Srinagar: Joint Director Agriculture Extension Mohammad Muzaffer Hurra in presence of Chief Agriculture Officer Srinagar Mohammad Younis Chowdhary inaugurated Custom Hiring Centres under Submission of Agriculture Mechanization (SMAM) at Panzinara “B” and Gund Hassi Bhat of district Srinagar.
A large gathering of farmers, District Agriculture Officer Srinagar Shabir Ahmad and other senior officers of the Department were present during the occasion.
Highlighting the need for establishing Custom Hiring Centres, Mohammad Muzaffer Hurra said that the Agriculture Sector is undergoing a gradual shift from dependence on human power to mechanical power because increasing cost for up keeping of animal and growing scarcity of human labour, thus there is a strong need for taking farm mechanizations and establishment of Custom Hiring Centers for the benefit of small and marginal farmers.
He said mechanization is largely consumed in big land holding and is still beyond reach of small and marginal farmers so in order to bring farm machinery available within the reach of small and marginal farmers collective ownership or custom hiring centers needs to be promoted in a big way.
Hurra said Submission of Agriculture Mechanization (SMAM) is one such initiative towards the objective. These schemes are being formulated to encourage entrepreneurs and agriculture graduates to set up custom hiring centre.
He said CHCs are basically a unit comprising a set of farm machinery, implements and equipments for custom hiring by farmers of adjoining villages.
On the occasion Chief Agriculture Officer Srinagar Mohammad Younis Chowdhary said that these centers has been established by providing rupees four lakhs subsidy out of rupees ten lakhs for purchase of machinery by the farmers at each Custom Hiring Centre. He further added that during the current year 2020-21 out of the target of 4 CHCs in Srinagar district has already completed the target by establishing all custom hiring Centers at Panzinara, Gundhassibhat, Balahama and Goripora Qamarwari.
During the Occasion farmers of the areas hailed the efforts of the department by providing custom hiring centers in their vicinity, the farmers informed that they cannot invest in costly farm machineries and with this type of intervention they can hire the machinery on nominal charges and carryout agriculture operation in their field smoothly.

KR Desk