CHENNAI: Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd (TAFE) has cultivated one lakh acres of land for free over 60 days during the current cropping season in Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The initiative was aimed at mitigating the impact of the pandemic on operations of small and marginal farmers during the critical rabi harvest and kharif sowing season, the company said.
In a statement, the company said it had launched a free tractor rental service in these states from April 1, 2020, for a period of 90 days through its JFarm Services platform. “The scheme received an overwhelming response from the farming community and within 60 days of its implementation, over 100,000 acres have been cultivated and rental service has been provided benefitting thousands of farmers in this crucial cropping season,” the company said.
TAFE said that it was able to implement the scheme for small and marginal farmers with the administrative support of respective state governments and added that all benefits received have been directly given to the farmers. A small farmer in a state like Tamil Nadu stands to save Rs 4,000-5,000 due to the initiative, TAFE said.