FARM POWER SOURCES, THEIR AVAILABILITY AND FUTURE REQUIREMENTS TO SUSTAIN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION

Farm Power Sources, their Availability and Future

Requirements to Sustain Agricultural Production
N.S.L. Srivastava

Asstt. Director General (Agril. Engg.) Retd., Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi

ABSTRACT

Farm Power is an essential input in agriculture for timely field operations for
operating different types of farm equipment and for stationary jobs like operating
irrigation equipment, threshers/ shellers/ cleaners/ graders and other post harvest
equipment. During last 50 years the average farm power availability in India has
increased from about 0.25 kW/ha in 1951 to about 1.35 kW/ha in 2001. Over the
years the shift has been towards the use of mechanical and electrical sources of
power, While in 1951 about 97.4% farm power was coming from animate sources,
in 2001 the contribution of animate sources of power reduced to about 18% and
that of mechanical and electrical sources of power increased from 2.6% in 1951 to
about 82% in 2001.
While the farm power availability of Punjab in 2001 has reached to over 3.5 kW/
ha it is still less than 0.90 kW/ha in many states like Orissa, Rajasthan, Himachal
Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Assam, Madhya
Pradesh and Maharashtra. The power productivity relationship shows that those
states having higher farm power availability/ha have higher productivity. The state
of Punjab which is highly mechanized state uses about 30% electrical power and
about 48% diesel engine power.
It is visualized that the additional requirement of food grains in future will be
met, to a great extent, from Indo-Gangetic plains where the demand of tractors,
power tillers and other machinery will continue to increase in future also.
For increasing productivity of dryland agriculture which constitute about 66%
of the cultivated area in India, timeliness in farm operations is essential especially
for seedbed preparation and sowing operations for establishing good crop stand in
deficient/ receding soil moisture content. In these areas also the demand of tractors/
power tillers, seed drills/planters and other farm machinery on custom service will
increase in future.
Those states where farm power availability is less than 0.90 kW/ha will continue
to use animate sources of power for quite some time towards a shift to mechanical
and electrical sources of power. States in NEH Region, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu
& Kashmir and Chhattisgarh because of their hilly terrain will continue to use
animate sources of power for a long time.
Seeing the present trend and considering the future demand of additional power
sources, it is visualized that by 2020 the average farm power need in India will be
about 2 kW/ha of which the share of animate source will be only about 5% and that
of mechanical and electrical power will be about 70% and 25% respectively.
Accordingly in future the demand of tractors, power tillers, stationary diesel engines,
electric motors, self propelled combines, power sprayers etc. have been estimated
and given in this paper.

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 STATUS OF FARM MECHANIZATION IN INDIA

1. INTRODUCTION Table 1. Farm Power Availability and Average Productivity

of Food grains in India in 2001
Power is needed on the farm for operating different
Sl. No. Name of Farm Power Food grain
tools, implements and during various farm operations.
the State Availability productivity
While mobile power is used for doing different field (kW/ha) (Kg/ha)
jobs, the stationary power is used for lifting water and
operating irrigation equipment; operating threshers, 1 Punjab 3.50 4032
2 Haryana 2.25 3088
shellers/decorticators, cleaners, graders and for other 3 Uttar Pradesh 1.75 2105
post harvest operations. The mobile farm power comes 4 Andhra Pradesh 1.60 1995
from human, draught animals, power tillers, tractors and 5 Uttaranchal 1.60 1712
self propelled machines, where as the stationary power 6 West Bengal 1.25 2217
7 Tamil Nadu 0.90 2262
is obtained from oil engines (diesel, petrol, kerosene) 8 Karnataka 0.90 1406
and electric motors. 9 Kerala 0.80 2162
Availability of adequate farm power is very crucial 10 Assam 0.80 1443
for timely farm operations for increasing production and 11 Bihar 0.80 1622
12 Gujarat 0.80 1169
productivity and handling the crop produce to reduce 13 Madhya Pradesh 0.80 907
losses. With the increase in intensity of cropping the 14 Himachal Pradesh 0.70 1500
turn around time is drastically reduced and it is not 15 Maharashtra 0.70 757
possible to harvest and thresh the standing crop, on one 16 Rajasthan 0.65 884
17 Jharkhand 0.60 1095
hand, and prepare seed bed and do timely sowing 18 Jammu & Kashmir 0.60 1050
operations of subsequent crop, on the other hand, in the 19 Orissa 0.60 799
limited time available, unless adequate farm power is 20 Chhattisgarh 0.60 799
available. All India 1.35 1723
Similarly for precision farming, increasing area under
irrigation, conservation tillage, straw management and in crops grown and the rainfall pattern in those states.
diversification in agriculture, more power is required The trend of average farm power availability and food
for water lifting and precision placement/application of grain production in India is shown in Figure 1.
agricultural inputs—seed, fertilizer, irrigation water,
plant protection chemicals etc and meeting the 2. SOURCES OF FARM POWER
requirements of diversified agriculture.
The different sources of power available on the farm
There has been close nexus between farm power
for doing various mobile and stationary operations are
availability and increased productivity. Those states
as under:
where availability of farm power is more have, in
general, higher productivity as compared to others as Mobile Power
shown in Table 1. The variations in the trend of 1. Human (men, women, children)
productivity in few states are because of the variations 2. Draught animals (bullocks, buffaloes, camels,
horses and ponies, mules and donkeys)
3. Tractors
4. Power tillers
Farm Power Availability and Average Yield of Food Grain in India
5. Self propelled machines (combines, dozers,
3.5 3.5 reapers, sprayers etc.)
3 3
A v aila b ility , kW /h a

