SMAM: Farm Mechanisation Mission for Small Farmers
Why in the news
SMAM is a standing Centre-backed scheme that pushes machine use down to village level, and it keeps appearing in agriculture-scheme questions.
Key facts
- Launch: 2014-15; a central government initiative of the agriculture and farmers welfare ministry.
- Purpose: promote suitable, affordable and eco-friendly mechanisation, cut farm drudgery, raise output and make farming profitable.
- Subsidy: support for tractors, power tillers, seeders, harvesters and similar machines, shared by the Centre and states; the rate depends on the machine type.
- Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs): farmers rent machines for particular jobs, so no heavy upfront spending.
- Delivery: run by state agriculture departments and agencies, tailored to local farming systems.
- Priority group: small and marginal farmers receive a major part of the subsidy.
Components
| Component | What it does |
|---|---|
| Subsidy on machinery | Tractors, power tillers, seed drills, post-harvest and irrigation equipment |
| Custom Hiring Centres | Low-cost machine rental for those with small holdings |
| Farm Machinery Banks | Pools of rental machines located across rural areas |
| Training and skills | Workshops and field demonstrations on use, upkeep and repair |
| Awareness drives | Spread word on benefits and government help available |
Objectives
- Bring modern machines into ploughing, sowing, irrigation, fertilising and harvesting.
- Improve timeliness and quality of operations and limit losses at peak periods.
- Ease reliance on manual labour where workers are scarce, especially in rural areas.
- Create jobs in making, servicing and maintaining machinery.
- Keep farming sustainable by saving water and soil.
- Give small farmers access to costly high-tech equipment.
Benefits
- Better yields and precise planting and harvesting, with less wastage.
- Lower spending on labour, fuel and time; work gets done faster, cutting delay-related crop loss.
- Smarter use of water, seed and fertiliser.
- Fewer farm-labour jobs in some tasks, but new work in operating and repairing machines.
Concerns
- High purchase cost remains a barrier even with subsidy.
- Low awareness about available technologies.
- Weak rural infrastructure such as roads and repair facilities.
- Continuing need to upgrade farmer skills for advanced machines.
- Uneven uptake across regions.
Exam angle
- Nodal ministry: agriculture and farmers welfare.
- Launched in: 2014-15.
- Related terms: Custom Hiring Centres, Farm Machinery Banks.
- Focus group: small and marginal farmers.