With diminishing agricultural labour within the nation, farm mechanisation has turn out to be one of many important parts for the expansion of sustainable agriculture in India. Hemant Sikka, president, farm tools sector, Mahindra & Mahindra, in an unique interview with The Hindu says the nation’s farm equipment business is anticipated to develop from ₹9,200 crores within the monetary year-2022 to ₹15,000 crores in monetary year-2026.
How vital do you assume is the position of automation applied sciences (self-driven tractors, automated ploughing, sowing and so forth) within the agriculture sector to cater to future meals wants?
I consider automation applied sciences are crucial in farming, in an effort to cut back handbook interventions and operator fatigue, which might in the end improve productiveness, minimise prices for farmers to expertise environment friendly farming, particularly in compact subject circumstances. We lately launched our new OJA [tractor] vary on August 15, with cutting-edge applied sciences addressing the wants of various farming and non-farming purposes, together with crops like paddy, cotton, sugarcane, and pastime farming, apart from landscaping, winery and horticulture. These applied sciences largely seen on bigger tractors in some superior farming markets, will empower smaller farmers to do way more.
Is Mahindra wanting in the direction of the introduction of self-driving tractors and new autonomous options for farming in India anytime quickly?
We did showcase a driverless or self-driving tractor some years in the past, however we really feel it is too early to introduce a self-driving tractor in India.
What sort of progress potential do you see in India’s farm equipment enterprise? Do you’ve any new plans to faucet the equipment enterprise sector?
Farm mechanisation is one of many important parts for the expansion of sustainable agriculture in India, particularly within the context of diminishing agricultural labour. While the worldwide farm mechanisation business is at about $100 billion, India’s share is roughly at about ₹9,200 crores in F’22. Having mentioned that the farm equipment business is anticipated to develop from ₹9,200 crores in F’22 to ₹15,000 crores in F’26. On the hind aspect, India’s share of the worldwide tractor business is $10 billion of the worldwide tractor business, which is at $60 billion, making India largely ‘tractorised’. With mechanisation skewed in the direction of land preparation, for many different operations, easy implements are used or the duties are finished by handbook labour, additionally various drastically by area, with States in north India having excessive ranges of mechanisation as a consequence of extremely productive land within the area, in addition to declining availability of labour drive. In November 2022, we inaugurated our first-ever unique farm equipment (non-tractor) plant in Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh. We have invested about ₹200 crores on this facility. This plant will roll out merchandise like Harvesters and Rice Transplanters.
How do you see progress of the tractor market in India within the coming years, and what are the key causes behind it?
India is the most important tractor market on the planet having crossed a milestone of 1 million with a compound annual progress charge (CAGR) of about 6% during the last 7-8 years. Some of the drivers for the expansion of the tractor business are under-penetration of farm mechanisation, farm labour scarcity, and higher availability of water as a consequence of 5 consecutive years of excellent monsoon. Also, governments concentrate on rural infrastructure within the type of dams, roads and so forth, to develop rural revenue and farm mechanisation, apart from, the federal government’s push in the direction of farm mechanisation and availability of tractor finance has led to the expansion of the business.
The plight of farmers has been a matter of concern throughout the nation, how do you assume technological mechanisation and development might assist is decreasing this?
Yes, farm mechanisation can undoubtedly assist remedy a number of issues associated to drudgery and for a fast turnaround in farmlands. Our objective of remodeling farming to counterpoint lives guides us to take applied sciences used on giant landholding farms internationally and make them accessible and inexpensive for the smaller landholding farmer internationally. And to do that it is vital that we make these merchandise in India.
