Kolkata: The state Agriculture department has distributed 13,554 equipment of farm machineriesunder Farm Mechanisation schemes and established 77 CHC (custom hiring centres) with a total subsidy amount of Rs 59.28 crore during 2022-23.
According to a senior official of the state Agriculture department, since inception, 4.9 lakh farm machineries have been distributed with a subsidy amount of Rs 830.28 crore under the Farm Mechanisation scheme and a total 2098 of CHCs have been set up at block level up to 2022-23.
The machines that have been provided include 47 Combine Harvesters, 102 tractors, 2567 power tillers, 228 solar pump sets, 144 multi-crop threshers, 23 maize shellers/threshers, 12 rice transplanter, 1249 rotavators, 690 power weeders, 39 potato digger, 21 mini oil mill and 180 mini rice mill.
The use of modern farm machineries like combine harvesters, threshers, rotavators, power tillers, rice transplanters, power sprayers, multi-crop threshers and power weeders etc by farmers of our state has increased significantly due to state support and this has not only reduced cost of cultivation but also minimised crop losses on account of natural disasters due to faster and timely harvesting of standing crops.
The state government has taken several initiatives to promote the use of modern farm machineries and farm implements in agriculture since 2011-2012 on a subsidy under the umbrella scheme of Farm Mechanisation across districts in Bengal.
As a result, farm power availability (an indicator of machineriesuse intensity) has increased from 1.45 kW/ha (2012-13) to 2.29 kW/ha 2022-23 (Estimated) & small and marginal farmers are using hi-tech machineries at a reasonable rent, increased numbers of solar pump set that has reduced the extent of crop loss in the face of natural calamities & increase farmer’s income etcetera.
For the maintenance and repair of high-tech farm machineries like the state has established a residential training centre ‘Matigantha’ in the East Burdwan district. Already 365 trainees completed the training programme on these machineries at Matigantha.