Informist, Wednesday, Sep 11, 2024

NEW DELHI – Indian agriculture should focus on mechanising operations and maximising power usage, rather than heavily spending on fertilisers, T.R. Kesavan, group president, Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd, said.

Like "more crop per drop," we need to adopt technology and farm practices that deliver "more crop per kilowatt of power", Kesavan said today at the Tractor and Mechanisation Association's Agri Mechanisation Summit in New Delhi. However, he cautioned against increased power usage as it adds to the production cost of farming.

Per Drop More Crop, a Centre-sponsored scheme, focusses on enhancing water efficiency by encouraging the adoption of micro irrigation, namely drip and sprinkler irrigation systems. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research has developed cost-effective and location-specific precision technologies for micro-irrigation.

On the government's agriculture spending, Kesavan said the funding is skewed towards fertilisers at the cost of mechanisation and technology. In the Union Budget 2024-25 (Apr-Mar), fertiliser subsidy accounts for 24% of the agriculture budget, with an allocation of 1.64 trln rupees. Meanwhile, the allocation for agricultural mechanisation and innovative technology is only 912.4 mln rupees.

There should be an "incremental increase" and not just increases in developing agricultural mechanisation and automation, said S.N. Jha, deputy director general, agriculture engineering, Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The contribution of mechanisation and technology to agricultural GDP has to be stressed, he added.

The session highlighted the need for a data-driven agricultural ecosystem for greater efficiency and accountability. Though India has successfully popularised the adoption of tractors, the country's farm sector is yet to be mechanised. The Indian tractor industry is worth $6 bln, and the country is a top exporter of the heavy vehicle. End

US$1 = 83.98 rupees

Reported by Afra Abubacker

Edited by Manisha Baxla

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.

Informist Media Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2024. All rights reserved.