Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM) has been started in the year
2014-15 to promote agricultural mechanisation
Importance of mechanisation in agriculture
- Agricultural mechanisation is one of the important factors for sustainable development of the agricultural sector which helps in increasing production through agricultural works, reducing the deficit, reducing the cost of various agricultural works through the better management of costly inputs, increasing the productivity of natural resources and help reduce the difficulties related to various agricultural activities.
Degree of farm mechanisation
- The degree of farm mechanisation is expressed as a ratio of mechanical power to cultivable unit area.
Challenges for farm mechanisation
- Due to continuous shrinkage in the average size of the agricultural lands, more lands will fall in the adverse category, which will make individual ownership of agricultural machinery gradually and more informal.
- Therefore, ensuring availability of sufficient farm power for small farms will be a big challenge.
- The other challenges in the field of agricultural mechanisation are how to overcome skill barriers to provide adequate support to modern technology.
- In future, it is necessary to establish a link between the possibility of sustainable development of agricultural mechanisation without neglecting the lack of energy and environmental degradation due to low availability of fossil fuels and its high cost.
Objectives of SMAM
- The SMAM not only includes the traditional component of training, testing, demonstration of agricultural machinery and procurement subsidy but also includes-Farm Machinery Banks for Custom Hiring, Hi-Tech High Productive Equipments Centres on custom hiring model, and Farm Mechanisation in selected villages for enhancing productivity and creating ownership of appropriate farm equipments among small & marginal farmers.
- Establishment of Farm Machinery Banks and High-Tech Hub for custom hiring services are supported with financial assistance @40% of the project cost under RKVY and SMAM.
- The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare started the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation in the year 2014-15 with an objective to promote agricultural mechanisation among small and marginal farmers and in the areas where the level of mechanisation is very low. In addition to the Agricultural Mechanisation Submissions (SMM), farm mechanisation is also promoted through various other schemes and programmes of the Ministry such as RKVY, NFSM, NHM, NMOOP etc.
Successful Flight Test of QRSAM
- Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) developed Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) was successfully flight tested from ITR Chandipur, off the Odisha Coast at 11.30 AM today.
- All the technologies and subsystems incorporated in the missile have performed well, meeting all the mission requirements. All the Radars, Electro Optical Systems, Telemetry Systems and other stations have tracked the Missile and monitored all the Parameters.
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