Machinery which highlights the challenges in the farm mechanization sector from Dr. Anil Sharma, Prof., and Secretary, NCAER. The report also recommends measures and reforms by benchmarking global practices, which will be examined by the team of policymakers for making the best solutions in farm mechanization. Senior officers of the Department of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare including the Secretary, DA&FW, Mr. Manoj Ahuja were present on the occasion.
