The per-capita growth in income in a country drives the consumption of horticulture - fruits, vegetables, and flowers - and this is a key trend that is presently emerging in India, which pushed Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) to work on its newly-revealed lightweight tractor platform - Oja.
Mahindra Oja, which is a range of tractors in the 20-40hp power category, will offer standard 4-wheel-drive, and target the India, ASEAN, and the US markets which have a strong potential for such products.
Hemant Sikka, President, Farm Equipment Business, M&M, talks about how the company has invested over Rs 1,200 crore along with its Japanese partner - Mitsubishi Agriculture Machinery - to develop the Oja platform, and a series of models on it. Sikka also talks about the company's readiness in terms of manufacturing footprint, and how it targets to double its tractor exports from India over the next three years.