Problems and prospects of farm mechanization in India with special reference to Assam

1. WELCOME

2. PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF
FARM MECHANIZATION IN INDIA
WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO
ASSAM

3. Company Logo
OBJECTIVES
1
To understand the concepts of Farm
Mechanization.
2
To examine the problems of Farm
Mechanization.
3
To explore some possible strategies for
promoting Farm Mechanization.

4. Company Logo
Introduction
1
Concept and meaning
2
Present scenario
3
Government initiatives
4
Problems of Farm Mechanization
5
Future prospects of Farm Mechanization
6
Need of extension in Farm Mechanization
7
Case studies
8
Conclusion
9

5. INTRODUCTION
In India, 69% of total population lives in rural
areas.(Census, 2011)
 Share of agriculture and allied sectors in the GDP is 14.1%
(2011-2012)
 More than 70 percent of the operational farm holdings are
small and marginal (Census,2011)
 70% of net sown area is rain fed subjected to external
vagaries.

6. Average farm power
availability is about 1.7
kW/ha.
The number of tractors was
just 8000 in 1950-51,
which steeply went up to
2.64 million in 2000-01
showing a growth rate of
10.3%.
Power tiller was introduced
in the country in the sixties,
but could not gain
popularity like tractor due
to its limitation in the field
and on the road (Singh et al.

7. FARM POWER AVAILABILITY AND AVERAGE
PRODUCTIVITY OF FOOD GRAINS IN INDIA IN 2001
Sl.
No.
Name of the State Farm Power Availability
(kW/ha)
Food grain
productivity
(Kg/ha)
1. Punjab 3.50 4032
2. Haryana 2.25 3088
3. Uttar Pradesh 1.75 2105
4. Andhra Pradesh 1.60 1995
5. Uttaranchal 1.60 1712
6. West Bengal 1.25 2217
7. Tamil Nadu 0.90 2262
8. Karnataka 0.90 1406
9. Kerala 0.80 2162

8. Sl. No. Name of the State
Farm Power Availability
(kW/ha)
Food grain
productivity (Kg/ha)
10. Assam 0.80 1443
11. Bihar 0.80 1622
12. Gujarat 0.80 1169
13. Madhya Pradesh 0.80 907
14. Himachal Pradesh 0.70 1500
15. Maharashtra 0.70 757
16. Rajasthan 0.65 884
17. Jharkhand 0.60 1095
18. Jammu & Kashmir 0.60 1050
19. Orissa 0.60 799
20. Chhattisgarh
All India
0.60
1.35
799
1723
Source: farmmec.gov.in

9. 0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
INDIA USA CHINA JAPAN
Series1 1.5 6 6.8 14
1.5
KW/ha
Country wise farm power
Total farm power in different countries
PRESENT SCENARIO

10. Agricultural productivity has a positive correlation with farm power availability
Source: http://www.icar.org.in
 Farm Power Availability and Productivity of Food Grains in India (1951-2011)

11. What is Farm Mechanization…?
The process of developing agricultural
machines and substituting this machine
power for human and animal power in
agricultural production practices is farm
mechanization.

12. MEANING AND CONCEPT
Mechanization of farms means the use of machines
for conducting agricultural operations, replacing
the traditional methods which involve human and
animal labour.
Farm mechanization implies the use of mechanical
technology in the varied farming operations like
sowing, harvesting, threshing, levelling, watering,
spraying, weeding etc.

13. PRESENT SCENARIO
 As per the findings under the Millennium Study (2004) on
State of Indian farmers, agricultural research has not
benefited all farmers and regions equally.
 Total energy use in production of principal crops in India
has increased 4-5 times between 1970 and 2005 during
which average productivity increased from 837 to 1583
kg/ha and the average food grain productivity has now
reached the level of about 2000 kg/ha.
 The average farm power availability in India has
increased from about 0.25 kW/ha in 1951 to about
1.35 kW/ha in 2001.

14. PRESENT SCENARIO
India
1.5
KW/ha
NE 0.67
KW/ha
Farm power availability
in India and NE
 Meghalaya -1.44 kW/ha(max)
 Arunachal Pradesh-0.17
kW/ha(min)
 Assam -0.80 KW/ha i.e. below
the national average of 1.5
kW/ha
Source: www.ciae.nic.in

15. 1971-72 2011-12
Series1 7.5 51.08
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Contribution
of
tractor
in
percentage
Increasing trend in farm power utilization( Tractor)
•The increase in share of farm power has been mainly through
introduction of tractors, whose contribution has increased from 7.5
percent in 1971 to 51.08 percent in 2011-12.

