Journal Press India^®

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Farm mechanization in agriculture can play an important role in boosting food production with limited resources. The advantages of agricultural mechanization should be made available to all types of farmers, paying special attention to small and marginal farmers. The goal of the current study was to analyze the constraints to farm mechanization and the farm equipment subsidies program in Bihar's agriculture sector. Primary data have been collected by using the questionnaire method, from a total of 210 farmers of the Begusarai district of Bihar based on multistage sampling. The data were analyzed using the Garret ranking method. Results indicate that the large majority of respondents have chosen to give rank 1 to the constraint of ‘small and fragmented land holding’, followed by ‘high initial cost’ (rank 2) and lack of financial resources and credit facilities (rank 3). The study focuses on increasing the scope for farm mechanization through farm equipment subsidy programs and custom hiring services. Thus, the outcomes of the study will be helpful for policymakers for an effective distribution management system.

Keywords

Agriculture Subsidies; Constraints; Farm Mechanization; Custom Hiring; Productivity

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