“The deployment of AI, ML, data analytics etc. will become a huge game changer in the future”
Many Indian farmers still follow the old school method of farming relying more on manual labour than mechanisation. A remarkably lower-earning per capita compared to the world average is a primary reason. They also tend to a small acreage and low yields. There is also a huge disparity in the level of adoption of farm technology in the country. Some states like Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka etc. have led the way in the usage of combine harvesters. In the East, Odisha and West Bengal are catching up quickly. To shed some more light on the subject, Mrityunjay Singh, Managing Director, CLAAS shared his views on the future of farm mechanisation industry in India. Edited excerpts -
What are the post-pandemic impacts on the farm mechanisation industry?
As we know, the challenges due to the pandemic have had a significant impact on livelihoods and the economy. Job loss in many sectors is another concern. However, last year we saw a good growth in demand for tractors, combine harvesters and other farm equipment, largely driven by a good monsoon but also indirectly by a shortage of manpower in rural farms due to flight of farm labour.
It is estimated that India’s agriculture sector accounts only for around 15 per cent of the country’s economy but about 45 per cent of total employment. Clearly there is a very low level of productivity in the Agriculture sector. Challenges posed by unforeseen events like the pandemic will encourage more farmers to move towards higher mechanisation and better productivity levels. This would also mean that the workforce earlier engaged in farms will now find more productive employment in Industry and the Service sector.
What are your plans for the upcoming years?
The use of combine harvesters to harvest rice, wheat and to some extent soybean has spread across India in recent decades. However, mechanisation levels in harvesting other crops have to do a lot of catching up. CLAAS is well known for providing harvesting solutions that
can address multiple crops like paddy, wheat, maize, soybean, pulses, sunflower, etc.
Maize is a good example of a future growth market. The use of combine harvesters in maize is today very low at about 10 per cent or less. The area under maize is increasing and the government recognises the need for better harvesting solutions to increase farmer productivity. CLAAS has specially designed maize harvesting solutions for Indian farms.
We have always believed in being a pioneer in introducing new technology and processes for the benefit of the farming community. Over the last few years, CLAAS has been playing a leading role in the mechanisation of silage production for cattle feed. Though India is the world leader in milk production, productivity of our cattle is very low. One of the main reasons for this is the high cost, and poor availability, of good quality feed. Good quality silage is produced by proper harvesting and chopping of fodder quality maize and then diligently following prescribed storage instructions to ensure optimum quality of the final product. The tractor-drawn CLAAS JAGUAR 25 forage harvester is ideally suited for small dairy farmers for their own use or for renting it out to other farms in the vicinity for maize foraging. Professional silage contractors who operate on a larger scale choose the CLAAS JAGUAR 850 self-propelled forage harvester.
The JAGUAR is the world market leader in forage harvesters.
The burning of paddy stubble is a major reason for worsening air quality in the North, particularly in NCR. Farmers in the North do not see economic value for paddy straw. So burning paddy straw became a quick and easy way of disposing of it and getting the field ready for the next crop. The Government is working on several initiatives to create demand for paddy straw – cogen plants by public power utilities, production of Ethanol and Compressed Biogas are a few of the major steps. This demand generation will gradually create a value for paddy straw and discourage farmers from burning.
From a mechanisation perspective, to handle such a large volume of paddy straw in a short time span, there is a need for professional baling equipment. Balers are tractor powered machines that help in quickly picking up, compressing and bundling the paddy straw that may then be transported easily to the points of consumption.
How would you envisage the future of the farm mechanisation industry?
Although there is a wide scope for farming process mechanisation in the country, unreasonably high focus on ‘tractorisation’ has led to tractors being the most common sight on Indian farms, at the expense of specialist machines such as combine harvesters, balers, forage harvesters, paddy transplanters, etc. These machines play a significant role in the sector but are often ignored.
There is also a huge disparity in the level of adoption of farm technology in the country. Some states like Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka etc. have led the way in usage of combine harvesters. In the East, Odisha and West Bengal are catching up quickly. However, even a big producer state like Rajasthan is still lagging behind in adoption of mechanised harvesting for crops like pulses, mustard, cluster beans etc. The
North Eastern states also have a growing need for mechanisation but adoption is low because of challenges like low purchasing power, lack of retail finance availability etc.
However, it was driven by the government initiatives like Customer Hiring Centers and promotion of the concept of ‘collective good‘ with
FPOS & FPCS, in the next few years, we will see a widespread adoption of mechanisation both geographically and also across different stages of the crop production process. Crop residue management and harvesting maize for silage are also areas where there will be a much higher adoption of professional farm equipment as explained earlier.
What inputs are required for the growth of the farm mechanisation industry?
Indian farmers have a remarkably lower earning per capita compared to the world average because of the small farm sizes and low yield per hectare of their farmland. However, this can be addressed by encouraging mechanisation of the farming processes which would, in turn, reduce the cost of input and improve productivity, thereby increasing the overall profitability of the farmers. The government has introduced the concept of Custom Hiring Centres (CHCS), opened in public-private partnership mode. The main objective of CHCS is to provide various farm machinery / equipment to small and marginal farmers on a pay-per-use model, to make technology adoption affordable. The concept of ‘collective good’ for members of FPOS and FPCS will also make it easy to provide as well as adopt efficient mechanised processes.
Availability of finance for machines other than tractors is still to improve. Financial institutions are reluctant to provide much needed credit to deserving farmers. While the situation is improving, there is still a long way to go.
We also have a huge shortage of skilled manpower to embrace the new farm technologies. While the government has been taking initiatives in equipping our manpower with relevant skills, there is a growing demand-supply mismatch where the private sector also needs to play a more active role.
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), data analytics are gaining popularity in the agriculture industry, how can this technology become a game changer in the farm mechanisation industry?
Farmers‘ access to markets, price transparency, the right time to sow seeds, optimal level of inputs like fertilisers, crop insurance support etc. are just some of the areas where technology like AI, ML and data analytics can play a very significant role in agriculture. Several startups today are investing in creative solutions to support the Indian farmer.
Agriculture data can be collected by deployment of drones, use of sensors, photos using mobiles, IOT devices, satellite images etc. Combine harvesters for example can also provide very useful localised information on crop yields by mapping harvesting data to support precision farming. This can then be analysed to provide meaningful information and real-time advisory to the farmer to improve his decision making on the level of fertiliser needed, pesticide use etc.
The Indian farmer has a very high dependence on monsoons. High quality predictive analysis using technology can greatly help farmers anticipate significant weather changes in advance so that he can take corrective measures. Timely deployment of harvesters can greatly benefit farmers by minimizing crop loss due to unforeseen events like cyclones etc. In short, the deployment of AI, ML, data analytics etc. will become a huge game changer in the future and the Indian farmer will definitely benefit from this.