status of farm mechanisation
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India has seen significant increases in food grain production but agriculture's contribution to GDP is declining. Farm mechanization has helped improve productivity but challenges remain due to small land holdings and lack of access to machinery. While tractor use is growing, much agricultural work remains done manually, particularly for crops besides rice and wheat. Expanding mechanization could further increase yields and incomes while reducing labor shortages and drudgery, but access and economic barriers remain for many small farmers.
status of farm mechanisation
- 1. CURRENT STATUS OF FARM MACHENISATION IN INDIA India ranks second in the world as far as farm production is concerned but the economic contribution of agriculture to India's GDP is declining continuously with the country's broad- based economic growth. In India, 63 per cent holdings are less than 1 ha accounting for 19 per cent of the total operated area whereas; over 86 percent holdings are less than 2 ha accounting for nearly 40 per cent of the total area. Fragmentation of farm holdings is major concern in this respect and the average size of holdings has shrunk from 2.82 ha in 1970-71 to 1.1 ha in 2010-11. India ranks second in production of wheat and rice and third in pulses, sugarcane, vegetables, root and tuber crops, coconut, dry fruits, agriculture-based textile raw materials, inland fish and eggs (Singh et al., 2015). India produced 275.11 million metric tonnes (MT) of food grains during 2016-17 breaking all the earlier records. Table 1 shows the production achieved in different crop from 1950-51 to 2017-18. Farm mechanization has been helpful to bring about a significant improvement in agricultural productivity. Thus, there is strong need for mechanization of agricultural operations. The factors that justify the strengthening of farm mechanization in the country can be numerous. The timeliness of operations has assumed greater significant in obtaining optimal yields from different crops, which has been possible by way of mechanization. Table 1 shows the production achieved in different crop from 1950-51 to 2017-18 Year Rice Wheat Coarse cereals Pulses Total food grains 1950-51 21 6 15 8 51 1960-61 35 11 24 13 82 1970-71 42 24 31 12 108 1980-81 54 36 29 11 130 1990-91 74 55 33 14 176 2000-01 85 70 31 11 197 2010-11 96 87 43 18 244 2016-17 110 99 44 23 275 2017-18* 112 99 45 25 280 The motivation to mechanize farming activities is primarily driven by a wish to increase a family’s food security, increase household income, or improve the quality of life. Farmers may fully use custom hiring services and reap significant economic and social benefits. The economic benefits will include increasing the efficiency of man power, reduction in input costs, increasing the net cultivated area, undertaking timely operation, improving the quality of cultivation, increasing farm output, adopting crop diversification, reduction in harvesting and post-harvesting losses, and earning income through hiring farm-power services to others. The social benefits include reduction in workloads and drudgery (especially for women
- 2. workers), improving safety and encouraging young generation and innovative people to remain in rural areas and work at farm. Farm mechanization saves inputs like seeds up to 15- 20 per cent, fertilizers by 15-20 per cent and increases cropping intensity by 5-20 per cent. It increases the efficiency of farm labour and reduces time of agricultural operation by 15-20 per cent. Agriculture GDP and level of farm mechanization in different countries Country Agricultural GDP (%) Level of mechanization (%) USA 1 95 Western Europe <5 95 Russia 4 80 Brazil 5 75 China 10 48 India 14 40 The agricultural sector in India has been depended on cheap and surplus labour for the long time. Now, the situation is changing with more opportunities available in factories and services as well as the Government’s rural employment creation program, which provides 100 days of employment on public related work projects. Labour shortage problems are being faced by farmers during peak seasons due to the enactment of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. Labours are available at a higher cost and this increases the demand for mechanization. It has been observed that the percentage of agricultural workers to the total workers has been steadily declining from 59.1 per cent in 1991 to 54.6 per cent in 2011 and expected to further decline to 25.7 per cent by 2050 leading to severe farm labour shortage. Population Dynamics of Indian workers and farm labour shortage Population Dynamics of Indian Agricultural Workers (No in Millions) Particulars 1991 2001 2011 2020 2050 Country's Population 846.4 1,028.7 1,210.7 1,323 1,612 Total Number of Workers 313.7 402.2 481.7 566 787 Workers’ Percentage of Population 37.1% 39.1% 39.8% 42.8% 48.8% Number of agricultural workers 185.3 234.1 263 230 202 Including: Cultivators 110.7 127.3 118.7 110 000 Including: Agricultural Labours 74.6 106.8 144.3 120 000 Agricultural Workers’ percentage of Total Number of Workers 59.1% 58.2% 54.6% 40.6% 25.7% The agriculture sector has witnessed a substantial decline in use of animate power (animal and human power) in agriculture activities. The role of tractors in India reveals the increasing trend of tractorization in the country.Custom hiring of farm equipment is a prevalent practice in India, particularly among small farmers for whom ownership of large equipment is expensive and uneconomical. Given the agricultural worker scarcity and the launch of several Government programs, the adoption of farm mechanization is going to increase in future. The use of farm mechanization enlarges the employment opportunities both on farms and in nonfarm sectors through increase in area under plough, multiple cropping, development of agro-industries and related services. On the other hand, displacement of human labour does take place and demand for semiskilled labour in place of unskilled labour is increased. Also,
