In a major step to promote farm mechanisation and improve farming community’s access to the latest machinery and implements, the State government would be introducing more than 1,000 Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs), said Special Chief Secretary (Agriculture) and Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU) Vice-Chancellor B. Rajasekhar.
Interacting with the media at the ‘Agricultural Technology Exhibition’, organised as part of a two-day national seminar on ‘Trends in Farm Mechanisation and Engineering Interventions for Sustainable Agriculture’ at Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS) - Tirupati, on Thursday, Mr. Rajasekhar emphasised on the need for adopting the best management practices on farm mechanisation, being implemented by other States.
“We have achieved only 20% of farm mechanisation, except for groundnut crop which is 45%, whereas States like Punjab are leading with 50-60%. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has set a target of 60-70% farm mechanisation in Andhra Pradesh and hence the need for evaluating and adopting the best management practices,” he said.
Mr. Rajasekhar also stressed on the need for a behavioural and attitudinal change among those involved such as farmers, academicians, scientists etc., supplemented by concerted efforts to achieve the goal. He said the State government would be setting up 1,000 CHCs, with all the necessary implements and accessories (based on the crops cultivated in a region).
“The immediate need of the hour is customising the best management practices based on our requirements and build farmer participation in [the] new ecosystem i.e. the shift from traditional farming to technology/mechanised farming techniques,” he added.
Ola/Uber-ing of tractors and farm machinery
Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s (ICAR) Ex-Deputy Director General Prof. Gajendra Singh spoke on food security as an offshoot of water and energy security alongside developing agricultural models that are resilient to climate change. Prof. Singh also called for sharing of machinery among the members of the farming community on a common platform like taxi aggregators such as Uber and Ola.
“Another major challenge is the use of water in agriculture, particularly the quantity, quality, recycling and reusability factors. Besides this, animal husbandry should also be promoted as a co-activity to farming,” he said.
The ‘Agricultural Technology Exhibition’ was a huge draw with a wide range of equipment on display, right from those used in land preparation to post harvesting stages. Several companies like VST Shakti, Yanmar Coromandel Agrisolutions and others showcased their products, many of them aimed at small and marginal farmers.
The farmers had a barrage of questions reserved for drones used in agriculture. Chennai-based Sree Sai Aerotech Innovations organised a demonstration of crop dusting/aerial imagery drone which can be used for spraying pesticides, monitoring crop health, mapping irrigation, crop scouting and cycle assessments.
RARS Tirupati also displayed their products in a separate stall.
