CSIR develops compact, low-cost tractor for small farmers to replace bullock plough

Vijay Mohan

Chandigarh, June 28

A compact, affordable and easily maneuverable tractor catering for small and marginal farmers that could help them increase agricultural productivity while keeping their costs low has been developed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)..

Marginal and small farmers comprise over 80 per cent of cultivators in India and a large proportion of them still depend on bullock-pulled tilling implements in which operational costs, maintenance costs and poor returns pose a challenge.

Though power tillers are replacing the bullock pulled plough, they are cumbersome to operate. Commercially available tractors in the market, on the other hand, are unsuitable and unaffordable for most small farmers.

In order to address these challenges, CSIR’s Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) developed a compact and affordable tractor of low horsepower range to meet the requirement of the marginal and small farmers, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology today.

CMERI is also discussing licensing the technology to local companies for large scale manufacturing so that the benefits can reach the local farmers and awareness is being spread about it among farmers’ associations and self-help groups, the statement added.

The tractor has been developed with a 9 horsepower diesel engine having 8 forward and 2 reverse speeds and power take-off with 6 splines rated at 540 rpm. The weight of the tractor is around 450 kg with a wheelbase of 1,200 mm, ground clearance of 255 mm and turning radius of 1.75 meters. It can undertake farming work in a fraction of the time taken by the tradition bullock plough.