India being an agrarian economy, 50% of its population working is engaged in agriculture while contributing 17%-18% to the GDP. Agriculture is often termed as an occupation with meager returns. Since farming was significantly dependent on rainfall and other uncertain weather conditions it was a highly risky source of livelihood.
One of the major factors that caused a hindrance in the success of farmers was lack of modern technology and equipment. With the introduction of the new-age technological equipment at relatively affordable rates, farming is beginning to yield higher incomes to even small farmers.
There have been many individuals who have done exceptionally well in the field of farming. Thankfully the technology has improved drastically, and its impact of the farming sector has yielded significant results. The modern equipment and advanced technology have led to some breakthrough changes in farming.
Mechanization in the field of agriculture has played a significant role in enhancing agricultural productivity. Tractors and other farm equipment are playing an integral part in this process. Operations like manual and oxen land preparation that are highly labor intensive in nature have now been almost fully mechanized using tractors.
Tractors are one of the most preferred utility farming equipment to date, especially in India. Tractors are the prime movers used in farming activities. Though only a few decades old, the tractor industry in India is the largest in the world. Indian tractor production is around one-third of the global production.
In the present-day scenario, the value of time is almost equivalent and even higher when comparing in terms with money. Employment of modernized machinery like the latest technology equipped tractors led to unprecedented growth and much higher returns in the farming sector on the Indian economy.
India’s agricultural success and growth rate can be ascertained by the fact that the Indian agriculture market holds a significant share in the world. During 2017-18 crop year, it is estimated that India will produce a record 284.83 million tonnes of food grains. At the same time, production of horticulture crops is likely to be a record 306.82 million tonnes. India is the world’s largest producer of many fresh fruits such as mango, guava, lemon, papaya, and spices such as ginger and pepper. Also, India is the largest producer of jute and ranks amongst top five in production of coffee and cotton. In wheat and rice, India ranks as the second largest producer in the world.
At the same time, tractor production in India has overtaken all other countries and has crossed 800,000 units annually. India is now a large exporter of tractors and Indian tractors are sold in more than 100 countries across the world.
One of the major reasons for the huge success of the agriculture market is the benefits of companies producing tractors domestically. The main advantage of producing tractors on the home ground includes reducing the cost of the machinery significantly making it accessible to more farmers. At the same time, local tractor manufacturing has supported hundreds of SME components suppliers.
The government along with the financial institutions also plays a major role in helping the farmers with providing them credit facility to buy farm equipment which the farmers can pay in easy installments over many years. There has been a shift in the demand pattern of the consumers, who earlier demanded 31 to 40 HP tractors, now incline more on buying 41 to 50 HP tractors. This reflects the growing use of tractors in multiple stages of farming production system.
The Indian agriculture industry is on the rise, but it has its own challenges. However, with the government facilities and increased access to modern technologies, the agriculture production continues to grow at a steady pace. Undoubtedly, tractors play an important role in the success of agriculture in India.
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