Goa Farmers to get Subsidy for Machinery bought from Outside

Agriculture Machinery is having the important role in modern agriculture. Resource poor smallholders in developing countries often lack access to capital goods such as farm machinery. Enabling adequate access through machinery services can thereby significantly contribute to food security and farm incomes. At the core of the service provision model is the lead farmer, who makes the initial investment in agricultural machinery, and provides services to others on a fee-for-service basis. Profiling the lead farmers can thereby provide important lessons and scaling implications.

Agricultural machinery can provide important benefits and has seen various development initiatives in developing countries, yet the pace of agricultural mechanisation overall and access to agricultural machinery by smallholders in many developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, remains quite low. 

Goa farmers will get subsidy on farm equipment even if it is bought from outside the state, Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai .

Goan farmers have long been complaining that even though the government provides subsidy for farm machinery, its benefits dont reach them due to overpriced inputs supplied by Goan farm machinery dealers," he said.

He said the new move will help farmers but also cautioned them that subsidy once availed cannot be sought again for another six years.

The Government was contemplating the creation of farmers' societies under the Societies Act to service farm machinery, he said.

He informed that the Government was all set to provide 90 percent subsidy for major infrastructure under its community farming plan.

The plan intends to bring fallow land under cultivation.

In this, the Government would accord priority to areas affected by the mining ban," he said.

The minister assured farmers that the annual distribution of free fertilizer would be held soon.