Bengaluru
While India’s tractor industry shrank between August 2021 and March 2022, the smallholder mechanization industry continues to post double-digit growth, indicating hyperaction in smallholder farming and changing dynamics in the country’s agricultural sector, said Antony Cherukara, CEO of VST Tillers Tractors Ltd .
“The tractor industry has declined from last August through February and March this year, but the small farm machinery sector has grown rapidly at a CAGR of 30% to 40% over the past two years,” he said.
As of March 2022, around 8,35,000 tractors were sold in the country, which was 7% to 8% less than in the previous year. Small farm machinery includes tillers and tillers (8hp to 16hp), hand-held machines such as brush cutters, hedge trimmers, and chain saws. The tiller sector alone has grown by 20% CAGR.
“This is a very interesting trend because it reflects the changing dynamics in agriculture. Small arable farms have started to mechanize and the small farmers have realized that the tractors are not profitable and are switching to small farming machines,” noted Mr. Cherukara.
According to him, the country’s need for small farm machinery has increased in recent years as the size of land holdings is fragmented, farms are shrinking, and many people are also venturing into small-scale farming.
“Land tenure is divided up for various reasons, and therefore contract farming is not developed much. More importantly, many urban residents, including professionals, have returned to the villages and are actively involved in farming activities,” he added.
All these small and marginal farmers, already engaged in small-scale farming or joining after the pandemic, were looking for mechanization on their farms smaller than 5 hectares. According to him, they can’t afford a 40hp plus tractor that costs between 5 and 6 lakh upwards.
VST Tillers Tractors has a strategic alliance with a French company called Pubert and sells small agricultural machinery through more than 500 dealers.
