Hyderabad: To promote farm mechanization, a new scheme is being formulated by the state government to provide farm equipment at subsidized prices to farmers across the state. Under the new scheme, the State Government seeks to double the farm mechanization from the existing 45 percent to 90 percent in the State over the next three to four years to address the problem of farm workers.
The Minister of Agriculture, S Niranjan Reddy, spoke during the question time in the Assembly on the farm mechanization measures and said an inventory of a farm is being prepared to identify the needs of farmers for every 5000 hectares. Consequently, the state government will set up the scheme to provide farm equipment such as harvesters, threshers, vineyards and mowers to farmers through Custom Hiring Centers.
‘Farm mechanization has become inevitable due to the severe shortage of farm workers. We expect that even after four years it would be difficult to find workers to transplant paddy. That is why the government is focusing on farm mechanization and the new scheme will be announced after the modalities have been completed, ”he said.
The Minister said that the farm mechanization will not only reduce the input costs for the farmers, but also save a lot of time, which in turn can ensure effective and timely intervention during the entire cultivation process. Through the Custom Hiring Centers, he felt that new jobs would be opened for young people in rural areas. The state government has spent 951.28 million euros on farm mechanization over the past few years, which has benefited 6.66 lakh farmers. The government, which provides up to 50 percent subsidy on the farm equipment, has allocated R500 million exclusively for farm mechanization.
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Source: Telangana Today