Karnataka government will soon offer tractor and other farm equipment on rental basis to farmers across the state through a collaboration with automobile makers including VST Tillers, John Deere, and Mahindra, reports Business Standard. Under the “Uber for agricultural services” scheme, the state is planning to invest around Rs 175 crore as subsidy for renting out farming equipments, bringing down the cost of use of these equipment to farmers by nearly a third, added the report. According to the government, a majority of farmers own very small patches of land that are too small to justify the investment on mechanized equipment. Therefore, under the new model, the state would pay 75% of capital costs, while equipment makers earn money by renting it to farmers over a three-year period. Farmers will be able to procure tractors, tillers, harvesters, etc. on hourly and daily basis, once the scheme is launched. Custom Hire Centres: The Karnataka state also claims to have tied up with two non-profit entities by investing Rs 87.5 crore to set up about 175 Custom Hire Service Centres (CHSCs). It plans to setup a total of 350 centres in total once the scheme is rolled out fully. The manufacturers will also stock farming equipment from other manufacturers, apart from its own equipment. Mahindra Trringo: Earlier this month, automobile manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra introduced a tractor rental service named Trringo, which will be available as a mobile app. The company plans to run the business through a franchise as well an aggregator…
