DEMAND ANALYSIS OF FARM MACHINERIES AND EQUIPMENTS

The tractor/power operated equipments were available with the large category of farmers and found significantly higher as compared to other farm groups such as small and medium, but their number was very small. The availability of agricultural equipment was found to be very low. In addition, the condition of hill farmers is different from that of farmers from the plains as their land holding is much smaller and fragmented. The rain-fed scenario forces the farmers to grow the crop in a limited time, however conducting timely operations under rain-fed conditions was very difficult. On the other hand, topography is restricting the introduction of large mechanical powers like tractors and harvesters in most of the region. Therefore, appropriate selection of power-equipment system is extremely important for determining the net returns in agriculture for a given farming situation, which not only enhances the annual machine use but also limits the operational costs and energy consumption. This book is about the market potential and market share of farm machineries and awareness and usage of farm machineries and equipments at farm level in the hill areas.