To Tackle Distress, Ensure Farmers Get Access To Easy Finance For Increased Mechanisation

The Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (AMMA-India) is pursing with the central government to ensure availability of easy finance to farmers so that more opportunities open up for increased mechanisation of farming in India. It is hopeful that something concrete will emerge from the forthcoming budget to address the burning issue of farm distress.

In an exclusive interaction with LifeInChandigarh.com on the sidelines of a three-day India Agri Progress Expo, which concluded in Mohali on Saturday, a team of senior leaders of the national body of agricultural machinery manufacturers, including its Chairman Raju SV, informed that with scarcity of farm labour, need for cutting costs and increase productivity, the demand for mechanisation is increasing.

Photo By : Life In Chandigarh

In such a scenario access to easy finance options is critical for farmers striving to acquire necessary farm machinery for their survival. Cost cutting on manpower and inputs like seeds, fertilisers and pesticides due to mechanisation of operations will also be a major step towards achieving the government target of doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022, AMMA-India Technical Advisor Dr Surendra Singh and immediate past President and current Chairman of the association’s international activities DS Balachandra Babu added.

At the same time AMMA-India has also sought increase in the government subsidies to individual farmers for purchase of new hi-tech machinery from the present 40-50% to 70-75% because these technologies are very expensive. Currently 70 odd farm implements and machines qualify for government subsidies.

The association claims to be making efforts on its own, and also pushing the government to set up more custom hiring centres (CHCs) to allow farmers who cannot afford to individually buy farm machinery to take them on lease as per their requirements. Efforts are also being made to persuade farmers to set up more farm producers’ organisations (FPOs), which can pool resources, and are also eligible for greater government subsidy on farm machinery than individual farmers.  

The association leaders informed that in recent years, the government testing centres for farm machinery had shown a massive increase from just four earlier (Hisar, Bhopal, Anantpur & Assam) to 37 as on date.

Regarding the present status and future prospects of the agri machinery business in the country, Raju, who is Director, Varsha Associates, a one stop centre for agri equipments, and Balachandra Babu, Managing Director, Farm Implements (India) Pvt Ltd, said the current annual business of the industry stands at approximately Rs 50,000 crore (roughly US$ 7 Bn) with the country having achieved only 50-55% farm mechanisation.

AMMA-India is hopeful that the country will be able to increase mechanisation to 75% of farm activities by 2030, by when the industry is expected to have doubled its business to Rs 1,00,000 crores. Currently the industry is growing on an average 5% annually.

The farm implements and machinery manufactured in the country matches up to world standards, as is evident from Indian companies exporting to 75-80 countries worldwide, the association leaders asserted.

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