- 3. the drudgery for human labour is reduced and unhygienic operations such as handling of farm yard manure can be done with machinery. Agricultural Workers Draught Animals: Bullocks, Buffaloes, Camels, Horses And Ponies, Mules and Donkey Tractors PowerTillers Self-Propelled Machines: Combines, Dozers, Reapers, Sprayers etc. Stationary Power: Diesel/Oil Engines for Pump Sets, Threshers, Sprayers and other stationary operations Electric Motors: For Pump Sets, Threshers, Sprayers and Other Stationary Operations Aspects of Indian agriculture (1960-2010) Item 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Agricultural land (Mha) 133 140 140 143 143 142 Irrigation pumps (million) 0.4 3.3 6.2 12.9 19.5 25 Irrigated area (%) 19 22 28 33 34 35 Cropping intensity 1.15 1.18 1.23 1.30 1.33 1.39 Fertilizer use (kg/ha) 2 15 39 88 125 150 Grain yield (kg/ha) 700 860 1000 1300 1600 1900 Tractors (thousands) 37 146 531 1200 2600 4000 Area per tractor (ha) 3600 960 260 120 55 36 Power tillers (thousand) 0 9.5 16 31 100 155 Draft animals (million) 80.4 82.6 73.4 70.9 60.3 50 Various type of machine used for different operation in agriculture
- 4. The overall level of farm mechanization in India is 40-45 per cent (i.e. tillage about 40 per cent, seeding and planting about 30 per cent, plant protection 35-45 per cent and harvesting and threshing about 60-70 per cent for rice and wheat and less than 15 per cent for other crops). The level of farm mechanization varies greatly region to region. Northern states such as Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh have high level of mechanization (70-80 per cent overall; 80-90 per cent for rice and wheat) due to high productive land as well as declining number of agriculture workers and also full support by state government. The eastern and southern states have lower level of mechanization (35-45 per cent) due to smaller and scattered land holdings. In the north-eastern states, the level of farm mechanization is extremely low mainly due to hilly topography, high transportation cost, and socio-economic conditions of the farmers. The farm mechanization has been well-received throughout the world as one of the most important elements of modernizing agriculture. The level and appropriate selection of agricultural machinery has direct impact on land and labour productivity, farm output and income, environmental safety and the quality of life of farmers in India. Agricultural machines also ensure timeliness of farm operations and increase work output per unit time. Suitability to small and medium farms, simple design and technology, versatility for use in several farm operations, affordability in terms of cost and profitability and most importantly, repair and maintenance services are the basic requirement for the expansion of farm mechanization. Year Cropping Intensity (%) Food grain Productivity (t/ha) Power available (kW/ha) Power per unit Production (kW/t) Net sown area per Tractor (ha) 2005-06 135.90 1.715 1.49 0.87 45 2010-11 140.50 1.930 1.78 0.92 34 2011-12 141.50 2.079 1.87 0.90 31 2012-13 140.90 2.129 1.94 0.91 29 2013-14 142.00 2.111 2.02 0.96 27 Women workers in agriculture World 42% Latin America 40% Thailand 44% Vietnam 61% India 60% Sub Saharan Africa 80%
- 5. Comparison of Mechanization with Other Countries Sl. No. Country Farm Power (kW/Ha) No. of Tractors per 1000 Ha. No. of Combine Harvesters per 1000 Ha. 1 India* 2.02 37 0.026 2 Japan 8.75 461.22 236.98 3 U.K. 2.50 88.34 8.3 4 France 2.65 68.5 4.93 5 Italy 3.01 211.08 4.71 6 Germany 2.35 79.817 11.41 7 Argentina -- 10.74 1.79 8 Brazil -- 13.66 0.915 9 China -- 6.98 2.53 10 Pakistan -- 16.47 0.08 11 Egypt -- 30.7 0.79
- 6. The Indian farm mechanization market, which was valued at ₹320 billion in 2015-16, is expected to upsurge at a CAGR of 5.74% at reach ₹400 billion by 2019-20. Shortage of farm labor and the need to enhance farm productivity are among the main reasons for increasing farm mechanization in India. However, farm mechanization provides different streams of employment related to handling of farm machines thus resulting in increased rural employment. Increased farm mechanization is a key step towards doubling farmer’s income and better rural prosperity. The availability of abundant and cheap labor in India has largely confined farm mechanization to tractors and power tillers. While tractors and power tillers still outsell other farm equipment like paddy transplanters and combine harvesters, the gap has closed in recent years. It is because of rural youth population is migrating to cities in search of better paying jobs in services and factories. This is creating a big market for specialized machineries, such as threshers, rotavator, transplanters, reapers, zero till drills, laser levellers and power weeders. Level of mechanisation and GDP in different countries Tractor trade in India
- 7. The penetration of power tillers in India is higher in southern and eastern India as compared to the others parts of the country on account of the small size of land holdings per farmer in these respective regions. In fact, small land sizes and high cost of labor, coupled with rising income levels in rural areas, provide a huge untapped opportunity.
