A newly developed compact, economical and easy to operate tractor can help small and marginal farmers increase agricultural productivity while keeping costs low. An MSME plans to set up a manufacturing plant for mass production of tractors for supply to farmers.
India has more than 80% marginal and small farmers. A large population of them still depends on ox-drawn farming, which is a challenge due to operational costs, maintenance and poor returns. Though power tillers are replacing ox-drawn ploughs, they are cumbersome to operate. Tractors, on the other hand, are unsuitably expensive for small farmers.
To address these challenges, CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-CMERI) in collaboration with SEED Division of DST has developed a compact, economical and easy to operate tractor of low horse power range to meet the requirement of marginal and small farmers.
They have promoted this technology among several existing SHGs, and efforts have been made to form new SHGs exclusively for this technology. CSIR-CMERI is also considering licensing it to local companies for large-scale production, so that the benefits can reach local farmers.
The tractor is developed with a 9 HP diesel engine having 8 forward and 2 reverse speeds, PTO with 6 splines at 540 rpm. The total weight of the tractor is around 450 kg with front and rear wheel sizes of 4.5-10 and 6-16 respectively. The wheelbase, ground clearance and turning radius are 1200 mm, 255 mm and 1.75 m respectively.
This will speed up the farming process, farming will be completed in a few hours as compared to several days taken in farming with bullock cart and the capital and maintenance cost of the farmers will also be reduced.
Therefore, an affordable compact tractor can replace the ox-drawn plough for small and marginal farmers.
The technology was demonstrated to the nearby villages and various manufacturers. A Ranchi-based MSME has shown interest in manufacturing the tractor by setting up a plant for mass production of the tractor. They are planning to supply the developed tractor to farmers at subsidized rates through various state government tenders.