Dignitaries on the Dias, Respected farmers, Agriculturists, Distinguished guests, Esteemed invitees, delegates and participants from India and abroad, member of the press and friends.
It is indeed a great pleasure for me to inaugurate the “EIMA AGRIMACH INDIA 2009” an International Exhibition and Conference on Agriculture Machinery, Equipments and Agro-processing Industries, being organized at IARI, Pusa, New Delhi from the 3rd to the 5th of December, 2009. The EIMA AGRIMACH INDIA 2009 is going to provide a platform to display the latest technology for Farm Machinery and Technology and Agro Processing Industries. I am confident that the farmers, service providers and industrialist who visit this exhibition and conference, will greatly benefit from this exposure.
Farm mechanization as we all know has a major role to play in the modernization of Indian agriculture. Productivity of the farm depends considerably on the availability of farm power coupled with efficient farm implements and their judicious utilization.
Though there has been considerable progress in the area of mechanization in agriculture, its spread across the length and breadth of our country has been uneven. In the year 2001-02, the availability of farm power in the country stood at 1.231 kW/ha (projected as 1.50 kW/ha in 2005-06). In comparison with developed Country averages of 5-8 kW/ha. India is far behind the developed countries in terms of farm power availability.
It is also pertinent to mention that farm productivity is directly proportional to the mechanization level in different States. The States with higher levels of farm power have higher productivity levels of food grain and vice-versa. Therefore, this calls for an increase in the farm power availability at a faster rate through promotion of appropriate agricultural mechanization to bring it at least 2 kW/ per ha for achieving the desired level of farm productivity in our country. Needless to say, the power use must be most efficiently and wasteless.
In order to promote agricultural mechanization in the country the Government of India is implementing various programmes and schemes. Subsidy and credit are provided to farmers for purchase of equipments, demonstration of technologies and training on various aspects of agricultural mechanization is carried out and there is also a scheme to popularize new equipments developed by ICAR Institution for on farm value addition. However, there is need to do much more for small farm mechanization through custom hire services of agricultural machines/implements. Various states that first hesitated to mechanize are also now moving this direction.
While we continue our efforts to improve the infrastructure in these institutes, the Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Govt. of India has set up a Technical Committee to identify those Agricultural Universities and Engineering Colleges in the country which have the capability and minimum infrastructure to augment the facilities for assessment and testing agricultural machines and implement. This is being done to meet the increasing demand for testing facilities.
Central Government has also decided to upgrade the Central Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute, at Budni in Madhya Pradesh to a State of the Art Centre with modern and sophisticated equipments so as to meet the requirements of the tractor industries’ for meeting International Testing Standards. Training is being given a big push with increased volume and financial support.
Finally, I am sure this event will help bring all the Stake holders on a single platform to share information on all important aspects of agriculture mechanization and to develop business tie-ups in a mutually beneficial manner.
My best wishes to organizers and participants for great success of this event.
THANK YOU
JAI HIND
It is indeed a great pleasure for me to inaugurate the “EIMA AGRIMACH INDIA 2009” an International Exhibition and Conference on Agriculture Machinery, Equipments and Agro-processing Industries, being organized at IARI, Pusa, New Delhi from the 3rd to the 5th of December, 2009. The EIMA AGRIMACH INDIA 2009 is going to provide a platform to display the latest technology for Farm Machinery and Technology and Agro Processing Industries. I am confident that the farmers, service providers and industrialist who visit this exhibition and conference, will greatly benefit from this exposure.
Farm mechanization as we all know has a major role to play in the modernization of Indian agriculture. Productivity of the farm depends considerably on the availability of farm power coupled with efficient farm implements and their judicious utilization.
Though there has been considerable progress in the area of mechanization in agriculture, its spread across the length and breadth of our country has been uneven. In the year 2001-02, the availability of farm power in the country stood at 1.231 kW/ha (projected as 1.50 kW/ha in 2005-06). In comparison with developed Country averages of 5-8 kW/ha. India is far behind the developed countries in terms of farm power availability.
It is also pertinent to mention that farm productivity is directly proportional to the mechanization level in different States. The States with higher levels of farm power have higher productivity levels of food grain and vice-versa. Therefore, this calls for an increase in the farm power availability at a faster rate through promotion of appropriate agricultural mechanization to bring it at least 2 kW/ per ha for achieving the desired level of farm productivity in our country. Needless to say, the power use must be most efficiently and wasteless.
In order to promote agricultural mechanization in the country the Government of India is implementing various programmes and schemes. Subsidy and credit are provided to farmers for purchase of equipments, demonstration of technologies and training on various aspects of agricultural mechanization is carried out and there is also a scheme to popularize new equipments developed by ICAR Institution for on farm value addition. However, there is need to do much more for small farm mechanization through custom hire services of agricultural machines/implements. Various states that first hesitated to mechanize are also now moving this direction.
While we continue our efforts to improve the infrastructure in these institutes, the Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Govt. of India has set up a Technical Committee to identify those Agricultural Universities and Engineering Colleges in the country which have the capability and minimum infrastructure to augment the facilities for assessment and testing agricultural machines and implement. This is being done to meet the increasing demand for testing facilities.
Central Government has also decided to upgrade the Central Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute, at Budni in Madhya Pradesh to a State of the Art Centre with modern and sophisticated equipments so as to meet the requirements of the tractor industries’ for meeting International Testing Standards. Training is being given a big push with increased volume and financial support.
Finally, I am sure this event will help bring all the Stake holders on a single platform to share information on all important aspects of agriculture mechanization and to develop business tie-ups in a mutually beneficial manner.
My best wishes to organizers and participants for great success of this event.
THANK YOU
JAI HIND
