Government to rope in agency to evaluate farm mechanisation impact

NEW DELHI: The government plans to rope in a specialised organization to study the impact of farm mechanisation, it had been promoting since 2014 in a mission mode to increase productivity and income of small and marginal farmers.

“We provide financial assistance to small and marginal farmers for hiring machinery and implements in low mechanised regions. We are promoting the usage of farm mechanization and increase the ratio of farm power to cultivable unit area up to 2.5 kW/ha,” said a senior agriculture department official.

Among the states, farm power availability in Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh and western part of Rajasthan is higher than the National average of 2.02 kW/ha. In rest of the country, especially in Eastern and North-East Regions, it is significantly lower which necessities promotion of farm mechanization as a special Mission.


He said that the outcome of the study will dictate the way forward for this mission.

“The cFarm mechanization is directly linked with income of farmers. It offsets the adverse economies of scale arising due to small landholding and high cost of individual ownership,” he said.