Start-up to mechanise TN’s farm operations for growth

The 11-year-old company, which has an annual turnover of Rs 100 cr, has become a frontrunner in the ‘mini agriculture machinery’ sector and has specific R&D plans to improve the economic state of farmers in Tamil Nadu. 

Speaking to this daily, Ravindra Agarwal, Promoter and CMD of KisanKraft, tells us, “Around 300+ dealers of KisanKraft are present in Tamil Nadu. They supply products such as sprayers, brush-cutters, chainsaws and inter-cultivators to the farmers in the state. We have been selling these products in good numbers in this region.” 

He adds, “The company has been providing equipment in diesel, petrol and electric variants for the use of farmers employed in the cultivation of major crops such as paddy, jowar, bajra, pulses and other cash crops like sugarcane and cotton as well. About 90 pc of our clientele comprises small and marginal farmers who need affordable and appropriate mechanisation solutions.” 

An official from the company, which has close to 40 per cent share in the small cultivator equipment market in India, tells us that crops such as cassava (tapioca) and ginger that are grown successfully in these parts are still harvested by hand. The company is currently working on the creation of a harvester that could make the task easier for farmers. The official says that the state contributes to close to 12 per cent of the company’s total revenues. 

But it’s not just equipment and machinery that the company has set its sights on. Agarwal reveals, “Close to 35 per cent greenhouse gases are emitted by paddy fields. And there is an urgent requirement to cut down on the water consumed in the cultivation of rice. Our R&D team is working on a new methodology of farming rice, through which you could cut down the consumption of water by as much as 60 per cent. This will certainly be good for farmers in TN, who are faced with extended dry periods.”