He…he…good analysis. The cost of the tractor was actually 2 lakhs as it was an used one and been in use for over 6 years. More people can probably look at the used/repo market to look at potential bargains.
Shiv
It is true cost of labor is high now a days. Pure mechanization will not break-even .It depends upon various factors such as the types cultivation you are interested,Total area of land in blocks ,water availability,Fencing requirement ,Mechanical work shop near by,Electricity availability and most important right person to operate the available machines.Economic will work out based on the above.If everything is available then you can have it else 
First What type of cultivation:- Plantation Farming or Single, Double and Multiple Cropping . For Plantation farming and single cropping the above machines can be hired and not to owned. For double and Multiple cropping owing machines are good and particularly for multiple cropping.
First it is difficult to find a person to operate all the above machines. If located good person then problem is breakdown of machine? To call mechanic who is away from the place say 20 to 30 Kms is a problem.Further mechanic availability at the time of break down is an another important factor and creating tension.
Second availability of electricity, for pumping water.It is erratic.No body knows at what time is comes and goes.To over come this you require a sensor (GSM contol or Auto on starter)
Third Utilization of water, for which leveling and trench requirement is to be well planned.It is preferable to have well leveled block having single channel for natural irrigation as well as for motor irrigation (For single or double cropping paddy field). For drip irrigation, double or multiple cropping with proper selection of plant will be advantages.
Forth protecting the crop, fencing is another important factor.Fencing is required or not required is to be decided based on the location and area of the land.If decided to have fencing then what type of fencing such as live, wire, solar, chain link etc based on the cost factor and type of cropping system anticipated.
For example I have about 15 Acres of land in Tamil Nadu Delta area.I have a Tractor, a Trans planter, a Baler and Electric motor.This 15 acres are in three blocks of 10, 3 and 2 Acres.Each block is having separate motor driven water pump. For 10 acre length of fencing may come to 1 Km length and may cost about 1.8 lakhs for solar fencing with modified design (Such as 5 feet height, Stone post,etc)
So fencing is a part of mechanization.
With the above to mechanize forming, following help is required form the government for small and medium farmers.
1.All machines are available at the Panchayath level for hire with proper driver.
2.Skilled driver employed by Panchayath can be hired on daily basis by farmer with subsidy labor rate ( May be Rs 100~150 per day for driver to run Tractor/Trans planter/Harvester/Leveler etc who owns the machine.This will reduce the cost and increase the availability of the driver and help the farmer not engaging driver on monthly basis
3.Solar water pump subsidy is to be given more than what is now.(Total cost should be Rs 30000~ 40000/= Now it is more than 1.5 Lakhs per pump)
4.Panchayath should have a Machine work shop with mechanic to carry out repair with a electrician and pump fitter. In shot a service center in each area.
Economics by mechanization can be achieved only with Government help and not by individual former.
Mechanization by former is possible provided formers able to break-even by holing enough land and the required machines for which our agricultural land ceiling act is to be modified or acceptance of forming by a company is it possible?
Regards
nanaindian
When i checked the price for banana cultivation (45cm x45x45) i was informed it would cost around 4-5 rupees. Am i wrong in thinking one person can dig around 18-20 medium sized pit per day for 200 bucks?
Appreciate the thought process, liked your wishlist. This could be realty only if govt wants this. When govt want to suck the farmers dry, allow FDI in retail etc i have no hopes.
Lets take a example, power tiller is sold around 1.4L, production cost may not be more than 40-50k. Instead of giving the subsidy 60k or 75k to farmers why can’t govt produce this and provide to farmers, in that process it will also employ some people. In the name of subsidy to farmers these manufactures are making money, i think the sole purpose is defeated. As you mentioned if these are just made available to farmers, with proper service support it would be great for farmers. When other produces/manufactures get all the facility why can’t food produces get this facility too.
Did i go off topic?. Going back to original topic, is there any more things we can do-it-ourselves? can we start with something?.
Hello
We recently purchased a bullock drawn seed drill from gujrat and managed to attach it to our power tiller.
It works nicely, however there is one drawback. The number of seeds that get planted maybe more than required. Its not that accurate.
