Parliament informed about Agricultural Mechanization

Parliament informed about Agricultural Mechanization

Part of: GS Prelims and GS- III – Economy; Agriculture

In news

• The government of India informed Parliament about the initiatives to Promote Farm Mechanization.

Key takeaways 

• A special dedicated scheme ‘Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM)’ has been introduced by the Government of India in 2014-15.
• Aim: To make farm machines accessible and affordable for the small and marginal farmers (SMFs) through the establishment of Custom Hiring Centers(CHCs), creating Hubs for hi-tech & high-value farm equipment and Farm Machinery Banks.
• Distribution of various subsidized agricultural equipment and machines to individual farmers is also one of the activities under the scheme.
• For 2021-22 Rs. 1050 crore budget has been allocated for SMAM which is higher than the last year. 
• Significance: Agricultural mechanization is crucial in the agriculture sector as it contributes towards improving the efficiency of the inputs used in crop production thereby also increasing the productivity of crops.