Madhya Pradesh has undergone an overhauling transformation in mechanising the farm sector by building up an impressive network of Custom Hiring Centers (CHC) with as many as 3800 CHCs operative currently.
Farmers have purchased 1.23 lakh tractors in last five years since 2018-19 indicating their increasing preference for farm mechanization.
The State Government is promoting the Custom Hiring Centers (CHC) network, operated by Cooperative Societies, Self Help Groups, private and rural entrepreneurs for enabling easy availability of farm machineries to the Small & Marginal farmers.
It may be recalled here that the model of Custom Hiring Centre launched by Madhya Pradesh in 2012 was adopted by the Centre.
The Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has repeatedly emphasised the need to make the Mission Profitable Farming successful by increasing use of farm machinery.
A Model In Farm Mechanization
The CHCs are designed and developed to cover around 300 farmers in a radius of 10 kilometres.
The government limits the number of centres to keep the venture profitable.
Over 3000 farmers are currently running such centres in Madhya Pradesh. Similar model is being tried and tested in other states including Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh.
Besides, Madhya Pradesh has also adopted a novel way of connecting farm mechanization with skill development to create job opportunities for the rural youth, informs Shri Rajeev Choudhary, Director Agriculture Engineering, Madhya Pradesh.
The CHCs allow farmers to hire machinery on a rental basis, that requires significant capital investment and operational expertise.
Pursuing the mandate of Sub-Mission on Agriculture Mechanization, the state government is setting up hi-tech hubs for new and modern agricultural machines costing from 40.00 lakh to 2.50 crore. So far 85 hubs of sugarcane harvesters have been established.
Job Prospects for rural youth
A sustained campaign is going on to educate farmers about the benefits of CHCs and the agricultural machinery available for rent.
Training programs and workshops are being organized at CHCs to enhance farmers’ knowledge and skills in operating and maintaining agricultural machinery.
The Skill development centers are being operated in Bhopal, Jabalpur, Satna, Sagar, Gwalior and Indore.
All of them are affiliated to the National Skill Development Council of India. Tractor mechanic and combine harvester operator courses are being conducted for rural youth in these centers. So far around 4800 rural youth have been trained.
That farm mechanisation helps in increasing production, profitability and productivity is now a reality.
An ill-founded perception that mechanisation reduces employment opportunity for skilled and unskilled labour has gone out as new opportunities are available.
In an attempt to make costly farm equipment available to small farmers, the state government has been helping rural youth in setting up equipment hiring centres.
The initiative is in line with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s ‘per drop, more crop’ initiative for increasing productivity.
How CHCs hiring centres help?
The CHCs buy equipment with assistance from the state government and make it available for small farmers in their area.
For handling accounts and equipment, the centres hire youth from the village.
This provides employment opportunity to local youth.Availability of machines reduces the farmer’s dependence on traditional farming practices and manual labour.Mechanisation lowers the cost of cultivation and increases farm productivity.
These factors, in turn, increase the farmer’s profit.
Rural youth with an undergraduate degree can apply for grants under the scheme.
While a total investment of Rs 25 lakh is what it takes, the applicant is only required to place margin money of Rs 5 lakh.
The government subsidises 40% of the total cost, to a maximum amount of 10 lakh, and bank loans are provided to cover the remaining cost.
