With a considerable decline in the usage of animal and human power for agricultural activities, the agricultural equipment manufacturers in India have developed a new range of agricultural tools. Most of these tools or vehicles are driven by fossil fuel. This has given rise to mechanisation in India. Although it is not as prevalent as other countries, it is gaining momentum.
Will Farm Mechanisation in India Improve the Farming Condition
Water scarcity tackling, better yield, improved economy are few of the benefits that mechanization offers. Here, we have shared some benefits.
- Input Savings
A study shows that farm mechanization provides several input savings such as Seeds (approximately 15%-20 %), fertilizers (approximately 15%-20% ),increased cropping intensity (approximately 5%-20%)
- Increased Efficiency
Farm mechanization improves the efficiency of farm labour and reduces hard-work and burden. It also helps in saving time. Apart from this, mechanization also helps in boosting the harvest and lowers the chances of post-harvest losses thereby improving the quality of farming. All this ensures that the production costs are low and farmers are able to earn an additional income.
Social Benefits
- Farm mechanization helps in decreasing the workload on women as there is an improved efficiency of labour
- It improves the safety of several farm practices
- It incorporates several tilling techniques that helps convert uncultivable land into agricultural land
- Helps in shifting land used for fodder and feed cultivation by animals to food production
- Encourages the youth to join farming and attracts people to live and work in rural areas
India has a growing population and it is estimated to touch 1.6 billion by 2050. This is putting a lot of stress on the resources available and also the land available for cultivation. Although the food grain production in India has increased manifold, it will be challenging to meet the future demand. The requirement of grain production will reach 333 million tonnes and it will be variable as it largely depends on the monsoons. This calls for the need for a significant increase and improvement in the productivity level. Farm mechanization may have an answer to most of the problems . Also, the agricultural equipment manufacturers in India must come up with innovative and unique strategies that will help boost farming.
Urbanization and Farm Labour
For several years, India has been dependant on cheap labour for farming. This may be due to the fact that there were fewer job opportunities earlier. The situation today is different and people have surplus opportunities in the factories, services and government’s rural employment programs. Also, growing economy and infrastructure has caused rapid urbanization. This has affected farming as several people are attracted to the better opportunities and lifestyle available in the urban areas than in rural areas.
Estimates predict that by 2050, the percentage of agricultural workers would drop to 25.7% compared to that 58.2 % in 2001. All these reasons have resulted in reduction of availability of farm labour and instead are asking for a greater push in farming technologies and equipment that allow better usage of land.