India @2047: Agricultural engineering perspective

Agricultural development in India is the outcome of coordinated interplay of man-machine-material interface. As the luxury of putting more area under cultivation has dried up, increasing per unit land and labour productivity in agriculture in the realm of over 73% of the small and marginal farmers having less than one acre land is one option. The land holding is continuously declining and about 85% farmers are small and marginal. The demand for mechanization to keep productivity in increasing order is consistently increasing and farmers, manufacturing industries with their network, government and NGOs are engaged in promoting appropriately mechanized agriculture. ICAR with its NARES system of specialized institutions has actively been engaged in need-based research and development of mechanized tools, equipment, machinery for production and post-harvest operations in food, feed, fodder, fibre, natural resins and gums. The foodgrain production with at least 20 % increase in production due to intervention of agricultural engineering technologies, touched the estimated record high of 316 million tons in 2022; and the Indian agriculture is changing phase from self-reliant to export oriented need based production and business system.