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IT firm Aeris has teamed up with Hello Tractor, a tractor hire services firm in Africa, to launch Uber-like service for tractors in India and the Asean region.
The tie-up between the two companies has been bringing on-demand farm mechanised equipment services to small farmers in Nigeria and other African countries since 2014.
According to Rishi Mohan Bhatnagar, President of Aeris India, they would be able to launch the pay-as-you-use model for small holding farmers in eastern UP and Bihar within the next two to three months. However, he said, they haven’t yet decided on the hire prices to be charged from the farmers.
“The majority of farmers in the predominantly agrarian societies, such as India and Asean countries, have less than five acres of land and can barely afford high-cap equipment,” Bhatnagar said.
However, this was not the first such service to be offered in India. Firms like EM3 Agri Services and Trringo, owned by Mahindra’s Farm Equipment Sector, have been offering tractor-on-call services in different States in the country.
According to Rohtash Mal, Chairman and managing Director of EM3, there is a lot of scope for new players to enter the market which he likened to ‘fishing in the Pacific Ocean”. The informal farm equipment rental market in India is pegged at ₹15,000 crore or more.
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