fo o d G ra ins , t /h a
A ve ra g e Y ie ld of

2.5 2.5
Stationary Power
Fa rm Po w er

2 2
1.5
1.723
1.5
1. Diesel/oil engines (for pump sets, threshers,
1.38 1.35
1 0.872
1.023 0.92 1 sprayers and other stationary operations)
0.71 0.63
0.5 0.522
0.25 0.31 0.36
0.5 2. Electric motors (for pump sets, threshers, sprayers
0 0
1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001
and other stationary operations)
Year
2.1 Human Power
Farm Pow er Availability, kW/ha Average Yield of Food Grain , T/ha The average power availability, in sustained working,
from a male agricultural worker is considered as 60 watts
Fig.1. Farm Power availability and average yield of (0.06 kW) while for a female worker it is considered as
Food Grains in India in 2001. 48 watts (0.048 kW) and for child worker as 30 watts

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FARM POWER SOURCES, THEIR AVAILABILITY AND FUTURE REQUIREMENTS TO SUSTAIN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION

Table 2. Time Series Population of Agricultural Workers

(in millions)
Sl. No. Type of worker 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001

1 Total Population 361.1 439.2 548.9 685.2 846.3 1027.0

(Annual growth rate%) (1.25) (1.96) (2.22) (2.20) (2.14) (1.93)
2 Rural Population 298.6 360.3 439.0 523.9 628.7 741.7
(% of total population) (82.7) (82.0) (80.1) (76.7) (74.3) (72.22)
3 Cultivators 69.9 99.6 78.2 92.5 110.7 127.6
(% of total workers) (49.9) (52.8) (43.4) (37.8) (35.2) (31.7)
4 Agricultural Labourers 27.3 31.5 47.5 55.5 74.6 107.5
(% of total workers) (19.5) (16.7) (26.3) (22.7) (23.8) (26.7)
5 Agricultural Workers 97.2 131.1\ 125.7 148.0 185.3 235.1
(3+4) (% of Total Workers) (69.4) (69.5) (69.8) (60.5) (59.0) (58.4)
6 Other Workers 42.8 57.6 54.7 96.6 128.8 167.4
(% of Total Workers) (30.6) (30.5) (30.) (39.5) (41.0) (41.6)
7 Total Main Workers(5+6) 140.0 188.4 180.4 244.6 314.1 402.5
(% of Total Workers) (100.0) (100.0) (100.0) (100.0) (100.0) (100.0)

Source: Agricultural Statistics at a Glance, 2002.

(0.030 kW), which are 80% and 50% respectively,
compared to male worker.
The time series population of agricultural workers
during the period 1951 to 2001 is given in Table 2. While
the population of agricultural workers as percentage of
rural population has gone down from about 69.4% in
1951 to about 58.4% in 2001 but in absolute terms, due
to increase in overall population, the number of
agricultural workers available in rural areas has
increased from about 97.2 million numbers in 1951 to
about 235.1 million numbers in 2001.
These agricultural workers are engaged in different
farm operations and depend on agriculture for their
livelihood, even when they are not fully employed
throughout the year. Due to too much involvement of
labour in different farm operations, the cost of
production of most of the crops in our country is quite
high as compared to developed countries.
2.2 Draught Animal Power
Draught animals, particularly bullocks, are still the
predominant source of mobile power on about 60% of
the cultivated area consisting of about 85 million ha.
They are very versatile and dependable source of power
and are used in sun and rain under muddy and rough
field conditions. They are born and reared in the village
system and maintained on the feed and fodder available
locally. They are ideal for rural transport where proper
roads are not available. They reduce dependence on
mechanical sources of power and save scarce petroleum
products. Their dung and urine are also used as indirect
source of energy—farmyard manure, biogas. They also
help in maintaining ecological balance.
Under Indian conditions where majority of the people
are vegetarian and even amongst non-vegetarians,
majority of them don’t eat beef, draught animals as by-
product of milch animals, will continue to be available
for draught purposes in future also.
About 4-5 decades back most of the farm operations,
water lifting, rural transport, oil extraction, sugarcane
crushing, chaff cutting etc, were being done using
draught animals only. But with the modernization of

Table 3. Time Series Population of Draught Animals in India during 1971-2001

(in millions)
Type of Draught Animal 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996* 2001*

Cattle over 3 yrs 73.14 71.23 61.05 63.57 70.33 65.00 60.00
Buffaloes over 3 yrs 7.58 7.93 7.32 6.78 7.34 7.45 7.55
Total Bovine 80.72 79.16 67.37 70.35 77.67 72.45 67.55
Camel over 4 yrs 0.40 0.40 0.39 0.38 0.37 0.36 0.35
Horses & ponies over 3 yrs 0.65 0.64 0.57 0.56 0.54 0.54 0.50
Mules over 3 yrs 0.05 0.06 0.09 0.12 0.15 0.14 0.12
Donkeys 0.48 0.48 0.49 0.49 0.50 0.48 0.45
Total pack animals 1.58 1.58 1.54 1.55 1.56 1.52 1.42

Note : *Estimate.
Source : Singh, G and Singh, R.C. (2003) Harnessing Animal Power. CIAE Bhopal.

