Agri mechanization must suit needs of small farmers: Tomar
By TIOL News Service
NEW DELHI, SEPT 25, 2020: UNION Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, yesterday launched in the public domain, the “Centralized Farm Machinery Performance Testing Portal” which has been developed by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare as a further step to improve services of farm machinery testing institutions and bringing out transparency in the entire process of testing and evaluation of machines.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Narendra Singh Tomar said that the Government under Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi is fully committed to the welfare of farmers and development of the agriculture sector. Budget allocation of the agriculture sector has also been considerably increased in keeping with this commitment of the government. Mr Tomar said that there has been significant increase in adoption of agricultural machines which has resulted in the phenomenal expansion of cropped area, cropping diversity and the country's agricultural production. Further to promote agricultural mechanization, the Union Agriculture Minister appealed to industry representatives to design farm equipment which can be utilized in cost effective manner by small and marginal farmers.
This portal will facilitate manufacturers in applying, communicating and monitoring the progress of testing of their machines in a seamless manner as it is easily accessible from any location and from any device connected to the Internet. It offers the possibility of integrated management in a unified manner within the organization and thus will help in improving the efficiency of the testing institutes thereby reducing testing time for various agricultural machines and equipments. This portal offers following benefits to the users viz manufacturers, FMTTIS and the DAC&FW:
- In line with Government Policy of “Ease of Doing Business”,this would facilitate applying for testing of machinery online.
- Ensure Transparency in the entire processes of testing.
- Faster Feedback
- Help in Reducing testing Time
- Reduced Business Expenses of Agricultural Manufacturers
- Testing Efficiency Improvement
- Thoroughness in Testing
- Flexible Access – Officers concerned at Ministry and manufacturers can monitor testing activities from anywhere with internet access.
Agricultural mechanization is a central indispensable support to make farm operations efficient and productive. It contributes in increasing the efficiency and productivity of all direct as well as indirect inputs used in the crop production system besides, reduction in drudgery associated with various farm operations.The programs and schemes of the Government of India on farm mechanization have resulted in progressive increase in the availability of farm power per unit area for performing various agricultural operations.The shift has also helped in diversification of agriculture from conventional crops to commercial crops.
Testing of farm machines is important aspect of agricultural mechanization which benefits both buyers i.e. farmers as well as to the manufacturers of agricultural machinery. Testing and evaluation of agricultural machinery encourages improvement in quality and functional suitability. Comparable data for similar machines is available to manufacturers, which help them in improving the design of their product and open up avenues in commercialization of agricultural machinery not only on national level but also Globally. Recognizing the importance of testing and evaluation of agricultural machinery and to meet the increasing demand for testing, the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare in addition to the existing four Farm Machinery Training & Testing Institutes, has identified and authorized 35 institutions under the State Agricultural Universities, Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the State Governments.
The Farm Machinery Training & Testing Institutes at Budni (MP), Hisar (Haryana), Anantpur(Andhra Pradesh) and BiswanathChariali (Assam) are playing an important role and contributing their share to the development and progressive acceptance of agricultural mechanization in India through their capacity building programmes, testing & evaluation of farm machinery and demonstration of machines/technologies on the farmer's fields. The Budni institute is National Designated Authority for testing of tractors as per OECD Standards. The Budni and Hisar Institutes are also recognized for testing of tractors and self-propelled machines under the Central Motor Vehicle Rules.
Union Ministers of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Mr ParshottamRupala and Mr Kailash Choudhary, Secretary, Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Mr Sanjay Agarwal and other senior officers of the Department were present on the occasion of the launch of the portal.
