Custom hiring of farm machinery: a boon for small farmers

摘要

The over mechanization is one of the reason for farmers leaving farming in Punjab as it has greatly increased cost of cultivation and reduced their net income. Small farmers who own the tractors are more indebted than those who take tractors and othermachinery on hire. Agriculture in Punjab, which is the most mechanized in India, has undergone a notable change since early 1970s. It has been transformed from subsistence farming to mechanized farming using mainly inanimate power sources like tractors,diesel engines, electric motors etc. In terms of gross cropped area, Punjab state has the highest numbers of tractors in India. As much as 4.25 lakh tractors are being used to cultivate 41.58 lakh ha of land in the state. The number of tubewells have increased from 10.73 lakh in 1999-2000 to 13.75 lakh in 2009-10; among them 80 per cent run on electricity. The harvesting of crops particularly paddy and wheat is being done mechanically and number of combine harvesters have increased from 8050 to 14,670during the same period. Similarly the number of other machines and implements has increased many folds during the last 2-3 decades. As a result, the Punjab agriculture became intensively mechanized. Over capitalization in agriculture and the increasing cost of production are becoming the new challenges for competitive production.