Tractors in India

Tractors In India

As commercialization of agriculture grew in intensity in the mid-to-late 19th century the British Raj and the local legislatures and provinces began investing in agricultural development through support and establishment agricultural research farms and colleges and large-scale irrigation schemes yet the level of mechanization was low at the time of independence in 1947. The socialist oriented five year plans of the 1950s and 60s aggressively promoted rural mechanization via joint ventures and tie-ups between local industrialists and international tractor manufacturers. Despite this aggressiveness the first three decades after independence local production of 4-wheel tractors grew slowly. Yet, by the late 1980s tractor production was nearly 140,000 units per year and by the late 1990s with production approaching 270,000 per year, India overtook the United States as the world's largest producer of four-wheel tractors with over 16 national and 4 multi-national corporations producing tractors today. Despite these impressive numbers FAO statistics estimate that of total agricultural area in India, less than 50% is under mechanized land preparation, indicating large opportunities still exist for agricultural mechanization.