- 8. No of tractor per 1000 ha of net cropped Areaz
- 9. Level of mechanisation in different countries of INDIA In India, the level of mechanisation varies greatly by region. States in the north such as Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have high level of mechanisation due to the highly productive land in the region as well as a declining labour force. The state governments in these states have also provided timely support in promoting mechanisation of farms. The western and southern states in the country have a lower level of mechanisation due to the smaller land holdings prevalent in these regions as well as the land holding being more scattered. As a result, in many cases, mechanisation has been uneconomical leading to the lower development. In north-eastern states, the level of mechanisation is extremely low. There are a number of reasons behind this. Factors such as hilly topography, high transportation cost, lack of state financing and other financial constraints due to socio- economic conditions and dearth of agricultural machinery manufacturing industries have hindered the growth of farm equipment sector within these states. Operation-wise, the level
- 10. of mechanisation varies from 42 percent for soil working and seed bed preparation, 29 percent for seeding and planting, 34 percent for plant protection and 37 percent for irrigation. Within the tractor market, the 41-50 HP segment is the largest selling unit, followed by the 31-40 HP segment, which has been sourced mainly from the > 50 HP segment. While the country produces a large volume of tractors, it also exports tractor units to other countries across the world. On an average, the country exports an average of 60,000 tractors annually. India’s tractor export markets primarily include African countries and ASEAN countries where soil and agro-climatic conditions are similar to India. The major players in the market include, Mahindra & Mahindra, TAFE, VST, International Tractors, Force Motors and Escorts. Association is ready to offer all kinds of cooperation to promote the agricultural Mechanization all over India. 1. Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (AMMA – India) 2. Tractor Manufacturers’ Associations (TMA) 3. Power Tiller Manufacturer’s Associations (PTMA) 4. All India Combine Manufacturers’ Associations (AICMA) 5. Pump Manufacturer’s Association (PMA)
- 11. BENEFITS OF FARM MECHANIZATION 1. Timeliness of operation 2. Precision of operation 3. Improvement of work environment. 4. Enhancement of safety 5. Reduction of drudgery of labour 6. Reduction of loss of crops and food products 7. Increased productivity of land 8. Increased economic return to farmer 9. Improved dignity of farmer 10. Progress and prosperity in rural areas Constraints in farm mechanization It is true that farm mechanization has shown good results as of raising the agricultural production and improving the standard of living of cultivators within very short period. But a number of arguments have been advanced against farm mechanization such as: 1. Small size and scattered holdings of the farmers stand in the way of mechanization. As a result of this, farm machinery generally remains underutilized. 2. Majority of small cultivators are poor who are not in a position to purchase the costly machinery like tractors, combine harvesters etc. 3. The use of tractor operated machinery may render some of the draft cattle population surplus. Studies under AICRP on Energy Requirement indicate that tractor owning farms do use draft animals for certain jobs. Like-wise farms using animate sources of farm power, use tractor on custom service for certain jobs. 4. The farm machinery have large turning radius and thus require comparatively larger farm for economical use. Mechanization may lead to structural change in agriculture in respect of the occupational distribution in the rural economy. No doubt, the increasing farm mechanization is going to increase employment in secondary and tertiary sectors but it does displace labour in farm operations. 5. Lack of proper knowledge of farmer to purchase farm machinery, operate and maintain it properly leads to wrong choice, makes it uneconomical and risky too. 6. There is great shortage of diesel in the country as a whole. Thus, to use so extensive oil based farm machinery is not desirable. 7. The lack of repair and replacement facilities especially in the remote rural areas is another hindrance in efficient small farm mechanization. 8. Due to the seasonal nature of the agriculture, the farm machinery remains idle for much of the time.