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agriculture, development of pucca roads connecting
village and availability of electricity in those villages,
most of the jobs earlier being done using draught
animals, except field operations, are now being done
using other convenient and cheaper options. Over the
years the annual use of draught animals is going down.
While earlier a pair of animals was being used for about
1200-1800 hours annually, their average annual use has
now come down to about 250-500 h only, that too for
tillage, sowing, weeding a little bit of rural transport on
kuchha roads. The time series population of draught
animals during 1971 to 2001 is given in Table 3 which
shows that the population of draught animals during the
last 10 years has been going down especially in those
states where the demand of tractors and power tillers
have gone high. It has been observed that on an average
a tractor is replacing about 5 pairs and power tiller about
2 pairs of animals.
The power available from draught animals is related
to its body weight. The maximum draft available from
different animals, in sustained working, on whole day
basis (in two shifts) using local yokes/harnesses have
been found as under:
Bullocks : 10-12% of body weight in summer and
12-14% in winter
Buffaloes : 12% of body weight in all seasons
Camels : 18% of body weight up to 7 h, 26% up
to 6 h following 2 h work + 2 h rest
schedule.
Donkeys : 32% of body weight up to 6 h and 36%
up to 4 h in two shifts.
On the basis of the body weight draught animals are
categorised as small (200-300 kg), medium (300-400
kg), large (400-500 kg) and heavy (above 500 kg.)
animal. From a good pair of animals weighing between
900-1000 kg we can get about 0.75-0.78 kW power. But
in most of the States the pair weight of draught animals
ranges between 600-800 kg/pair and power availability
from them is only about 0.50-0.55 kW/pair.
2.3 Mobile Power from Tractors, Power Tillers and
Self-Propelled Reapers and Combines
For meeting the increased demand of mobile power
for timely farm operations and increased intensity of
cropping, additional power is available mainly from
tractors and power tillers. Self propelled reapers and
combines also provide mobile power specially for
harvesting operations. In India tractor and power tiller
production started in 1960 and today the annual
production has crossed over 250,000 and 17,000
numbers, respectively and India has emerged as number
one producer of small tractors in the world. While the
demand of tractors has increased steeply, the demand
◆ 60 ◆
STATUS OF FARM MECHANIZATION IN INDIA
of power tillers has not grown that fast. The demand of
tractors that has been increasing steadily has helped in
providing additional mobile power on the farm for timely
farm operations and has helped in increasing agricultural
production and productivity. There are 14 manufacturers
of tractors in the country producing about 60 models of
tractors in different hp ranges. About 56.73% of the
tractors produced are in the range of 23.12-29.84 kW
(31-40 hp), about 17.16% in the range of 30.38-37.3
kW (41-50 hp) and about 21.50% in the range of 15.66-
23.38 kW (21-30 hp). Only about 4.46% tractors are
produced in the range of above 37.30 kW (above 50 hp)
and 0.15% in the range of less than 14.92 kW (20 hp)
range. For calculating power availability from tractors
on the farm, a weighted average of 26.1 kW per tractor
has been taken.
There are mainly 2 manufacturers of power tillers in
the country producing about 6 models in the range of
5.97-8.95 kW (8-12 hp). In addition to them there are 4
other manufacturers who are importing Chinese make
of power tillers and selling in the country. The total sale
of power tillers in the country during 2001 was 16018
numbers. The major sales of power tillers are in the
States of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Assam,
Kerala, Orissa and Maharashtra. For calculating power
availability from power tillers on the farm, a weighted
average of 7.0 kW per unit has been taken.
The time series population of tractors and power
tillers in India is given in Tables 4. State wise population
and density of tractors and power tillers is given in Table
5. Out of 14 manufacturers the major sale of tractors
during 1995-2001 was from only 6 manufacturers as
given in Table 6. State wise sale of tractors during 1996-
2002 are given in Table 7.
Table 4. Time–series Population of Tractors and Power
Tillers in India
(in numbers)
Year Tractor Power tiller
1947 4,500 -
1951 8,500 -
1961 39,000 2
1971 1,76,000 13,008
1981 5,94,000 15,406
1991 13,04,000 34,614
2001 27,59,936 93,884
Assuming average life of Tractors as 15 years and Power Tillers as 7
years
2.4 Stationary Power from Diesel Engines and
Electric Motors
Stationary power sources in agriculture comprise of
diesel engines and electric motors used for irrigation
FARM POWER SOURCES, THEIR AVAILABILITY AND FUTURE REQUIREMENTS TO SUSTAIN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION

