Farmers often compare agricultural machines by price, capacity or brand before buying. But a cheaper machine may consume more energy, lose more grain or produce lower-quality output. ICAR-CIAE Bhopal is testing post-harvest equipment against these parameters to help establish whether machines actually perform as claimed.
The Post-Harvest Equipment and Machinery Testing Centre at ICAR-CIAE is authorised by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to evaluate and certify post-harvest machines. Its testing follows Bureau of Indian Standards protocols, creating a common basis for assessing equipment.
The centre tests machines such as cleaner-cum-graders, destoners, mini rice mills, flour mills, dal mills, oil expellers and dryers. These machines are used after harvesting, when poor processing can reduce the quality and market value of farm produce before it reaches buyers.
Testing does not stop with switching a machine on. ICAR says equipment undergoes no-load, load and long-run tests. Experts examine construction quality, capacity, energy consumption, grain losses and output quality to understand how the machine performs under different operating conditions.
What The Numbers Show
The centre has tested 152 post-harvest machines since its establishment and generated ₹230 lakh in revenue through testing services. After infrastructure upgrades in 2024, its capacity increased to around 40–50 machines annually, according to ICAR.
Seed and grain cleaner-cum-graders account for nearly 48% of the machines evaluated at the centre. ICAR says cleaning and grading can improve the market value of food grains by around 10–15%, making equipment performance important for farmers selling cereals, pulses, oilseeds and millets.
For farmers, this matters because post-harvest operations directly affect the produce they finally sell. Broken grains, impurities, excess moisture and poor grading can reduce quality and price. A properly tested machine can help farmers and processors understand its actual capacity before making an investment.
The equipment reaching the Bhopal centre also reflects different farming regions. Mini rice mills are commonly submitted from Uttar Pradesh, while Maharashtra has sent machines including dal mills, oil expellers, cleaners, graders and sugarcane juice extractors for evaluation.
What Farmers Should Check
Farmers should look beyond horsepower and advertised processing capacity when selecting machinery. They should ask about actual output, grain losses, energy consumption, maintenance requirements, spare parts and the quality of processed produce. These factors can determine whether a machine remains useful after the initial purchase.
The government also supports agricultural machinery testing and certification under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization. The scheme provides assistance for machinery purchases and supports testing, demonstrations, training and certification of agricultural equipment.
For small and marginal farmers, buying a machine individually can be difficult because the equipment may remain unused for long periods. Government support for Custom Hiring Centres and Farm Machinery Banks gives farmers another way to access machinery without carrying the full ownership cost.
A farmer considering post-harvest machinery should first estimate how much produce will be processed each season. The calculation should include purchase or rental costs, electricity or fuel, labour, repairs and expected savings from lower grain losses. A machine makes sense only when these costs match actual farm use.
Can Better Machines Raise Farm Returns?
Post-harvest machinery can also support value addition. Cleaning, grading, milling, drying and oil extraction allow farmers and producer groups to move beyond selling raw produce. But equipment alone does not create a profitable enterprise. Farmers also need reliable markets, suitable storage and consistent product quality.
ICAR-CIAE says more than 5,000 farmers, students, entrepreneurs, manufacturers and faculty members have received training through the testing centre. Such programmes can help users understand machinery performance and post-harvest technologies before investing in equipment.
The wider lesson is simple: farm machinery should be judged by what it delivers, not only what it costs. Testing can reveal whether equipment saves energy, reduces losses and maintains output quality. For farmers, that information can make machinery purchases less risky and improve returns from harvested crops.
As mechanisation expands across Indian agriculture, access to reliable equipment will become increasingly important. Farmers do not always need the newest machine. They need equipment suited to their crop, farm size and workload. Checking certification, performance data and service support before purchase can prevent costly mistakes.
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