[Aditya]

The Government of Karnataka has adopted the Uber model for agricultural services - for providing tractors and other farm equipment to the state's farmers. The state government plans to overcome the problem of shortage of labour for farmers with this move.



According to the government, farmers in Karnataka have been complaining of non-availability of labour. The state is investing Rs. 175 crore in the scheme under which, farmers will be able to rent equipment over a period of three years. The government pays 75% of the capital cost and manufacturers earn money by renting the equipment to the farmers. Officials are of the opinion that by adopting this method, cost to farmers would come down by nearly a third.

The state government has tied up with manufacturers such as John Deere and Mahindra & Mahindra to supply farm equipment on demand to farmers across the state. Most of the farmers own small pieces of land and find it difficult to justify investment in equipment. Hiring machinery will not put a heavy financial burden on them.

Earlier this month, Mahindra introduced Trringo - a tractor and farm equipment rental service (click here to read report).

Source: Business Standard

[gsurya]

Very good move, hope they devolve powers to Panchayat level to make it really effective.

I read a recent analysis of Marathwada farmer suicides, which showed that investment in farm equipment which remained idle for most of the year, was the major cause of debt.

Shared assets between farmers could have reduced stress a lot, but due to mistrust, caste / community issues & lack of a proper rental model this could not take off.

[GTO]

Incredibly happy to read about such initiatives. Tractor rentals can revolutionise the farming segment in the same way that Uber & Ola have changed the taxi game.

Will be interesting to see how this government initiative fares against Trringo. After all, Mahindra does know a thing or two about tractors .

Wish both of them well. Their success depends on the farmer's success.

[Ajay_the_Don]

A good initiative. Tractor is the most expensive investment for a farmer and these rentals can ease the already suffering field. Unlike govt services involving vehicles that are ill-maintained, the rentals should get maintained properly to get the most out of it.

Having grown up around farms, I have always wondered about the cultivation process of farmers. I am not sure about other states but in TN, the yield period is around Jan-Feb (hence the traditional 'pongal') and almost all the time, during November the South West Monsoon sets in causing heavy rainfall and damages almost the entire yield. This will get compensated by the state govt as usual.

Couldn't they change the practice by modifying the cultivation pattern and avoid the damages from the weather phenomena?