Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization: Expanding Access to Modern Farming Tools

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The Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) has improved access to modern farm equipment for small landholders, women, and marginalized communities, especially in underserved regions and North-Eastern states.
Since its start, central assistance of ₹9,404.47 crore helped distribute 21.61 lakh machines, while ₹52.5 crore funded 40,928 drone demonstrations over 40,918 hectares to encourage precision farming.

Launched in 2014-15 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), SMAM aims to spread farm mechanization across India.
The initiative operates on the core guiding motto of 'reach the unreached' to deliver benefits to small farmers, women, SC/ST groups, Farmer-Producer Organizations (FPOs), and rural entrepreneurs.
The scheme funds the setup of Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs), enabling small landholders to rent expensive farm machinery and equipment at affordable rates.
It encourages the distribution of specialized machinery and supports high-tech hubs for costly agricultural tools.
The program focuses on areas with low farm power availability, while rental services help farmers overcome challenges linked to small land sizes.
Between 2014-15 and 2025-26, central aid of ₹9,404.47 crore funded 21.61 lakh individual machines, 27,554 CHCs, 646 Hi-tech Hubs, and 25,608 Farm Machinery Banks.
Beneficiaries gaining individual equipment ownership grew from 2.07 lakh in 2020-21 to 2.32 lakh in 2024-25, showing wider coverage.
The central and state governments split financial spending in a 60:40 ratio, which changes to 90:10 for Himalayan and North-Eastern States, while Union Territories get 100% central funding.
Training programs, field demonstrations, and outreach campaigns build practical awareness and skill sets among farmers.
The mission supports performance testing and machinery certification to verify standard quality, safety, and operational efficiency.

Launched in 2007, the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) acts as a key flagship initiative motivating states to boost public spending on agriculture.
It offers administrative flexibility to state governments, allowing them to design local projects tailored to regional farming priorities.
The scheme finances core agricultural areas, including crop cultivation, machinery, infrastructure setup, and post-harvest value addition.
In 2017-18, RKVY was restructured as RKVY-RAFTAR to focus heavily on strengthening pre-harvest and post-harvest supply chain systems.

Training, testing, and field demonstrations improve overall productivity while boosting post-harvest infrastructure for processing, crop residue handling, and storage.
Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) subsidies cover 40% of equipment costs for general farmers and 50% for SC/ST, small, and North-Eastern farmers, alongside ₹2,000 per hectare support for mechanized services.
Self-Help Groups and FPOs receive 80% to 90% aid to set up Farm Machinery Banks up to ₹30 lakh, while Custom Hiring Centres get 40% assistance for projects costing up to ₹250 lakh.
Specialized equipment hubs provide high-capacity, crop-tailored machinery to streamline large-scale field activities and give farmers access to advanced technologies.
The North-Eastern region receives priority financial assistance, including subsidies up to 100% for small tools and 95% support for setting up Farm Machinery Banks.

Agricultural mechanization introduces modern tools across all cultivation stages, from land preparation and sowing to spraying, harvesting, and crop handling.
It lowers reliance on manual labor, speeds up farm work, cuts down overall operational expenditure, and optimizes crop yields.
SMAM actively encourages agricultural drones, giving ₹52.50 crore to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to run extensive field demonstrations.
Between 2023-24 and 2025-26, ICAR, state agricultural universities, and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) conducted 40,928 Kisan Drone demonstrations spanning 40,918 hectares for chemical and nutrient spraying.
Research bodies receive 100% grants up to ₹10 lakh per drone, FPOs receive up to 75% assistance, while service agencies get ₹6,000 per hectare as contingency aid.
The sub-mission reserves 30% of its overall outlay specifically for women farmers to promote female participation in mechanized farming.

While SMAM has widened equipment access for marginalized groups and women, long-term success requires making rentals affordable and providing hands-on training across all districts.
Sustained growth will depend on region-specific technology deployment and promoting eco-friendly, climate-smart machinery to build sustainable farming systems.