Table 5. State-wise population and density of Tractors and Power Tillers in 1997-98
(in numbers)

State Agricultural land Tractor Power Tiller

1000 ha Population Density/000 ha Population Density/000 ha

Andhra Pradesh 14,460 100,067 6.92 3,564 0.22

Assam 3,205 6,434 2.01 6,127 1.73
Bihar 10,743 74,130 6.90 735 0.06
Goa 67 126 1.88 813 11.00
Gujarat 10,292 146,528 14.24 1,710 0.15
Haryana 3,711 233,376 62.89 21 0.01
Himachal Pradesh 1,010 3,189 2.17 12 0.01
Jammu & Kashmir 1,014 3,717 3.67 23 0.02
Karnataka 12,321 73,856 5.99 9,227 0.68
Kerala 1,796 7,708 4.29 5,121 2.59
Madhya Pradesh 22,111 195,108 8.82 407 0.02
Maharashtra 10,925 110,763 5.29 3,153 0.14
Manipur 175 357 2.04 845 4.38
Orissa 5,296 12,989 2.45 1,551 0.27
Punjab 4,033 332,675 82.49 21 0.00
Rajasthan 20,971 175,288 8.36 32 0.00
Tamil Nadu 7,474 85,062 11.38 12,399 1.50
Uttar Pradesh 17,986 434,412 24.15 255 0.01
West Bengal 5,656 16,121 2.58 17,396 2.79
Other States 2,123 77 0.04 2,237 0.96
Union Territories 140 4,568 32.63 281 1.82
Total 165,509 2,015,551 12.18 65,929 0.40

Source: Singh, Gajendra and Doharey R.S. (1999) Tractor Industry in India. Agricultural Engineering Today, Vol 23(1-2): 1-14

Table 6. Tractor Sales of Major Manufacturers during 1995-2002

(in numbers)

Make 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02

Mahindra & Mahindra 50005 57379 67779 69361 70595 79131 58073
(22.63) (22.92) (26.65) (26.51) (25.84) (31.05) (25.78)
Punjab (Swaraj) 26315 33034 40245 48336 50705 45712 40099
(11.91) (13.19) (15.83) (18.48) (18.56) (17.94) (17.80)
Escorts+(farm tech) 38597 43442 48329 45010 52010 45009 38035
(17.47) (17.35) (19.00) (17.20) (19.04) (17.66) (16.88)
TAFE 36370 43585 49160 46462 45432 28975 28759
(16.46) (17.41) (19.33) (17.76) (16.63) (11.37) (12.78)
Eicher 21875 23129 24255 25321 22629 18063 19026
(9.9) (9.24) (9.54) (9.68) (8.28) (7.09) (8.44)
Sonalika 2770 6211 8773 13496 17002
(1.09) (2.37) (3.21) (5.30) (7.55)
HMT 16981 19018 19275 18426 15730 13001 11051
(7.69) (7.59) (7.58) (7.04) (5.76) (5.10) (4.90)
New Holland - - NA NA 2794 5200 5150
(1.02) (2.04) (2.29)
L & T Johndeer 1225 2610
(0.48) (1.16)
Same Greaves 1348 1193
(0.53) (0.53)
Gujarat 1807 1354 1115 1370 857 605 985
(0.81) (0.54) (0.44) (0.52) (0.31) (0.26) (0.44)
All Makes 220941 250378 254279 261609 273181 254825 225280
(100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%)

Note :Figures in parenthesis are percentages.

Source :Agricultural Engineering Today Vol 23(1-2) 1999, Vol 24(2) 2000, Vol 25(1-2) 2001 and Vol 26(1-2) 2002.

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 STATUS OF FARM MECHANIZATION IN INDIA

Table 7. State-wise sale of Tractors during 1996-2002 Table 9. Farm Power Availability on Indian Farms
(in numbers)
Year Farm Power Source wise%
Sl. State Total during 6 Average % of total kW/ha
No. years annual sale sale Animate Mechanical Electrical

