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Agri-Implement Dealer and Custom Hiring Ecosystem

The retail and hire ecosystem for farm machinery in India operates under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM), administered through the agrimachinery.nic.in Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) portal of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The scheme links manufacturers, registered dealers, Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs), Farm Machinery Banks (FMBs) and farmer beneficiaries.

Overview

SMAM consolidates earlier mechanisation programmes into a single national framework that subsidises both individual-ownership and shared-ownership pathways. Equipment must hold a valid Central or regional FMTTI test report; dealers must be enrolled under the "Know Your Dealer" module on the SMAM portal.

Eligibility

Individual farmers receive 40-50% subsidy on listed implements; this rises to 100% capped at Rs 1.25 lakh in North-Eastern states. Custom Hiring Centres and Farm Machinery Banks receive 80% of project cost (above the individual ceiling), with the balance financed through bank credit (NABARD model bankable schemes).

Benefit and structure

Bills, test certificates and beneficiary KYC are uploaded into the DBT workflow; subsidy is released to the beneficiary's bank account after dealer-confirmed sale. The companion CHC - Farm Machinery mobile application, published by the Ministry of Agriculture, connects farmers with nearby hiring centres and lists their implements and rates.

Implementation

States operate the scheme through their Departments of Agriculture and partner agencies. Common subsidised implements include the Rotavator, Seed Drill, Twin Box Seed Drill, Combine Harvester Paddy, Multi Crop Thresher, Paddy Transplanter and the Agri Drone Sprayer.

See also: Power Weeder, Scaleless Baler, Tractor Slasher, Combine Harvester Paddy.

References

  1. SMAM Operational Guidelines 2018-19. agrimachinery.nic.in.
  2. Custom Hiring Centres - Concept Note. agrimachinery.nic.in.
  3. Custom Hiring Centre Model Scheme. NABARD.