New Delhi: Ministry of Agriculture is promoting a new strategy for farm mechanization through its various schemes and programmes. A dedicated Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization has been proposed for the XIIth Plan which includes custom-hiring facilities for agricultural machinery as one of its major components. The Sub-Mission aims at catalyzing an accelerated but inclusive growth of agricultural mechanization in India. Its focus is on increasing the reach of farm mechanization to small and marginal farmers and to the regions where availability of farm power is low.
Custom hiring of farm machinery envisages promoting establishment of farm machinery banks for custom hiring by way of providing financial assistance to individual self-help groups or farmers’ co-operatives since the prohibitive cost of hi-tech and high productive equipments renders it difficult for individual ownership..
The other major components included in the Sub-Mission, apart from custom hiring facilities for agricultural machinery are promotion and strengthening of agricultural mechanisation through training, testing and demonstration; 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; 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.
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