1 Andhra Pradesh 83,078 13,846 5.58 1951 0.25 97.4 2.1 0.5
2 Assam 3,036 506 0.20 1961 0.31 94.9 3.7 1.4
3 Bihar 77,308 12,885 5.19 1971 0.36 79.2 16.3 4.5
4 Gujarat 1,08,634 18,106 7.31 1981 0.63 48.2 32.3 19.5
5 Haryana 1,21,186 20,198 8.14 1991 0.92 34.5 34.7 30.8
6 Himachal Pradesh 3,118 520 0.20 2001 1.35 18.0 55.0 27.0
7 Jammu & Kashmir 4,339 723 0.29 (36.68)*
8 Karnataka 58,727 9,788 3.95
Note: *Figure in parenthesis is mobile farm power
9 Kerala 3,7789 631 0.25
10 Madhya Pradesh 1,73,794 28,966 11.67
11 Maharashtra 94,503 15,750 6.35
12 Orissa 17,338 2,890 1.16 that of draught animals, has been going down drastically.
13 Punjab 1,62,273 27,045 10.90 This shows that the additional need of farm power is
14 Rajasthan 1,30,625 21,771 8.77 being met through mechanical and electrical sources of
15 Tamil Nadu 55,648 9,275 3.75
16 Uttar Pradesh 3,39,527 56,588 22.80
power. This trend is going to continue in future also.
17 West Bengal 17,023 2,837 1.15
18 Export and others 34,734 5,789 2.34 2.6 Farm Power Availability and Productivity
Total 14,88,851 2,48,142 100.00 Considering the average command area of a pair of
Source :Agricultural Engineering Today Vol 23(1-2) 1999, Vol 24(2) draught animals, a power tiller of 7.46 kW and a tractor
2000, Vol 25(1-2) 2001 and Vol 26(1-2) 2002. of about 26.1 kW as 2 ha, 6 ha and 15 ha respectively,
about 500 pairs of bullocks, or 167 power tillers or about
equipment, operating threshers and other stationary 67 tractors or a combination of the three sources would
machines. For calculation purposes the average weighted be required per 1000 ha of cultivated area. From Table 10
power of diesel engines has been taken as 5.6 kW and it can be seen that except for Punjab, Haryana, Uttar
for electric motors as 3.7 kW and 7.46 kW for small Pradesh, and Bihar other states do not have adequate
pump sets and submersible pumps respectively. Time farm power to do timely tillage and seedbed
series population of diesel engines and electric motors preparations. Similarly from Table 7 it is seen that during
are given in Table 8. last 7 years the average sale of tractors was about 74.84%
mainly in the northern States of Uttar Pradesh (Including
Table 8. Time series population of Diesel Engines and Uttaranchal), Madhya Pradesh (including Chhattisgarh),
Electric Motors in Agriculture in India Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat and Bihar
(in millions) (including Jharkhand) and only about 19.63% in
southern States of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,
Power Source 1551 1961 1971 1981 1991* 2001*
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. This also shows that in
Diesel engines 0.083 0.230 1.546 3.101 4.659 6.60 future also the southern States (Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Electric motors 0.020 0.100 1.629 4.330 6.910 9.50 Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala), Orissa, West Bengal,
Power sprayers - - 0.045 0.124 0.470 0.70 Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and
Note :*Estimated States of NEH region will depend mainly on animate
Source :Singh, G. (1997). Data book on Mechanisation and Agro- source of power and to a little extent on power tillers.
Processing since Independence. CIAE Bhopal. It has been experienced that those states, which have
higher horsepower availability on the farm, in general,
2.5 Average Farm Power Availability on Indian have higher productivity. The power productivity curve,
Farms which has linear relationship, has been shown in Fig. 2.
Time-series availability of farm power on Indian This is based on the average farm power availability
farms from all sources is given in Table 9. From the and food grain productivity of different states in 2001.
table it can be seen that while in 1951 major contribution Source-wise and operation-wise energy use pattern
in farm power was from animate power (human + in Punjab agriculture is given in Tables 11 and 12.
draught animal), where as in 2001 the major share was Table 11 shows that about 54% energy in crop
that of mechanical and electrical power. Over the years production comes from direct sources like diesel,
the contribution of animate source of power, especially electricity, human, animal and machinery and 46% from

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FARM POWER SOURCES, THEIR AVAILABILITY AND FUTURE REQUIREMENTS TO SUSTAIN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION

Table 10. Farm Power availability and density of Tractors, Power Tillers, Draught Animals and
Agricultural Workers in different States in 1997-98

State Agricultural Land Farm Power Tractor Power Tiller Draught Animals Agricultural Workers
1000 ha KW/ha Density /000 ha Density/000 ha Density /000 ha Density /000 ha

Andhra Pradesh 14,460 1.38 6.92 0.22 360 2,062

Assam 3,205 0.69 2.01 1.73 964 1956
Bihar 10,743 0.69 6.90 0.06 910 3175
Goa 67 1.88 11.00 500 880
Gujarat 10,292 0.52 14.24 0.15 260 988
Haryana 3,711 1.94 62.89 0.01 183 895
Himachal Pradesh 1,010 0.60 2.17 0.01 758 2373
Jammu & Kashmir 1,014 0.52 3.67 0.02 877 1950
Karnataka 12,321 0.78 5.99 0.68 362 1210
Kerala 1,796 0.69 4.29 2.59 117 1644
Madhya Pradesh 22,111 0.69 8.82 0.02 485 1138
Maharashtra 10,925 0.60 5.29 0.14 310 1195
Manipur 175 0.55 2.04 4.38 1818 3770
Orissa 5,296 0.52 2.45 0.27 987 1366
Punjab 4,033 3.03 82.49 0.00 155 938
Rajasthan 20,971 0.56 8.36 0.00 132 695
Tamil Nadu 7,474 0.78 11.38 1.50 155 2624
Uttar Pradesh 17,986 1.51 24.15 0.01 636 2020
West Bengal 5,656 1.08 2.58 2.79 906 2380
Other States 2,123 0.50 0.04 0.96 255 2930
Union Territories 140 0.50 32.63 1.82 122 1075
Total 165,509 1.17 12.18 0.40 438 2218

