Farm Machinery Study in India: Govt Entrusts CIAE

New Delhi, Mar 25 (PTI) Bhopal-based Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering (CIAE) has been asked to conduct a study to assess the status of farm machinery and custom hiring in India, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

The study was entrusted to CIAE under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in July 2024, he said in a written reply.

The minister said the emphasis of the government is to promote farm mechanization and increase its reach to small and marginal farmers and to the regions where availability of farm power is low.

The government, under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization' (SMAM), provides financial assistance to farmers for the purchase of agricultural machines and equipment on individual ownership basis.

Financial assistance is also provided for the establishment of Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs) and Village Level Farm Machinery Banks (FMBs) in order to make available machines and equipment to the farmers on a rental basis as per their requirements.

About Rs 8,110.24 crore has been released to various states so far since the launch of the SMAM in 2024-15.

The states have supplied more than 19.51 lakh machines and equipment to the farmers on individual ownership basis and more than 52,000 CHCs/Hi-tech Hubs/FMBs have been established in various states, he added.