Farmers Can Buy Farm Equipment From Company of Their Choice: Minister Tummala

Farmers in Telangana can choose agricultural machinery from the company of their preference under the state government’s mechanisation scheme, Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao said on Friday.

The government’s focus is on making quality farm machinery available to farmers while ensuring that equipment is supplied based on their actual needs and demand, the minister said. He was responding to questions raised by MLC Nellikanti Satyam during Question Hour in the Legislative Council.

Tummala said the government was ensuring that only agricultural machinery meeting prescribed quality and safety standards was made available under the scheme. Before equipment supplied by manufacturers and vendors reaches farmers, it is tested through the Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute, the Union Agriculture Ministry or other recognised agencies, he said.

The testing process is aimed at assessing the quality and performance of machinery and ensuring the safety of farmers using the equipment. The government would not compromise on these aspects, the minister said.

For the 2025-26 financial year, the state had allocated Rs 71 crore for the agricultural mechanisation programme, of which Rs 63.11 crore had been utilised, Tummala said. The funds were used to provide 15,565 farm machinery units to farmers.

The government has stepped up its allocation for the current financial year, earmarking Rs 147.91 crore for the scheme. The minister said the increased allocation would help meet farmers’ demand for different types of agricultural equipment and strengthen mechanisation at the field level.

The scheme also provides substantial financial support to reduce the cost of machinery for farmers. Small and marginal farmers, SC and ST farmers, and women farmers are eligible for a 50 per cent subsidy, while other farmers can avail themselves of a 40 per cent subsidy.

Tummala said the subsidy would help reduce the financial burden on farmers and make modern farm equipment more accessible. The government would continue to respond to farmers’ requirements and facilitate access to suitable machinery through the mechanisation programme.