Agricultural mechanization is a sine qua non to remove drudgery, improve working comfort, enhance timeliness, reduce losses and increase production and productivity. Accordingly, use of better power viz., tractors and different types of agricultural machines in Indian agriculture has risen sharply on Indian farms to boost food and fibre production. But to safe guard the user s interest, to ensure better quality and reliability of machines and for sustained growth of farm machinery industry, there is a need for sound scientific testing and evaluation of farm machines by using instrumentation and accepted methodology. Thus, testing and evaluation holds the proper key to standardization and quality control of agricultural machinery for better acceptability and sustained farm production. To satisfy the genuine need of different sectors, this book has been prepared. It is expected to serve as a textbook for the students of Agricultural Engineering degree and postgraduate degree programme. It may also serve the needs of professional engineers, scientists, testing institutions and research organizations dealing with testing and evaluation of agricultural machinery. This book will also cater to the needs of tractor and agricultural implement manufacturing industries, consultants, agricultural universities/colleges as a valuable reference for quailty imporvement and standardization. It is hoped this book will be a valuable reference for all students and professionals. Contents Chapter 1: Status of Agricultural Mechanization in India; Chapter 2: Testing and Evaluation System in India; Chapter 3: Testing and Evaluation of Agricultural Tractor; Chapter 4: Testing and Evaluation of Tillage Machinery; Chapter 5: Testing and Evalaution of Seed-cum-Fertilizer Drills; Chapter 6: Testing and Evaluation of Rice Transplanter; Chapter 7: Testing and Evaluation of Irrigation Pumps; Chapter 8: Testing and Evaluation of Manually Operated Sprayers and Dusters; Chapter 9: Testing and Evaluation of Combine Harvester; Chapter 10: Testing and Evaluation of Power Thresher; Chapter 11: Data Acquisition, Processing and Analysing by Personal Computers; Chapter 12: Safety Testing of Agricultural Machinery.

This study reviews the evolution of agricultural mechanization, particularly tractors, in India. In doing so, it provides some rough indicators of the extent of mechanization (particularly the spread of tractor use) at different historical phases, emphasizing that India’s experiences up to 1990 are as important as the lessons since then. The paper highlights the growth of diverse patterns of custom-hiring service provision, as well as heterogeneity in the speed of mechanization growth across regions and agroecological zones. It also summarizes the evolution of key related policies in India that are likely to have affected tractor imports, supply, financing, manufacturing, and related inputs such as fuel and electricity.

Mechanization is a process of replacing biological sources of energy involving animal and human labour to mechanized sources of energy. Farm mechanization indicates the use of machines for conducting agricultural operations replacing the traditional methods which involve human and animal labour. In the period 2004-05 to 2011-12, robust growth in the secondary and tertiary sectors led to significant job creation in agriculture sector. Tractors and power tillers have been driving the farm mechanization in India. Tractor sales have grown at a CAGR of 9.0 % in Financial Year (FY) 05-15 to around 5.5 lakh tractors in FY15 (around 2.3 lakh in FY2005) whereas sales of power tillers have grown at a CAGR of 10.6% in FY2005 to 2015 to 48,000 power tillers in FY2015 (17,841 in FY2005). Farm mechanisation is a fuel to agriculture production now days. As several studies indicate the mechanisation not only reduced the drudgery of manual labour and it enables the efficient and judicious use of resources. The increased agricultural production and productivity over the decades is coupled with the farm power availability. High labour intensive crops have turned to low labour intensive crops by replacing the mechanical power, which also reduced the cost of production and improved quality of produce led to increased farmers income share.

This framework presents ten interrelated principles/elements to guide Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa (SAMA). Further, it presents the technical issues to be considered under SAMA and the options to be analysed at the country and sub regional levels. The ten key elements required in a framework for SAMA are as follows: The analysis in the framework calls for a specific approach, involving learning from other parts of the world where significant transformation of the agricultural mechanization sector has already occurred within a three-to-four decade time frame, and developing policies and programmes to realize Africa’s aspirations of Zero Hunger by 2025. This approach entails the identification and prioritization of relevant and interrelated elements to help countries develop strategies and practical development plans that create synergies in line with their agricultural transformation plans. Given the unique characteristics of each country and the diverse needs of Africa due to the ecological heterogeneity and the wide range of farm sizes, the framework avoids being prescriptive.