16. This has resulted in increase in total farm power availability from 0.295
kW/ha in 1971-72 to 1.71 kW/ha in 2010-11.
Source:
0
100000
200000
300000
400000
500000
600000
2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13
NOS.
OF
SALES
YEARS
YEAR WISE SALE OF TRACTOR AND POWER TILLERS
Tractor
Power tiller

17. SOURCE: WWW.FAO.ORG.IN

18. MECHANISATION IN ASSAM
 The economy of Assam continues to be predominantly agrarian.
 Agriculture sector providing employment to more than 50
percent of the rural people.(census, 2011)
 The net cultivated area of the State is 28.11 lakh hectare
(2009-10).
 The contribution of Agriculture sector to the State Domestic
Product was nearly 25 percent (census,2011).
 Present level of mechanization in the state (0.75 kW/ha) can be
categorized into low to medium and it is still below the national
average of 1.5 kW/ha (Srivastava 2004).

19. Source : data provided by the Dept. of Agriculture, Govt. of Assam 2012.
Tractor Power tiller Paddy thresher Rotovator Self propelled reaper Small implements
5772
20777
43 111 20
99884
Tractor Power tiller Paddy thresher
Rotovator Self propelled reaper Small implements

20. NEED OF FARM MECHANIZATION
 To increase the production and productivity of food grains
and to meet the global standards.
 For timely operations of agricultural activities.
 Efficient utilisation of inputs ,fertilizers, water and other
natural resources.
 To meet the growing needs of growing population in
almost the same amount of cultivable land.
 Availability of adequate farm power is very crucial for
timely farm operations for increasing production and
productivity and handling the crop produce to reduce
losses.

21.  Efficient machinery helps in increasing productivity by about 30%
besides, enabling the farmers to raise a second crop making the
agriculture attractive.
Economic Advantage of Mechanization in per cent,
Increase in productivity upto 12-34
Seed-cum-fertilizer drill facilitates
 Saving in seeds 20
 Saving in fertilizer 15-20
Enhancement in cropping intensity 5 - 22
Increase in gross income of the farmers 29-49
Source: Report of the Sub-Group on Agricultural Implements
and Machinery for Formulation of 9th Five Year Plan, Govt. of
India.

22. POPULATION DYNAMICS OF AGRICULTURAL WORKERS ( NO.
IN MILLION)
Particulars 2012 2020 2030 2040 2050
Country’s population 1222 1323 1432 1520 1612
Total no. of workers 504 566 641 711 787
No. of workers as % of population 41.2 42.8 44.8 46.8 48.8
No. of agricultural workers 240 230 222 211 202
% of agricultural workers to
total workers
47.6 40.6 34.6 29.7 25.7
No. of male agricultural workers 132 115 100 84 81
No. of female agricultural workers 108 115 122 127 121
% of female in agricultural work
force
45 50 55 60 60
SOURCE: WWW.CIAE.NIC.IN

23. PROGRAMMES/SCHEMES
1) “Outsourcing of training and demonstrations of newly developed
equipments”.
Activities in North East India (2012-13 up to 5th March 2013)
Sl.
no.
Activity/
Programme
Activity Details Target Achievem
ent
1. Outsourcing of
training and
demonstration of
newly developed
agricultural
equipment
including
horticultural
equipment at
farmer’s field.
i) Demonstration of newly
developed Agricultural
Equipment including
Horticultural equipment
at farmer’s field.
ii) Training of farmers
through outsourcing by
identified institutions of
the State Governments
Arunachal
pradesh-2405
Manipur-2222
Meghalaya- 302
Mizoram- 2350
Nagaland- 50
Arunachal
Pradesh- 175
Nagaland- 150
Not
reported
Not
reported

24. Activity in NE Region:
2) “Post Harvest Technology and Management”
SL.
No.
Activity/
Programme
Activity Details Target Achieveme
nt
1. Post harvest
technology
and
management
i) Demonstrati
on of PHT
Euipment.
ii) Distribution
of PHT
equipment
through
subsidies.
Manipur- 1750
Nagaland-187
Manipur- 145
Meghalaya- 82
Not
released

