Machines can now be tested from any location
The ‘Centralized Farm Machinery Performance Testing Portal’ was launched by Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar on September 24, 2020. The portal was developed by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare to improve services of farm machinery testing institutions and create transparency in the process of testing and evaluation of machines.
It will facilitate manufacturers in applying, communicating and monitoring the progress of testing of their machines in a seamless manner from any location. Tomar said on the occasion that there has been a significant increase in adoption of agricultural machines which has resulted in large scale expansion of cropped area, crop diversity and the country’s agricultural production.
Testing of farm machines is an important aspect of agricultural mechanization which benefits both farmers as well as the manufacturers of agricultural machinery. Testing and evaluation of agricultural machinery improves their quality and functional suitability.
Recognizing the importance of testing and evaluation of agricultural machinery and to meet the increasing demand for testing, the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, in addition to the existing four Farm Machinery Training & Testing Institutes, has identified and authorized 35 institutions under the State Agricultural Universities, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the State Governments.
