The engineering and technology conglomerate, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), crossed an important land- mark - of selling over 100,000 tractors during the current financial year.

This news is specially welcome after the slowdown that hit the economy; particularly hit was the agriculture sector. Total sales of the company in the previous two years stood at 90,037 (2007-08) and 88,889 (2008-09) dropping from a record of 95,004 tractors the company sold in 2006-07.

Mahindra Group is the largest single tractor conglomerate in the world with manufacturing plants in Mumbai, Nagpur, Rudrapur and Jaipur in India and assembly plants overseas. It has two joint ventures in China and a 100 per cent subsidiary, Mahindra USA with three assembly plants in that country. Including production at Swraj Tractors, acquired by Mahindras, total tractor production in the current year by the group is estimated around 180,000. The group is estimated to account for around 42 per cent of Indian tractor sales and offers the widest range of tractors from the 15 hp Yuvraj at the lowest end to the 60 hp Arjun at the top.

Comprehensive agri services…

Anjanikumar Choudhari, President, farm equipment sector, M&M, told mediapersons in Mumbai that the farm equipment sector has expanded its business vision to move beyond tractors into helping farmers to improve productivity through the Mahindra Samriddhi Centres (MSC).

Chief operating officer Gautam Nagwekar, who has been nurturing the MSCs from the beginning, explained the endeavour of MSCs to increase agriculture productivity through innovative farming technology that will enhance rural prosperity. The focus is beyond tractor sales to deliver agri services.

The tractor dealer network of over 1200 is leveraged to reach the large farming community. Samriddhi centres have been set up at 75 dealer points across the country. These provide easy access to technology, know-how, hybrid seeds, soil-and irrigation-water testing facilities, demo farms, finance and insurance, internet updates, sales and servicing of tractors and implements, sale of second hand tractors… Nagwekar referred to plans to increase the MSCs to 200 over the next two years.

Celebrating the record sales, the company organized the first Mahindra Samriddhi Convention attended by a few hundred farmer beneficiaries from different parts of the country, renowned academics like Dr M S Kang, vice chancellor, Punjab Agriculture University and Dr M Paramathma of Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, the head of the agri division of USAID Daniel Miller, soil scientist from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, Dr John Peters, several business leaders, Mahindra tractor dealers and executives. It was interesting to hear the experiences of several farmers on the significant productivity improve-ments achieved by utilizing the multifarious services provided at the Samriddhi Centres.

End the stagnation in food production...

As stressed by several speakers at the convention, there is a strong imperative for attempting a quantum jump in agriculture production that has been stagnant around 200-230 mn tonnes for over a decade. The share of agriculture in GDP has been falling and the contribution of agriculture to economic growth has been negligible and is even negative as in the current year. But agriculture continues to impact on the lives of over 600 mn. There is thus the urgent need to break this stagnation by taking recourse to science, technology and management. The attempt of Mahindras through the Samriddhi Centres is thus commendable and needs to be expanded in quick time.

In the context of the scarcity of agriculture labour and its increasing costs, there is also the urgent need to focus on farm mechanisation. Nagwekar provided the figures that are telling: "presently there are 82 mn farming households. Only 5 - 6 per cent of these own tractors. Another 35 per cent of the farmers hire tractors."

There is also the factor of the small size of the farm holdings: “80 per cent of farmers own less than 5 acres each; 16-17 per cent own 5 -10 acres each and only one per cent own more than 10 acres,” Nagwekar pointed out. There is thus the need for smaller sized tractors and farm implements that can be operated in small farms. Mahindras introduced the 15 hp Yuvraj tractor last year, priced Rs. 162,000; it is 40 per cent cheaper than the next cheapest tractor.

Mahindra Viswas focuses on the sale of pre-owned tractors. Nagwekar said that 40 per cent of the tractors sold in a year are second-hand tractors and thus there is a thriving and growing market for these. Mahindra Viswas repairs, repaints, rates and offers used tractors with a warranty of 6 months to a year through its 125 outlets. The farming community welcomes this service that suits the purses of a vast range of new class of entrepreneurs.

Mahindras have been maintaining their leadership in tractors over the last 26 years. The company has over 15 lakh customers. The name for quality earned has been reinforced by the tractor company winning the prestigeous Deming Application Prize and the Japan Quality Medal, two of the highest quality accolades.

Shubhlabh, AppliTrac…

Mahindra Shubhlabh Services Ltd assists farmers in producing horticulture products of high quality acceptable to markets in Europe and elsewhere. MSSL offers consultancy and a range of advisory and technical services to farmers covering the entire cycle of production and procure their products at remunerative prices. MSSL is a significant exporter of grapes and pomegranates; its export realisations exceeded Rs. 21 crore last year.

Mahindra AppliTrac deals with the design, production and marketing of farm implements and construction equipment. It offers a vast range of such products designed to improve productivity and economise on costs. In collaboration with Japanese Mitsubishi, AppliTrac has been introducing a number of new farm implements.

The Agriculture Consultancy Management Foundation, promoted by IE, has been working closely with the Samriddhi programme. Gautam Nagwekar, Sanjeev Goyle, Anthony Cherukara, Sudhir Shah and S. Gandhimathinathan have been working with ACMF which also provided the initial contacts to the UW-M. Today with a handsome USAID grant, UW-M is offering the expertise of soil scientist Dr. John Peters to set up soil test labs and to train lab technicians for M&M.

Mahindras appropriately celebrated the record sales registered by setting apart Rs. 101 lakh per annum for 4 years to aid and encourage research by post graduates, under graduates and faculty in ten agricultural universities. At the convention, Samriddhi Awards were also presented to farmers who recorded highest increases in productivity and yields and reduction in cost of cultivation.

Mahindra Farm Equipment Sector is part of the Rs. 30,000 crore Mahindra Group that employs over 100,000 across the globe and enjoys leadership position in utility vehicles, tractors and information technology and significant and growing presence in financial services, tourism, infrastructure development, trade and logistics; recently it made an entry into the two wheeler segment.