25. Sl.
no
Activity/
Programme
Activity Details Target Achieve
ment
1. Farm
machinery
training and
testing
institute,
Bishwanath
Chariali
(Assam)
Imparting training to
the farmers and
other beneficiary
groups on the
selection, operation,
maintenance, energy
conservation and
management of
Agricultural
Equipment
Training
personnel-
800
Testing
machines-18
Nagaland
202 demo
conducted.
386
08
3) “Promotion and Strengthening of Agricultural Mechanization through
Training, Testing and Demonstration

26. Macro Management of Agriculture (MMA):
A level of 25-50% subsidy on procurement cost is made
available under revised “Macro Management of Agriculture
(MMA)” scheme for different categories of equipment.
Gender Friendly Equipment for Women:
“Promotion and Strengthening of Agricultural Mechanization
through Training, Testing, and Demonstration“ and Outsourcing
of Training and Demonstration of Newly Developed Agricultural
Equipment, including Horticultural Equipment at Farmers Fields,
separate physical targets have been fixed and 30 per cent of
the funds have been allocated for women farmers.

27. SOME WOMEN FRIENDLY EQUIPMENT-CENTRAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL
ENGINEERING, BHOPAL
 Paddy Transplanter
 Naveen dibbler

28.  Improved sickle
 Cono weeder
 Groundnut stripper
 Mango harvester

29. IMPORTANT INSTITUTIONS
1. CFMTTI at Budhni in Madhya Pradesh-will test tractors, power
tillers, combine harvesters, and other self-propelled machines.
It will also test tractors, power tillers, combine harvesters,
agricultural trailers, engines for mass emission of exhaust
gasses and other machines for compliance under CMVR.
2. NRFMTTI, Hisar in Haryana- will test Combine harvesters, plant
protection equipments, irrigation pumps, diesel engines and
other self propelled crop production equipments and
machines. It will also test combine harvesters for compliance
under CMVR.

30. IMPORTANT INSTITUTIONS …
3. SRFMTTI, Anantpur in Andhra Pradesh- will test power
tillers, self-propelled crop production
machines/equipments, including power drawn
agricultural machines and equipments.
4. NERFMTTI, Biswanath Chariali in Assam- will test power
drawn agricultural machines and equipments including
non-self propelled agricultural equipments in order to
meet requirements of manufacturers of Eastern and
North Eastern Region.

31. Year of establishment: 1990.
Administrative Ministry: Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture,
Deptt. of Agriculture and Coop., Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi
Aim: Appropriate mechanization and technology through training ,
testing and demonstration.
Thrust area:
 Competent based skill oriented human resource development in all
North Eastern States, West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand.
 Providing good quality Farm Machinery and Equipment to the
unlimited users by conducting tests as per BIS norms.
 Mechanised farming activities for supporting the Training and
Testing services in terms of field operations, demonstrations and crop
production.
North eastern region farm machinery training and testing institute ,
Bishwanath Chariali, Assam

32. GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES:
Training of Farmers, entrepreneurs and scientists
through Outsourcing
Farm Mechanization Programmes under Macro
Management of Agriculture schemes.
Agro Industries Corporations (SAICs), 1964
A FMTTI has been established at Biswanath Chariali
in the Sonitpur district of Assam.
The Scheme on “Post Harvest Technology and
Management”.
Gender Friendly Equipment for Women.

33. PROBLEMS RELATING TO FARMERS IN FARM MECHANIZATION
1. Small size and scattered land holdings
2. Financial inability of the small farmers
3. Lack of proper knowledge about farm
machineries
4. Lack of repair and replacement facilities
especially in the remote rural areas.
5. Limited availability of sale outlets.
6. Lack of accessibility for procurement,
repair and maintenance.

34. PROBLEMS RELATING TO IMPLEMENTING AGENCIES
The farm machinery have large turning radius
and thus require comparatively larger farm for
economical use.
There is great shortage of diesel in the country as
a whole. Thus, to use so extensive oil based farm
machinery is not desirable.
Quality and reliability of farm machinery being
manufactured and supplied by various agencies
and scale of manufacturers are yet to gain the
confidence of common farmers.

35. NATIONAL MISSION ON FARM MECHANIZATION
 Increasing the reach of farm mechanization to small and
marginal farmers and to the regions where availability of farm
power is low.
 Offsetting adverse ‘economies of scale’ and ‘higher cost of
ownership’ of high value farm equipment by promoting ‘
Custom Hiring Centre’ for agricultural machinery.
 Promoting farm mechanization by creating awareness among
stakeholders through demonstration and capacity building
activities.
 Ensuring quality control of new developed agricultural
machinery and equipment through performance evaluation and
certifying them at designated testing centers located all over the
country.

