The adoption of on-farm mechanization is essential to increasing the productivity of seeds, fertilizers, and labour within the stipulated time. The most important product segment that is driving on-farm mechanization is the tractor segment which had the largest share of the agricultural machinery market in India reaching nearly 81% in 2017.
The credit goes to the continuous efforts by the central and state government to fast track the adoption of mechanization, by making tractors affordable. This has resulted in a significant rise in the demand for this equipment. Besides tractors, in 2017 nearly 19% of the market share was jointly owned by rotavators, threshers and power tillers, this is as per a study on Agricultural machinery market in India by Research on Global Markets.
While the government initiatives have supported the farming sector through policy reforms, even the private sector players have come forward to ease the pressure off our farmers by making machinery available at affordable prices and financing schemes. Leading the bandwagon is Mahindra & Mahindra, with the largest market share of nearly 41% in 2018 for farm equipment like tractors followed by Tractor and Farm Equipment Limited with a market share of 20%. Among the other manufacturers of agricultural equipment in India, are:
1) Escorts Limited
2) Force Motors Limited
3) Greaves Cotton Limited
4) Shivagrico Implements Limited
5) VST Tillers Tractors Limited
6) CNH Industrial (India) Private Limited
7) International Tractors Limited
8) John Deere India Private Limited
9) TAFE Motors and Tractors Limited
While the wheel seems to be spinning in favour of Indian farming sector, there are a few deterrents which may still slow down the progress. For example, the average farm size in India is less than two hectares. It is difficult for farmers to use heavy equipment on small farms hence the demand for agricultural machinery is limited to only those farmers who own larger pieces of land.
Also, the fear of the unknown with trying anything new is making the adoption of farm equipment slow. Majority of the farmers still prefer traditional tools over highly productive machines just because they have a metal block towards trying out something new. Farmers who use the machinery are often hassled to access proper service after purchasing the machines. Aftersales service of farm equipment is poor in the country, mainly due to the unavailability of adequate service centre. These factors together are becoming a deterrent for the growth of the agricultural machinery market in India.
Nonetheless, for a complete revival of the agriculture sector it is important that we look at it as a rural economy revival rather than just a sectorial reform. India must decrease food imports and increase exports. A good step in this direction has been the appointment of Narendra Singh Tomar as the Union Minister in charge of both Agriculture and Rural Development in India. It appears to be an attempt to interlink the two sectors that have their independent pros and cons without pooling in resources from outside and rather synergising them to double rural incomes by the end of 2022. It doesn’t matter who champions the cause of farmer’s wellbeing, it is time to rework the rural economy and rescuing the agricultural economy with technology and automation.
Download the free sample reports: https://www.researchonglobalmarkets.com/free-reports
Research On Global Markets 