Do government programmes on farm mechanization benefit small and marginal farmers? Empirical analysis of custom hire centres in Karnataka Basavaraj G1,*, Bhattarai Madhusudan2, Swamy H M3, Lagesh M A4 1University of Horticultural Sciences Campus, GKVK, Bengaluru 2National Planning Commission, Nepal & UNDP, Singha, Darbar 3Chaudhary Charan Singh Harayana Agricultural University, Hisar 4IBS Hyderabad (A Constituent of ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education), Hyderabad *Corresponding author: basavarajg73@gmail.com
Online Published on 16 March, 2022. Abstract Karnataka has launched several schemes to increase food production by enhancing productivity. Krishi Yantra Dhare is one such scheme launched to improve smallholders’ access to farm mechanisation through custom hire centres (CHCs). Amongst several service providers, Shree Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Programme (SKDRDP) has established the highest number with 164 CHCs in 25 districts. SKDRDP was selected to understand the utilization of farm types of equipment. The data was analyzed to find the frequency of utilization of the services by crop, equipment, activity, hours of utilization and income generated from renting. Medium landholders have utilized the highest renting services from CHCs at 839.95 hours, followed by smallholders at 779.05 hours. The utilization was the most for rotavator, followed by 5 tyne cultivator. Rental income from combine harvester was the highest at Rs. 2,15,950. Top |