Mr. Sanjay Varma, Regional Head, Andreas STIHL India, Bangalore, Karnataka, talks about the current agro-machinery usage and benefits.
We are developing products for various sectors such as agriculture, forestry, horticulture, landscaping, and cleaning. We are world number one in producing chainsaws which are used for pruning trees, cutting trees, and maintaining them. Whenever there is a natural calamity, our chainsaws are used across the globe, and our main revenue is from this product segment. Our chainsaws range from MS 170 1.8 hp and MS 661 7 hp, and MS 880 8.7 hp. Farmers who have plantations and horticulture crops use our products. The semi-professional ones in the range of 2.5 hp and professional chainsaws are used by professional loggers in Uttarakhand, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. Furniture makers find our chainsaws very useful, and also forestry department use these products to remove fallen trees during natural calamities. We offer one year standard warranty for our products which use petrol or gasoline. We have electrical chainsaws models MSE 141 and MSE 170 apart from ones that are battery operated. The limitation with the battery operated ones is the run time which is 45 minutes. When people are keen about less noise and less pollution, they prefer our chainsaws. All these chainsaws are made in Switzerland, and we have technically superior chainsaws compared to our competitors. The various types of chainsaws are picco micro, rapid micro, picco super, rapid super, and picco micro mini. The two components are guide bars and chains for various purposes.
Brush cutters are very handy, and we offer a huge range of products from 1 hp up to FS 460 3 hp professional model. The brush cutters have 3 main components. Engine is a very important part as we are conscious about mileage. Our engines are fuel efficient, environment friendly, less noise, and less pollution. Though the cost is slightly high, we benefit in the long run by buying such a quality product. We should always consider serviceability when we buy a product. Many of our customers have opined that they have visited our showrooms very less number of times for service. The machines will last longer if it is maintained and serviced properly. Cost of spare parts is an important aspect. We should buy only genuine ones even if slightly costly to get more life of the machines. Up to 2 acres, we can go for FS 55 2 hp, and if it is more than 2 acres, we have to look for higher hp brush cutter. Post-monsoon, the usage of brush cutters will be high. We have many people using the machine almost for 12 hours, and we recommend professional range of brush cutters for them which comes with antivibration system. We do not feel the vibration, and they are used to remove weeds, maintain grass, removing the thick vegetation. These are petrol operated. We have backpack brush cutters also operated by both electricity and battery. The different attachments are two teeth grass blade, auto cut with moving head with nylon thread used for removing weeds regularly. In case of thick vegetation it is better to for brush knife or 4 teeth grass cutting blade. For cutting down small branches, vines, and twigs, circular saw blade is idea.
Paddy weeder is used to remove weeds in between the paddy rows. We can use this for crops other than paddy too. Pick tines and bolo tines are used in small farms where vegetable and intercrop cultivation is done to remove weeds. The soil is churned to help in crop growth and when weeds are removed. Our power weeders are light in weight, low vibration, and easy to operate for women farmers too. The three categories in this segment are BC 230 2 HP, MN 610 and MN 710 which is very powerful. The difference among them is the area that weeding and intercropping to be done. BC 230 is quite handy and easy to manoeuvre, easy to carry too. The top end model MN 710 7 hp is quite robust and powerful with Euro 5 engine. Its advantages are less pollution, less emission, and less vibration.
Along with power weeder there are a few accessories such as ridger adjustable particularly for cutting land, loosening soil, opening pores for water flow for row crops such as sugarcane, potato, chilly, tobacco, and banana. Ploughing attachment turns and breaks up soil to bury crop residues, cut loose the soil, control the weeds, and bring new nutrition to the soil. Cage wheel is another attachment. When we use regular tyre, the machine may slip in wet soil. The cage wheel is used for traction in such soils to provide floating effect. Deep tines are used when the soil is very hard, has stones, and we go for this to break the stones. Bracket and puddling wheel are other attachments.
Water pumps are used since many parts of India get scanty rainfall. The water pump helps in drawing water from wells, rivers, and canals to pass on to the fields. A small farmer can use 1.5 inch 2 hp pump with discharge of 250 litres per minute and delivery head 27 metres. It is easy to carry as it weighs 11 kgs. This is very helpful in hilly terrains where they need to draw water to a particular height. We have 3 models in this WP 300, WP 600, and WP 900 which help in less pollution and less sound. WP 900 is mainly used for industrial purposes and municipal corporation. They help in removing the water logging. Our engine is 6 hp to give robust performance and heavy duty output.
Handled blowers are used nowadays to do landscaping in their houses. We have different blowers petrol, or battery, or electrically operated models. The forest department uses the blowers to douse fire if it is within an area of 300 to 500 sq. Ft. While laying new roads, these are used to remove dust. Mist blowers belong to the same segment helpful for vineyards and pomegranate growers. They can be used to spray insecticide, pesticide and chemicals. The difference between regular sprayers and mist blowers is the droplet size and adjustable nozzle to adjust the discharge. SF 450 is easy to spray and dusting, and it is a two in one model, and by twisting the tank we can easily interchange the application from spraying to dusting. Portable sprayer is a handy sprayer, but farmers have expressed that they are improving product portfolio. We are coming up with many new products which are fuel efficient and user friendly. We have also very good vacuum cleaners, and our earth auger to dig pits.
