September 3rd 2023.
Madhya Pradesh has seen an impressive transformation in its farm sector in the last few years, with the establishment of an extensive network of Custom Hiring Centers (CHCs). As many as 3800 CHCs are now in operation, and in the past five years, farmers have purchased 1.23 lakh tractors. This reflects their increasing preference for farm mechanization.
The State Government is striving to promote the CHCs network and make farm machinery more accessible to small and marginal farmers. It is worth noting that Madhya Pradesh's model of the CHCs was adopted by the Centre. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has also been emphasizing the need for increased use of farm machinery to make the Mission of Profitable Farming a success.
The CHCs are designed to cover a radius of 10 kilometres for around 300 farmers. The government has set a limit on the number of CHCs to ensure their profitability. Over 3000 farmers are currently running such centres in Madhya Pradesh, with similar models being tried and tested in other states such as Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh.
In addition to this, the state government has also initiated a novel way of connecting farm mechanization with skill development. This is aimed at creating job opportunities for rural youth. Training programs and workshops are being conducted at CHCs, with the aim of enhancing the knowledge and skills of farmers in operating and maintaining farm machinery. The Skill Development Centers are located in Bhopal, Jabalpur, Satna, Sagar, Gwalior and Indore. These centers are affiliated to the National Skill Development Council of India, and around 4800 rural youth have already been trained.
The CHCs also give farmers the opportunity to hire machinery on a rental basis. This assists rural youth in setting up equipment hiring centres, and the state government provides grants for those with an undergraduate degree. With a total investment of Rs 25 lakh, only Rs 5 lakh margin money is required, and the government subsidises 40% of the total cost, up to a maximum of 10 lakh.
It is now evident that farm mechanization helps in increasing production, profitability and productivity. This eliminates the misconception that mechanization reduces employment opportunity for skilled and unskilled labour, and in fact, creates new job prospects. The CHCs hiring centres are also in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘per drop, more crop’ initiative for increasing productivity.
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