36.  Sub – mission on Agricultural Mechanization during 12th Five
Year Plan.
Sl.
No
Components
1. Promotion and strengthening of agricultural mechanization
through training, testing and demonstration.
2. Post harvest technology management.
3. Financial assistance or procurement subsidy for selected machinery
and equipment.
4. Enhancing farm productivity at village level by introducing
appropriate farm mechanization in selected villages.
5. Establishing hi-tech and high product equipment hub for
custom hiring.
6. Promotion of Farm Machinery and Equipment in North
Eastern Region.

37. STRATEGY
Development/ adoption of manually
guided power operated equipment
for hilly terrains.
Farm machinery management for efficient
and optimum utilization of available
agricultural machinery.
Streamlining of testing procedure, and
training of engineers and pretesting of
machineries
Development of package of farm
equipment for major cropping
systems for different states.

38. Establishment of farm machinery
bank for easy supply to farmers.
Increasing average power supply to
agriculture from 1.5 kW/ha in 2010 to
2.5 kW/ha by 2025.
Mechanization of all farmers in all
regions of the country especially the
rain fed areas.
Increase interaction among farmers, R
and D workers, departments of
agriculture and industry

39. FUTURE PROSPECTS IN FARM MECHANIZATION WITH
EXTENSION INTERVENTION
 Active involvement of farmers through user groups/
associations extension methods, including farmer-to-
farmer extension..
 The coverage and scope of Farmer Field School-the
approach may significantly improve farmers' knowledge on
new technological options.
 Increasing use of media and information technology,
including cyber kiosks.
 Building gender concerns into the system.
 Selective mechanization.

40. • Appropriate
technology
requirement
• Source
Identify
• Domestic and
Global
• Evaluate adaption
• Indiginize for cost
competitiveness
Adapt
• Performance
validation
• Propagate for
adoption
Validate
THE WAY FORWARD FOR INDIA …

41. CREATING AN ECO- SYSTEM FOR FARM MECHANIZATION
VILLAGE
CRAFTSMEN
ORGANIZED
FARM
MACHINERY
COMPANIES
SMALL SCALE
INDUSTRIES
•MAIN SOURCE OF SUPPLY
AND REPAIR TO FARMERS
•CLOSEST TO THE
FARMERS LEADING TO
HIGH TRUST.
BULK OF FARM
MACHINERY IS
MANUFACTURE
D BY THEM
CAPABILITY TO
CARRY OUT R&D FOR
PRODUCTIVITY
INCREASE AND
TECHNOLOGY
ADAPTION

42. CASE STUDIES-IMPACT OF SHALLOW TUBE WELL IRRIGATION ON
CROP PRODUCTION IN ASSAM
 Implemented under the
financial assistance of
NABARD(Smriddha
Krishak Yojana, SKY)
Scheme.
 Objectives:- yield rate-
cropping pattern-
problems with STW-
effect of STW.
 Fertilizer consumption
increased from 13.0 kg/ha
in 1996 to 29.3 kg/ha in
2000.

43.  1,38,255 shallow tube- wells were installed upto October,
2001(41086 under ARIASP and 9816.9 under SKY)
 Double cropping- Boro paddy as first crop and Sali as 2nd
crop and jute with rotation with winter paddy.
 Aggregate yield in beneficiary farms found to be higher by
10.98% over the non-beneficiary.
 Cropping intensity in irrigated holdings-182% and 143%
in unirrigated holdings.
 Irrigated holdings cropping intensity-
Nagaon district- 193%
Sunitpur district- 190%
Jorhat district- 168%

44. CONCLUSION
1. The distribution of tractors from area to area
should be normalized so that the custom hiring is
increased.
2. Technical know-how should be provided to the
farmers with respect to appropriateness of farm
machinery for the situation and for its proper use.
3. A standardization and quality-marking centres of
farm equipment should be established in potential
areas of the country.

45. CONCLUSION…
4. The farm machinery suitable for different types of soil and
operations for important crops should be developed and
manufactured.
5. The useful farm equipment should be identified and
imported to cut down time and expenditure on research.
6. Training relating to farm machinery and equipment
should be imparted to the farmers and artisans.
7. Service units should be encouraged and mobile service
units should be started. Adequate and soft loans for such
purposes should be provided.

47. FEEDBACK