Seventy Years of Agricultural Engineering Programmes in India -Highlights of Achievements and Priorities

The academic programmes in the disciple of Agricultural Engineering in India was first started in 1942 at the Allahabad Agricultural Institute (Now a Deemed University) and later on by a number of Central Institutions and State/Central Agricultural Universities. The Agricultural Engineers in India during the last 70 years or so have made a significant contribution towards mechanization of Indian agriculture and almost changed the animate Indian agriculture to power farming using tractors, power tillers, mechanical engines, electric motors, solar gadgets, biofuel and appropriate location & commodity specific agricultural tools and machines for various production and post-production agricultural operations. The agricultural mechanization in India, so far, has contributed along with inputs like, high yielding varieties, fertilizer, pesticides, irrigation and management in enhancing the total production of the staples i.e. food grains from 50 Mt in 1950–51 to about 250 Mt in 2010 11, a five fold increase in about 60 years. The present challenge is to consolidate small and marginal farms into a cooperative farm to get the advantage of economy of scale and mechanization. It would facilitate planned and judicious use of natural resources and other inputs including agricultural machines and lead towards an economic farming and thereby rural prosperity and food & nutritional security for one and all, rural or urban.