What are the latest advancements in agro-machinery, and how can they benefit farmers and Agri-entrepreneurs?
I suggest that you should go for quality driven product which has less impact on environmental pollution and ensure serviceability. Many companies have switched to higher capacity engines, talking about less carbon emissions. We are also moving from old engines to the ones that are fuel efficient, less pollution, and environment friendly and taking care of carbon footprint in gasoline engines. We find lot of enthusiasm about battery products, but the reason why it is not picking up greatly is the price aspect. We have promising new technology driven products, but the price is the bottleneck which is why many farmers are not switching to this. There is a shift going on in the industry with lot of technological advancement. So farmers should opt for a product which is long lasting, robust, versatile, user-friendly, and not expensive too.
Can you provide examples of specific agro machines that have transformed the traditional farming practices?
Farmers are moving on from manual machines, such as from handsaw blade to brush cutter. We see that in India, mechanisation is mainly use of tractors. But other traditional hand tools such as sickles, pruners, or shears are not getting mechanised. These manual tools are time consuming and not productive. While America, Europe, and China have high percentage of mechanisation, India is still at 35%. 75% of the farmer population is having less than two acres. So these new products coming up in the industry are big challenges. Also finding skilled labour to operate these technology driven products like power weeders, brush cutters, and water pumps or earth augers. If we employ a labour who charges Rs. 500 to 800 a day to dig pits can maximum dig between 6 to 7 pits. But with simple earth auger, a person can do 30 to 50 pits a day depending on the soil, and size of the pit can be good. The person becomes more productive when he uses these products. Departments across the states are educating the farmers. We are educating farmers through online platforms, exhibitions, melas, and Common Service Centres. We are tied up with various initiatives the other companies are doing, such as Better Life Farming project, and FPOs. We explain to them the benefits of using our products. Initially the products were designed for other countries, but now STIHL are doing R and D in India. For example, coffee harvesting is very laborious as we have to pluck every coffee bean and pluck only the ripened cherries. So we have introduced a machine coffee harvester used in Brazil, Vietnam, and a few more countries in Africa. When we brought it in India, we found that what two persons would take to pluck berries from one tree in 10 minutes, the machine could do it in 2 minutes. All these show that mechanisation is the need of the hour, and farmers are highly benefited by these.
How about technical support and maintenance service to your product users?
We provide a user manual along with the product so that basic troubleshooting can be done by referring to the manual. We also through our YouTube channel show how to maintain the machines and how often to service them. Our authorised dealer will explain the details, show how the machines are operated, and give basic tips on how to ensure the improved product life. We offer two free services, and post that we have spare parts assurance for our customers for 10 years. If you buy STIHL products, you need not worry about service, we provide that assurance too.
Can battery operated chainsaws effectively handle the tasks commonly encountered in Agri settings such as pruning, felling small trees or cutting firewood? What are the precautions farmers should take when using brush cutters?
WE have small GTA machines for continuous operations up to 25 minutes and MSA 200 which are liked by many and are as good as petrol chainsaw. We recommend to use safety goggles that the companies provide. They will be useful in case of stones which if the machines running at 8 to 11 thousand rpm of speed hit can fly anywhere. They should also use the safety guard on machines given the companies regularly. They can also use hand gloves so that they can withstand the vibration, ear plugs or mufflers to tackle noise effect.
Are there different paddy harvester models optimised for different types of rice cultivation methods such as flooded fields or dryland cultivation? What are the financial incentives support programs available for farmers to invest in advanced agro machinery?
We have currently only paddy multi row crops operation, but there are other companies like VST who have different models. We get paddy weeders nowadays with different rows of paddy. Many governments are offering subsidies. We know the constraints of farmers, and if subsidy is not available, we are offering our products through EMI purchase, and we are flexible in terms of payment structures. There is also a credit facility available to the farmers through NABARD and government organisations. We help them when they find it difficult to purchase machines. When the products are within Rs. 50 thousand, farmers do not feel the pinch these days. There are price sensitive markets, and they come with added advantages such as government subsidies, credit facilities available through third party banks, NBFCs, and local dealers. Definitely there are credit facilities nowadays. Many also buy online, and so these online partners are providing the credit facility depending on the user credit score.
