Rythu Bandhu gives a boost to farm mechanisation

In a few years from now livestock is likely to cease to be a major component of agricultural economy even in the backward Adilabad and Kumram Bheem Asifabad districts. The changing trend has even poor tribal farmers going in for mechanisation and the Rythu Bandhu Scheme (RBS) of investment support to farmers in the State has only given a boost to use of machinery.

While the non-tribal farmers started switching over to machinery for ploughing and related activities since about a decade, the tribal areas continued using bullocks for these tasks as the cattle population is excellent. For example, KB Asifabad has nearly 3 lakh heads of cattle, the largest in the State, and their use in farming has kept the investment slightly lower than that of other farmers.

The trend has undergone drastic change with the RBS hastening mechanisation this season. The hard cash from RBS is being used by farmers to hire tractors which is why not as many manual ploughs can be seen preparing fields for the ensuing sowing season at this time of the year.

More convenient

“We find it less cumbersome to engage a tractor for tilling and draw a harrow. Use of a rotavator eliminates the task of clearing fields of the debris from last season,” reveals Munde Shivaji of Jainoor mandal who for the first time engaged a tractor for ploughing and drawing a harrow in his field as he had the money he got as investment subsidy.

The use of machinery in farming could be directly proportional to the sale of ploughs and other implements in given areas. Sk. Mujeeb, a fabricator at Indervelli mandal headquarters, reveals that he has just sold about 40 iron ploughs and harrows against about 150 last season and the change appears to be driven by RBS money.

While a tractor prepares one acre of field, tilling and drawing a harrow, in about an hour-and-a-half costing about ₹ 1,000, manual preparation can cost the entire day though there may be no payments involved. There are a few contrasting examples also which need to be studied thoroughly to understand the gamut of investment in agriculture.

Lower cost

For instance, Pendor Sakunt Rao, a Raj Gond farmer from Sonpalli in Ichoda mandal, who had received ₹ 40,000 as investment support from the government for his 10 acre of plot, wants to use only bullocks in farming. “If I use my bullocks I will save more money,” he said.

There is another disturbing factor which was never taken into consideration by researchers is the time wasted by farmers at the doorstep of banks and government offices. “This waste of time is crucial and this can contribute to rapid mechanisation as farmers are not left with enough time to prepare fields in April and May,” observed retired Adilabad Agriculture Officer C. Narsingu.