Another farmer here had a tractor drawn seed drill and he also abandoned it as it was using more seeds than required.
This technology is not very reliable at the moment. So we have opted for manual planting of maize seeds as that is the most important step in any cultivation.
Regards
Nikhil
Hi Nikhil,
Is it the metering type? I read that it can be calibrated - do you mean this mechanism isn’t fool proof (or) were you using a different/non-metering type that possibly uses gravity alone?
Excellent topic and the information shared. I have gone through most of the links attached and found lot of good information. I was looking for a weeding machine for my farm which is now a lush green field 
of grass. After going through few equipment something struck to my mind and I will try my had to build one weeding on my own using some old ceiling fans and scraped bicycle … 
I am not sure how it would turn out but will give a try and post the pictures along the way.
Shiv: Any equipment you could lend will be of good help to us as we are very near to your farm. I have ordered for 1500 papayya at Sneha Farms, who would deliver in about 45 days.
Srinivas
Sure Srinivas. I am sure we can help out with the weeding portion. I have a power weeder, cultivator, post hole digger, tractor.
Power weeder/cultivator you can borrow now ( you have to take care of the fuel), post hole digger can be lent after 45 days, but you would be responsible for the auger blades.
Of course, needless to mention, all equipment needs to be returned in the condition it was given
Shiv
Wow! that is very kind of you and I shall make sure anything taken is returned back as given. I am planning to camp at the farm for 6 days in mid august so may be will borrow the weeder then.
Thanks,
Srinivas
Pretty big hearted, cheers!
Way to go. real farmer in you have surfaced. Your gesture much appreciated.
Dear Srinivas,
You don’t worry as your little plants can be taken care with love without going for such big cranes.
Ensure to avoid such unwanted growth and cut them after growing such tall.
If you properly mange canopy management at early stage of the plant, then no need of any such heavy instruments for pruning.
Hi Shiv,
Appreciate you guesture. I was wondering how much you are spending on maintaining the tractor (especially as its a used one).
Regards,
Agri_lover
Surprisingly not much. We had the top replaced a couple of times. Recently we had a clutch plate or spring replaced, cost about 2400. Few punctures here and there, tires replaced or retreaded. It has not been a money pit. Overall in excellent workmanship.
I would advice anyone starting out, to look at used equipment first and then go in for better/bigger ones if they require. One incident which I wanted to point was the replacement of clutch which happened last month. The initial diagnosis was done by Santosh and I was surprised to find out that he could call a mechanic to the farm to come and replace.
It appears that the people in rural areas are adopting mobile technology to a big degree to facilitate these types of things.
Shiv
Most of the labour coordinates by mobiles in the area!
hi all,
any inputs on the farm security and servalence this is also the need of the hour as one cant stay in the farm always it would be good to have some camera system send snaps of the farm based on certain events happening
thanks
Great i was thinking in similar lines… i was thinking if i can ask my farm help to just take snap, have a low end mobile with camera and have either facebook or picasa configured so that i have daily updates at some place.
Are you talking about cctv type cams?.
I had researched IP Cams a bit too and they do look feasible. My area is not covered by wired broadband at present but there should be other internet options; a few motion sensing cameras and a reliable source of power should do the job to monitor online on computer or mobile. Certainly on the cards and more to research.
Here’s a relatively expensive option with some prerequisites:
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Get a BSNL Wi-Max connection (need to be within 15km - line of sight - from the supporting BSNL tower.
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Wireless camera(s) to connect to your router
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Camera connected to a Netbook or similar low-power device.
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Assuming you get a static IP address from BSNL on the Wi-Max, you could get real-time pictures from your farm relayed to wherever you are.
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Assumption: There is electricity or a backup system available at all times.
Disclaimer: I am a little out of date when it comes to these gizmos.
IP Cameras shouldn’t need a netbook/PC, they run their own servers.
A solar powered router or a good UPS if improvised, should do the job.
You could use dynamic IP with a free dynamic IP mapping service. Most cams come with instructions on how to do this.
You could even stream video, not just pictures, depending on the internet connection.
I would love to have the video available on a channel of the TV. 