Power Productivity Relationship

4500

4000 Punjab

3500
Food Grain Productivuty (kg/ha)

Haryana
3000

2500
Tamilnadu
Kerala WB
UP
2000 AP

Uttaranchal
Bihar
1500 HP
Assam Karnataka
Gujarat
J&K Jharkhand
1000 Orissa MP
Chhattisgarh Rajasthan
Maharashtra
500

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Farm Power(kW/ha)
Food Grain Productivity (kg/ha) Linear (Food Grain Productivity (kg/ha))

Fig. 2. Farm Power and Productivity Relationship

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 STATUS OF FARM MECHANIZATION IN INDIA

Table 11. Source-wise Energy input in Punjab Agriculture Table 13. Share of different Sources of Energy in Punjab
Agriculture
Source % of Total Energy used
(in percentage)
A. Direct Source of Power 1980-81 1990-91 1999-2000
Diesel 26
Electricity 16 Animate 2.9 1.7 1.3
Human 7 Seed 5.4 4.0 3.1
Animal 3 Fertiliser & chemical 36.3 33.6 30.2
Machinery 2 Diesel 33.4 27.0 25.8
Total of A 54 Electricity 22.0 33.7 39.6
B. Indirect Total 100.0 100.0 100.0
Fertiliser & chemical 29
Seed 9 Source :Singh, Surendra and Singh, Jasdev (2002). Research Digest
Farm yard manure 8 on Energy Requirement in Agriculture Sector. Deptt. of Farm
Total of B 46 Power & Machinery, PAU Ludhiana.
Total of A + B 100

Source :Singh, Surendra and Singh, Jasdev (2002). Research Digest of total energy. If threshing is to be done by using
on Energy Requirement in Agriculture Sector. Deptt. of Farm threshers it should also be done by using electrical
Power & Machinery, PAU Ludhiana.
energy.
indirect sources like fertilizer & chemicals, seeds, and The data of AICRP on Energy Requirement in
farm yard manure. Operation wise irrigation takes the Agriculture Sector shows that the total energy
maximum energy, i.e. 51% of the total energy, followed requirement of irrigated farms is much more than un-
by harvesting and threshing, tillage, transport, sowing, irrigated farms. Similarly the total energy requirements
weeding fertilizer application & spraying and on -farm of tractor farms are higher than the mixed farms and
post harvest operations. Time series share of different
sources of energy in Punjab agriculture is given in Table Table 14. Source wise Energy Requirements for Raising
13, which shows that during last two decades (1980- Wheat under different Farming System in Punjab
2000) while the share of animate sources of energy, seed, (Energy in MJ/ha)
fertilizer and diesel has gone down, the share of electrical Energy Source Rain-fed Partially Irrigated Irrigated
energy is gradually increasing. This is due to the fact farming irrigated using
the majority of irrigation equipment which was earlier using improved
being operated using diesel engines is now being improved equipment
traditional
operated using electric motors. equipment
From Table 12, it can be seen that in Punjab
agriculture more than 50% of the total energy is used Human 601 884 929 704
Animal 818 785 124 251
for irrigation purposes. For this electrical source of
Diesel 1302 2493 4460 5508
energy would be the cheapest source of power. Electricity 0 5265 2874 2342
Harvesting and threshing operation also takes about 19% Seeds 1168 1166 1341 1546
Farmyard manure 0 0 0 0
Fertiliser 1471 810 9253 8665
Table 12. Operation-wise Energy input in Punjab Chemicals 0 0 141 116
Agriculture Machinery 56 167 206 236
Total Energy 6412 13570 19328 19368
Operation % of Total Energy used Grain yield kg/ha 612 1632 3790 4677
Specific energy 8840 8310 5100 4140
Irrigation 51 requirement MJ/ha
Harvesting and threshing 19 Energy ratio 2.8 3.1 5.2 5.9
Tillage 13 Renewable energy% 47.7 21.9 12.4 12.9
Transport 8 Non Renewable 52.3 78.1 87.6 87.1
Sowing 2 Energy%
Weeding 3 Commercial 73.9 87.2 94.6 95.1
Fertiliser and chemical 2 Energy%
Post harvest 2 Non Commercial 26.1 12.8 5.4 4.9
Total 100 Energy%

Source :Singh, Surendra and Singh, Jasdev (2002). Research Digest Source :Singh, Surendra and Singh, Jasdev (2002). Research Digest
on Energy Requirement in Agriculture Sector. Deptt. of Farm on Energy Requirement in Agriculture Sector. Deptt. of Farm
Power & Machinery, PAU Ludhiana. Power & Machinery, PAU Ludhiana.

