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Figure 23: Sale of Tractors and Power Tillers in India (in thousand number)

Source: Based on data received from DAFW.
Crop Residue Management

7.51 Air pollution due to stubble burning in the states of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and
the NCT of Delhi has been a major concern. Hence, to support the efforts of the Governments
to address air pollution and to subsidize machinery for the farmers for in-situ management of
crop residue, a new Central Sector Scheme on ‘Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization for
In-Situ Management of Crop Residue in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT
of Delhi’ (CRM) for the period from 2018-19 to 2020-21 had been launched with a total outlay
of ₹ 1791.80 crore. Under this scheme, during 2020-21, 51988 numbers of various agricultural
machinery were distributed and 15106 numbers of Custom Hiring Centres were established.

Role of R&D in Agriculture

7.52 Research and development and its application in agriculture & allied sectors can play a
major role in realisation of sustainable agriculture practice that efficiently meets the objectives of
nutritional security and improvement in farm income. World’s food system contributes to about
one-fifth of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to a report of the International
Food Policy Research Institute, agriculture is key to meeting half of the 17 Sustainable
Development Goal (SDG) targets which, inter alia, include the targets of eliminating poverty
and hunger and reducing inequalities. Climate-resilient varieties with resistant to multiple pests
and diseases and abiotic stress is a significant area of work in the context of climate change and
food security.

7.53 Research shows that every rupee spent on agricultural research and development, yields
5
much better returns (11.2), compared to returns on every rupee spent on fertiliser subsidy
(0.88), power subsidy (0.79), education (0.97) or on roads (1.10). Increasing R&D spending on
agriculture is, therefore, not only a vital necessity for ensuring food security, but also important
from the socio-economic point of view.

FOOD PROCESSING SECTOR

7.54 During the last five years ending 2019-20, Food Processing Industries (FPI) sector has been

5 Gulati, A., Zhou, Y. and Ferroni M. (2018), “Supporting Indian Farms: The Smart Way”, Academic Foundation
in association with ICRIER.