TAFE launches its complimentary tractor rental platform

TAFE - Tractors and Farm Equipment, a leading tractor manufacturer in India, has announced the national expansion of its CSR initiative - ‘JFarm Services’ and the ‘JFarm Services App’. Through this platform, TAFE intends to bring the benefits of the technology-enabled sharing economy to boost the income of Indian farmers. JFarm Services facilitates the hiring of tractors and modern farm machinery to farmers free of cost.

Farmers looking to rent their existing tractors and farm equipment are linked directly to farmers seeking to hire them through the free of cost “Farmer-to-Farmer model” ( F2F)  of JFarm Services app. The app enables them to contact farmer entrepreneurs, negotiate rental prices and fulfil their respective requirement.

Established in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in 1964, JFarm India was set up with an objective of empowering farmers with advanced farm technologies to increase farm productivity and meet India’s growing food demands.

According to TAFE, there are nearly 65 percent Indians working in the farm sector, but India’s agricultural yields trail global and emerging market averages. More than 20 crore Indian farmers have little or no access to mechanised tools. Any effort to bring about a paradigm shift in productivity and farm income has to be centered on the small farmers, who account for 86 percent of India’s farmland holding.

The tractor manufacturer claims that the farmers who own small parcels of land across India can now hire state-of-the-art farm equipment to increase their productivity and income significantly. The OEM further claims that the JFarm Services app and on ground custom hiring centers which are operated by tractor and equipment owners will provide farmers with affordable farm mechanisation services in a transparent manner. TAFE is reportedly collaborating with various state governments like Bihar, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Assam to rollout the JFarm services platform.

Initially, the JFarm service is intended to cover Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, directly benefitting around 60,000 users and resulting in over 100,000 orders, adding up to about 250,000 hours in hired farm machinery usage.

Mallika Srinivasan, chairman and CEO - TAFE (pictured above), said: “The nationwide launch of JFarm Services - farm equipment rental platform as a CSR initiative is aligned to TAFE’s vision of cultivating the world and our commitment to the economic well-being of Indian farmers. The JFarm Services platform leverages technology to provide free of cost access to rental of  farm mechanisation solutions and offers an opportunity to build a viable rural entrepreneurship model while augmenting farm productivity and income of small and marginal farmers. With this launch we aim to touch millions of farmers who have no access to farm mechanisation and modern technology, while accelerating the progress towards the Prime Minister’s vision of doubling farm incomes by 2022.”

T R Kesavan, president and COO - TAFE (pictured above), said: “TAFE’s JFarm Services offers a transparent farmer-to-farmer platform, free of any hidden charges or commissions, that enables farmer entrepreneurs to rent their existing tractors and implements of any brand to farmers who seek to hire modern feature rich products to boost their farm income. JFarm Services is also collaborating with various State Governments to offer customized solutions to increase farm mechanization amidst small and marginal farmers below the poverty line.”

Farmers who don’t own smart or feature phones can use the toll-free helpline number 1800-4-200-100. The platform also provides periodic updates on local weather, market, agri-news and mandi prices without any fee.