Agriculture Ministry proposes custom hiring of farm machinery in 12th plan

NEW DELHI: Agriculture Ministry has proposed a programme for the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) that seeks to provide affordable farm machinery to small and marginal farmers and in areas where farm labour is scarce.

"A dedicated Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation has been proposed for the 12th Plan, which includes custom hiring facilities for agricultural machinery as one of its major components," an official release said today.

The Sub-Mission aims at catalysing an accelerated but inclusive growth of agricultural mechanisation in India. Its focus is on increasing the reach of farm mechanisation to small and marginal farmers and in regions where availability of farm power is low, it added.

Custom hiring envisages promoting establishment of farm machinery banks for hiring by way of providing financial assistance to self-help groups or farmers' co-operatives since the prohibitive cost of hi-tech and high productive equipments renders it difficult for individual ownership, it said.

The other major components in the Sub-Mission include promotion and strengthening of agricultural mechanisation through training, testing and demonstration, the release added.

It includes post-harvest technology and management ( PHTM), financial assistance or procurement subsidy for agriculture machinery and equipments, establishment of farm machinery banks for custom hiring, enhancing hi-tech high productive equipment hub for custom hiring, among others.

The programme also aims at enhancing farm productivity at village level by introducing appropriate farm mechanisation in selected villages and creating ownership of appropriate farm equipments among small/marginal farmers in eastern/north eastern region, it said.