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FARM POWER SOURCES, THEIR AVAILABILITY AND FUTURE REQUIREMENTS TO SUSTAIN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION

Table 15. Average Energy consumption in Crop Production in States of Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa

Crop Punjab Madhya Pradesh Orissa

Total Yield Specific Energy Total Yield Specific Energy Total Yield Specific Energy
Energy t/ha energy Produ- Energy t/ha energy Produ- Energy t/ha energy Produ-
MJ/ha MJ/kg ctivity MJ/ha MJ/kg ctivity MJ/ha MJ/kg ctivity
Kg/MJ Kg/MJ Kg/MJ

Paddy 30,298 6.40 4.72 0.21 7833 1.98 3.96 0.25 12100 3.50 3.50 0.29
Wheat 18816 4.1 4.57 0.22 11677 2.34 4.99 0.20
Cotton 12598 1.30 9.74 0.10 5805 0.43 13.50 0.07
Maize 12052 1.49 8.11 0.13
Sugarcane 79037 65.2 1.21 0.82 62218 57.5 1.08 0.92 59000 60.00 1.00 1.00
(Planted)
Sugarcane 24643 64.6 0.38 2.62
(Ratoon)
Groundnut 8800 60.00 1.00 1.00
Bengalgram 3312 0.39 8.47 0.12 3700 0.45 8.20 0.12
Mustard 7700 0.77 10.00 0.10 9279 1.04 8.92 0.11
Potato 37448 16.52 2.27 0.44 32071 6.00 5.35 0.19
Sorghum 4437 1.25 3.55 0.28
Soybean 5330 0.98 3.55 0.18

Source :De, Dipanker (1998). Research on Energy Requirement in Agricultural Sector under AICRP on ERAS, Agricultural Engineering
Today, Vol. 22(3-4): 60-85.

animal farms. But since the yields of irrigated farms Table 16. Per Unit Cost of using Different Sources of Energy
and that of tractor and mixed farms are higher than the
un-irrigated and animal farms, the productivity in terms Source of Power Equivalent to Hiring Cost per
kW charges unit of
of kg/MJ of energy used is more or less similar. Rs Energy
Source wise energy requirements (MJ/ha) for raising Rs/kWh
wheat crop under different farming systems in Punjab
are given in Table 14. This shows that the grain yield a. Human
Male 0.060 60/day 125.00
has increased from 612 kg/ha from rain-fed farming Female 0.048 60/day 156.00
system to 4677 kg/ha in irrigated farming system using b. Draught Animals 0.746 175/day/pair 29.32
improved equipment. As the energy input through c. Mechanical
machinery and total energy input increased the grain Tractor 26.100 200/h 7.14
Power Tiller 7.000 75/h 10.71
yield was also increased. Diesel Engine 5.600 40/h 7.14
Table 11 shows that in Punjab agriculture about d. Electric Motor 3.00/unit 3.00
81.48% of direct energy for various field operations
come from commercial energy only. In other states it In India, use of human and draught animals is very
may vary from 35% to about 65% depending upon the predominant in agriculture in most parts of the country
type of farm (tractor operated, mixed farm or animal and hence the cost of production is quite high as
operated farm). compared to advanced countries where mechanical
Average energy requirement for different crops in power is predominantly used. As far as possible human
three different states are given in Table 15. This shows energy should be used for very precise work or for
that certain crops require less energy while crops like operating machines where brainpower is to be used for
sugarcane; potato and paddy require more energy. The decision-making and not for physical work.
actual farm power requirement of different states will
also depend on the crops grown in that region. 3. FUTURE REQUIREMENTS OF FARM
POWER TO SUSTAIN AGRICULTURAL
2.7 Per Unit Cost of Energy from Different Sources PRODUCTION
of Farm Power For growing population we need more production of
The per unit cost of using energy from different food grains. The ICAR in its Vision 2020 document has
sources of farm power differ greatly as shown in projected the demand of food grains as about 293.6
Table 16 and hence they should be used very judiciously. million tonnes by 2020. The Planning Commission of

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 STATUS OF FARM MECHANIZATION IN INDIA

Table 17. Productivity Trend of Food grains in Important States during 2001-2002

Yield, kg/ha Food-grains Rice Wheat Coarse Cereals

4500-5000 - - Punjab
(4561) -
4000-4500 Punjab - Haryana
(4032) (4109)
3500-4000 - Punjab - -
(3506)
3000-3500 Haryana Tamil Nadu - -
(3088) (3415)
2500-3000 - Andhra Pradesh Uttar Pradesh Punjab
(2842) (2720) (2847)
Haryana
(2259)
Karnataka
(2520)
2000-2500 Tamil Nadu West Bengal West Bengal Bihar
(2262) (2287) (2485) (2131)
West Bengal Kerala Rajasthan Himachal Pradesh
(2217) (2162) (2405) (2131)
Uttar Pradesh Gujarat
(2105) (2268)
Bihar
(2134)
1500-2000 Andhra Pradesh Uttar Pradesh Uttaranchal West Bengal
(1995) (1976) (1885) (1909)
Uttaranchal Gujarat Jharkhand Andhra Pradesh
(1712) (1553) (1626) (1531)
Bihar Himachal Pradesh Uttar Pradesh
(1622) (1554) (1512)
Jammu & Kashmir
(1519)
1000-1500 Karnataka Assam Madhya Pradesh Uttaranchal
(1406) (1485) (1446) (1279)
Assam Bihar Maharashtra Tamil Nadu
(1443) (1475) (1256) (1263)
Gujarat Maharashtra Assam Gujarat
(1169) (1285) (1219) (1161)
Jharkhand Jharkhand Haryana
(1095) (1111) (1078)
Orissa
(1044)
500-1000 Orissa Chhattisgarh Karnataka Jharkhand
(9500 (900) (915) (953)
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir Orissa
(907) (574) (525) (737)
Chhattisgarh
(799)
Rajasthan
(884)
Maharashtra
(757)
0- 500 - - - Chhattisgarh
(377)

