Lack of adequate mechanization suitable for small and marginal (S-M) farming has led to inefficiencies in farming, wastage of resources and lost opportunities to sell better quality outputs. For the 83.2 million farming households in India who cultivate parcels of land less than 2 hectares, continued dependence on manual labour leads to recurring high expenses. With declining agricultural labour force, climate variability, the cycle of unreliable cultivation each year pushes farmers further in the trap of poverty.

To understand the need for hardware-based technologies (such as nano tractors, small seeders, planter and harvesters) in this sub-sector, as well as obstacles to its development and uptake, SELCO Foundation carried out a mixed approach study. Review of secondary sources explored themes such as impact of land fragmentation on mechanisation and challenges faced by farmers due to lack of appropriate technologies.

In turn, the authors conducted interviews with two key groups. Face-to-face interviews with 18 S-M farmers explored barriers faced by farmers in adopting hardware-based technology. Telephonic interviews with representatives of 10 Agri-tech enterprises focused on hinderances in developing technology for S-M farmlands.