| The Combine Harvester |
| Opportunities - Agriculture & Rural | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Written by Vivek Kumar | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sunday, 01 November 2009 00:00 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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This big farm equipment offers manufacturing and rental opportunities even as large multinationals are looking at India as a manufacturing hub The farm equipment market in India is now growing at a fast pace after a brief period of decline between 1999 and 2002. The main reasons for revival of this industry include easy availability of finance schemes and reduction in interest rates. Farm equipments are often costly for a small-scale farmer and loans are preferred to buy tractors, combine harvesters, threshers, etc. However, with increased awareness of benefits of these machines and various schemes, the market is looking upward.
What is a combine harvester? The manufacturing of combine harvesters started around 1970 when Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana (PAU) helped locals to manufacture farm machinery. But It was around 9-10 years back when the demand for combine harvesters increased at a fast pace. The market
The demand of tractor mounted combines is estimated at around 3,500 and for self-propelled combines is around 1,500. The heartening factor for this segment is that only 10-15% farms use these machines for harvesting. The growth rate for the demand of combines is expected to be around 12% annually. This is where opportunity lies. Claas Industries from Germany is already into business of manufacturing these combines since 1991, and Kubota from Japan is also looking to start assembling these machines in India. Export opportunities are also increasing and lots of countries in Africa like Burkina Faso, Zambia, Madagascar, and in Europe like Germany are opening their market for Indian players. Pakistan is also becoming a considerable importer of these machines.
Constraints for the market Commercial banks and institutions like NABARD are opening up financing facilities to farmers and the segment is seeing some sort of incremental demand.
The Way Out The cost of combine harvesting of wheat and paddy is around Rs. 3000-4000/- per ha. If done manually, it takes around 20 laborers to harvest one hectare charging around Rs. 150/- per day (this could vary state-wise). Apart from that, there is a cost of Rs. 1000/- per ha for threshing also. The total cost of harvesting comes almost equal in both the cases but the time saved and labor-shortage-issues are solved quite nicely by opting for combine harvesting. In last 2-3 years, Punjab has faced acute shortage of labor coming from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The situation was so drastic that farmers used to sit at railway stations at Ambala and Rajpura and wait for laborers to alight so that they could be picked right from there. However, due to industrial initiatives by Bihar government, lots of laborers prefer to work in those units avoiding traveling and costs of living in different state. This is where farm equipments especially like combine harvesters that have multitasking functionality come to the aid of agriculture sector. Other states are also facing labor shortage and state governments are encouraging R&D and innovations in farm equipments.
Due to slow development of this segment in India, research and improvement in the functionality and efficiency of combine harvesters have been slow till now. Only cereal crops are harvested using these machines. Most of the straw is left in the fields and burned which has many environmental issues. Apart from this, farmers are losing valuable animal feed material.Extending these machines to different crops like sorghum, cotton, sugarcane, sunflower, safflower, and pulses through design modification can be done. Harvesting of fruits is one more area where these machines can be extended for functioning but it requires a lot of design modification and quality enhancement measures. One major concern of improvement is the usage of combine harvesters during off-season. Capital investment in purchasing combine harvesters is huge, and there is great need of developing some jobs where these machines can be used during non-harvesting season. Scope and opportunities States like Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh often seek supply of these combine harvesters from Punjab. Therefore, there are great opportunities for new start-ups in different parts of the country. For new start-ups, there is no big challenge in terms of market. Intelligent selection of material, improvements in design, and offering quality post-sales repair services could be the factors that could help them stamp their presence in the marke.
. Comments (9)
![]() written by Naveen Ahuja, July 11, 2010
Dear Shikher,
If you are looking for an economical combine. You can contact us on 09855354166. I can sssure you that our product will be valuve for money. Generall Machines are manufactured by Mechanics with little mechanical background. I am Mechanical Engineer and Post Graduate from University of Glasgow U.K. I myself has worked on the design and economical features. I would suggest to have a look on the product first and then decide. Major manufacturing is in Punjab. Our address is Paras Combines and Agro Industries. Patran Distt Patiala Punjab. Basically directions are if you are coming by train or bus then you can get a train upto Patiala. Then get the bus for Patran from teh bus station or give us a call when you reach Patiala and we can guide you for directions. Best Regards Naveen Ahuja 09855354166 report abuse
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written by Dr.amit kansal, June 27, 2010
sir,information is very useful.kindly tell me about the rubber and plastic parts used in combines and their mfgs. and marketing
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written by air max shoes, June 25, 2010
There are a very little people who do such noble jobs, thanks again. Sir, I want to know more about mechanism of these combine harvesters specially the cutting section (with knife or blade)
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written by michael jordan shoes, June 21, 2010
more and more knowledge about it. Actually, I want to design and manufacture with little changes as per my facility from the basic standard design one for me and others. Kindly tell me from where I can get all these informations and model designs from any other self-manufactured combine harvester at small scale unit.
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written by supra footwear, June 18, 2010
Kindly tell me from where I can get all these informations and model designs from any other self-manufactured combine harvester at small scale unit.
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written by air jordan shoes, May 14, 2010
Your article is very good, I am interested in
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written by shikher, April 26, 2010
hello sir, my father hold 120 bighas of farmland and we want to use combine harvester. suggest us economical combin
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written by Shakeel Ahmed Quadri, April 20, 2010
Hi,
Thanks for conveying these very useful knowledge to me. There are a very little people who do such noble jobs, thanks again. Sir, I want to know more about mechanism of these combine harvesters specially the cutting section (with knife or blade). I want to gather more and more knowledge about it. Actually, I want to design and manufacture with little changes as per my facility from the basic standard design one for me and others. Kindly tell me from where I can get all these informations and model designs from any other self-manufactured combine harvester at small scale unit. So I hope you will help me to proceed further. Thanks, Shakeel, Kolkata report abuse
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Can anyone post links for information on educating ourselves on how to sell our Bean Seeders, Combine (including bagger).
Looking to establish relationship with existing distributors.
Thanks in advance.