Government of India has estimated a food grain possible only by increased productivity and increased
requirement of 230 million tonnes by the end of Xth intensity of cropping. This will call for precision farming
Five Year Plan (2006-07). Since the cultivated area and timely farm operations which will require high
cannot be increased, the increased production will be capacity and precision equipment for which farm power

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FARM POWER SOURCES, THEIR AVAILABILITY AND FUTURE REQUIREMENTS TO SUSTAIN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION
Table 18. Potential State Yields of Rice-Wheat Systems in Indo- Gangetic Plains
States
Optimal Rice-Wheat Planting System
Rice-Wheat Rice Wheat
Punjab 18.29 10.60
Haryana 17.87 10.53
Uttar Pradesh 17.48 10.34
Bihar 16.43 9.73
West Bengal 13.37 8.07
Indo-Gangetic Plains 16.70 9.88
Source : Aggarwal, P.K., Talukdar, K.K. and Mall, R.K. (2000). Potential Yields of Rice-Wheat System in Indo-Gangetic Plains of India. Paper
Series No. 10, Fecilitation Unit: Rice-Wheat Consortium for Indo-Gangetic Plains. Centre for Application of Systems Simulation, NRL
Building, IARI, New Delhi-110 012.
availability will have to be increased substantially. In
order to make agricultural production competitive and
cost effective the use of mechanical and electrical
sources of power will increase in future and the use of
draught animals and human power will slowly be going
down.
The productivity trend of food grains in important
states is given in Table 17. In general, those states, which
have higher average horsepower availability per ha on
the farm, have high productivity, except states like West
Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala where in spite of
comparatively lower hp availability, the yields are high.
This is because of good and well-distributed rainfall and
low water table that reduces the requirement of
additional power for irrigation to a great extent.
The additional requirement of food grains in future will
be met to a great extent from Indo-Gangetic plains where
the potentiality of food grain production is very high as
shown in Table 18. This region will have to be paid greater
attention by providing more hp/ha and making availability
of agricultural inputs in time. Even now the demand of
tractors and other machinery from this region is high and
will continue to be so in future also.
The productivity of dryland agriculture, which
constitutes about 66% of the total cultivated area, is quite
low. The productivity of this region has to be increased
substantially. In dryland agriculture, timeliness in farm
operations, especially the seedbed preparation and
sowing/planting for establishing good crop stand in
deficient/receding soil moisture condition is of crucial
importance. Unless adequate mobile farm power is not
available on the farm, the sowing operation gets delayed
resulting poor crop stand and yields. In these areas
farmers should use tractors and seed drills/planters for
timely sowing operations. Such devices will have to be
made available to even marginal and small farmers on
custom basis to do their seedbed preparation and sowing
◆ 67 ◆
Average Potential Yield, t/ha
Rice–late Wheat Planting System
Rice-Wheat Rice Wheat
7.69 17.18 10.60 6.58
7.34 16.87 10.53 6.33
7.14 16.46 10.34 6.12
6.70 15.47 9.73 2.75
5.30 13.35 8.07 5.28
6.82 15.85 9.88 5.97
operations in time.
Small and marginal categories of farmers constitute
78.2% of total farming households in India. They do
not find it economical to maintain even a pair of draught
animals. They will slowly switch over to tractor power
on custom basis. The demand of tractors, power tillers
and matching implements will increase in all the regions,
amongst the small and marginal farmers also, on custom
basis, which should be promoted by the State and Central
governments by giving incentives to entrepreneurs.
At present the availability of farm power in states
like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Bihar, Assam, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Jammu &
Kashmir, Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh is less than
0.90 kW/ha or even below. These states will continue
to use predominantly the draught animal power for few
more years before switching to mechanical mobile
power. The demand of tractors and power tillers in these
states will increase in future. Kerala, which also has
low hp/ha availability, will fast be moving towards
mechanical power, as the labour wages in this state are
the highest in the country.
States in NEH Region, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu &
Kashmir and Uttaranchal because of their hilly region,
undulating topography and difficult terrain will continue
to depend on draught animals and human labour for quite
a long time. These states will require lightweight power
tillers, which could be transported on hills and operated
on terraces.
To meet the demand of food grain production of about
293.5 million tones by 2020 as projected by ICAR, the
over all productivity of food grain production at National
level will have to be increased from the present level of
1723 kg/ha (in 2001) to about 2300 kg/ha by 2020 for
which, besides other things, the average farm power
availability will have to be increased from the present
level of about 1.35 to 2.00 kW/ha by 2020. Since the
 STATUS OF FARM MECHANIZATION IN INDIA

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