Farm Machinery on Rent: How Custom Hiring Centres Can Help Small Farmers Save Costs

A tractor, harvester or modern farm implement can cost more than a small farmer can afford. Yet many farm operations need machinery at the right time. Custom Hiring Centres offer one solution by allowing farmers to rent equipment when required instead of purchasing and maintaining machines throughout the year.

The model is becoming more important as landholdings become smaller. A machine bought by one farmer may remain unused for much of the year, making individual ownership difficult to justify. Hiring allows several farmers to use the same equipment during different crop operations and seasons.

Government data shows that 27,554 Custom Hiring Centres had been established between 2014-15 and 2025-26. These centres provide farmers access to sets of machinery, implements and equipment on a rental basis.

A Custom Hiring Centre can offer machines for different stages of cultivation. Equipment can include tractors, rotavators, seed drills, harvesters, threshers, sprayers and residue-management machines. The exact machinery depends on the crops and farming requirements of the local area.

Farmers can also access machinery for post-harvest work. This can include grain cleaners, threshers, shellers and processing equipment. Such access becomes useful for small farmers who cannot justify purchasing specialised machines that they may use only for a few days each year.

ICAR research has identified tillage, sowing, planting, interculture, fertiliser application, plant protection, harvesting and threshing among the major areas where farm machinery can reduce labour requirements and improve timely farm operations.

A business opportunity for rural groups

Custom Hiring Centres are not only useful to farmers. They can also become a rural business for Farmer Producer Organisations, cooperatives, Self-Help Groups and rural entrepreneurs. The group purchases or receives machinery and earns income by renting it to farmers.

An ICAR case from the National Capital Region shows how this model can work. One Farmer Producer Company invested ₹10 lakh in a Custom Hiring Centre and reported annual gross income of ₹5.4 lakh and net returns of ₹3.8 lakh.

The centre provided services including ploughing, rotavation, sowing, spraying, threshing and residue management. This allowed farmers to access machinery without making large individual investments while creating an income source for the organisation operating the centre.

The Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization supports the purchase of agricultural machines as well as Custom Hiring Centres and Farm Machinery Banks. The programme aims to improve access to machinery among small and marginal farmers, women, FPOs, SHGs and rural entrepreneurs.

Under the scheme, financial assistance is available for Custom Hiring Centres, while Farm Machinery Banks can receive higher support in eligible cases. The government says SMAM supported 21.61 lakh machines and 27,554 Custom Hiring Centres between 2014-15 and 2025-26.

Farmers should check the machinery and assistance available through their state agriculture department before purchasing equipment. The type of support, eligible machinery and application process can vary according to the scheme and state-level arrangements.

Machinery can reduce farm labour pressure

Mechanisation can become important when farmers face labour shortages during sowing and harvesting. Completing these operations on time can affect crop establishment and final yields. Machines can also reduce the physical burden of repetitive tasks, particularly for women and older farmers.

ICAR has reported cases where mechanisation in hill agriculture reduced manual labour requirements by up to nearly 70% in some cropping systems. Operational costs also fell by almost half in the documented villages of Dzongu, Sikkim.

Machinery can also support climate-resilient farming. Equipment such as zero-till drills, residue-management machines and precision implements can help farmers adopt practices that reduce soil disturbance, manage crop residues and complete operations within shorter weather windows.

For a farmer with a small holding, the question should not always be which machine to buy. It may be more useful to ask whether the machine will be used enough to justify its purchase and maintenance costs.

Custom hiring provides another option. Farmers can pay only when they need equipment, while the centre handles storage, maintenance and repairs. The model works best when machines are selected according to local crops, demand and farming seasons.

For rural entrepreneurs and farmer groups, this creates another opportunity. A well-managed Custom Hiring Centre can provide machinery to farmers while earning income from rental services. For smallholders, it can bring modern equipment within reach without requiring the cost of ownership.