‘Indian small farms will be early adopters of electric tractors’

Bengaluru

The country’s small farm sector, with holdings of up to five acres, will be the early adopters of electric tractors and handheld farm equipment, according to Antony Cherukara, CEO, VST Tillers Tractors.

“The country has slowly started witnessing electrification in the small farm sector and the segment is expected to adopt a lot of electric machines in the near future,” said Mr. Cherukara.

To cash in on the changing requirements of the farm sector, VST Tillers Tractors said it would introduce electric tractors, power tillers and brush cutters in the domestic and export markets in the next one or two years.

As a precursor to this, VST Tillers Tractors recently invested in Monarch Tractors, a U.S.-based electric autonomous tractor company.

“Electric tractors will be a rocking success in the Indian farm sector, especially in small farm holdings,” said Manohar T, a farmer who owns three diesel tractors in Koppa town in Karnataka.

“As tractors are mostly used on farms and do not travel long distances, owners need not worry about the range as in the case of electric cars,” he added.

Other players that are keen on electric tractors are Mahindra & Mahindra, Escorts, Eicher, and Sonalika International Tractors. Sonalika had already unveiled an electric tractor for the domestic market in 2020, while Escorts started exporting electric tractors to markets such as the U.S. and Europe.