Sanjay Varma
Email : sanjay.varma@stihlindia.com
Phone : 9482831672
We are developing products for various sectors such as agriculture, forestry, horticulture, landscaping, and cleaning. We are world number one in producing chainsaws which are used for pruning trees, cutting trees, and maintaining them. Whenever there is a natural calamity, our chainsaws are used across the globe, and our main revenue is from this product segment. Our chainsaws range from MS 170 1.8 hp and MS 661 7 hp, and MS 880 8.7 hp. Farmers who have plantations and horticulture crops use our products. The semi-professional ones in the range of 2.5 hp and professional chainsaws are used by professional loggers in Uttarakhand, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. Furniture makers find our chainsaws very useful, and also forestry department use these products to remove fallen trees during natural calamities. We offer one year standard warranty for our products which use petrol or gasoline. We have electrical chainsaws models MSE 141 and MSE 170 apart from ones that are battery operated. The limitation with the battery operated ones is the run time which is 45 minutes. When people are keen about less noise and less pollution, they prefer our chainsaws. All these chainsaws are made in Switzerland, and we have technically superior chainsaws compared to our competitors. The various types of chainsaws are picco micro, rapid micro, picco super, rapid super, and picco micro mini. The two components are guide bars and chains for various purposes.
Brush cutters are very handy, and we offer a huge range of products from 1 hp up to FS 460 3 hp professional model. The brush cutters have 3 main components. Engine is a very important part as we are conscious about mileage. Our engines are fuel efficient, environment friendly, less noise, and less pollution. Though the cost is slightly high, we benefit in the long run by buying such a quality product. We should always consider serviceability when we buy a product. Many of our customers have opined that they have visited our showrooms very less number of times for service. The machines will last longer if it is maintained and serviced properly. Cost of spare parts is an important aspect. We should buy only genuine ones even if slightly costly to get more life of the machines. Up to 2 acres, we can go for FS 55 2 hp, and if it is more than 2 acres, we have to look for higher hp brush cutter. Post-monsoon, the usage of brush cutters will be high. We have many people using the machine almost for 12 hours, and we recommend professional range of brush cutters for them which comes with antivibration system. We do not feel the vibration, and they are used to remove weeds, maintain grass, removing the thick vegetation. These are petrol operated. We have backpack brush cutters also operated by both electricity and battery. The different attachments are two teeth grass blade, auto cut with moving head with nylon thread used for removing weeds regularly. In case of thick vegetation it is better to for brush knife or 4 teeth grass cutting blade. For cutting down small branches, vines, and twigs, circular saw blade is idea.
Paddy weeder is used to remove weeds in between the paddy rows. We can use this for crops other than paddy too. Pick tines and bolo tines are used in small farms where vegetable and intercrop cultivation is done to remove weeds. The soil is churned to help in crop growth and when weeds are removed. Our power weeders are light in weight, low vibration, and easy to operate for women farmers too. The three categories in this segment are BC 230 2 HP, MN 610 and MN 710 which is very powerful. The difference among them is the area that weeding and intercropping to be done. BC 230 is quite handy and easy to manoeuvre, easy to carry too. The top end model MN 710 7 hp is quite robust and powerful with Euro 5 engine. Its advantages are less pollution, less emission, and less vibration.
Along with power weeder there are a few accessories such as ridger adjustable particularly for cutting land, loosening soil, opening pores for water flow for row crops such as sugarcane, potato, chilly, tobacco, and banana. Ploughing attachment turns and breaks up soil to bury crop residues, cut loose the soil, control the weeds, and bring new nutrition to the soil. Cage wheel is another attachment. When we use regular tyre, the machine may slip in wet soil. The cage wheel is used for traction in such soils to provide floating effect. Deep tines are used when the soil is very hard, has stones, and we go for this to break the stones. Bracket and puddling wheel are other attachments.
Water pumps are used since many parts of India get scanty rainfall. The water pump helps in drawing water from wells, rivers, and canals to pass on to the fields. A small farmer can use 1.5 inch 2 hp pump with discharge of 250 litres per minute and delivery head 27 metres. It is easy to carry as it weighs 11 kgs. This is very helpful in hilly terrains where they need to draw water to a particular height. We have 3 models in this WP 300, WP 600, and WP 900 which help in less pollution and less sound. WP 900 is mainly used for industrial purposes and municipal corporation. They help in removing the water logging. Our engine is 6 hp to give robust performance and heavy duty output.
Handled blowers are used nowadays to do landscaping in their houses. We have different blowers petrol, or battery, or electrically operated models. The forest department uses the blowers to douse fire if it is within an area of 300 to 500 sq. Ft. While laying new roads, these are used to remove dust. Mist blowers belong to the same segment helpful for vineyards and pomegranate growers. They can be used to spray insecticide, pesticide and chemicals. The difference between regular sprayers and mist blowers is the droplet size and adjustable nozzle to adjust the discharge. SF 450 is easy to spray and dusting, and it is a two in one model, and by twisting the tank we can easily interchange the application from spraying to dusting. Portable sprayer is a handy sprayer, but farmers have expressed that they are improving product portfolio. We are coming up with many new products which are fuel efficient and user friendly. We have also very good vacuum cleaners, and our earth auger to dig pits.
What are the latest advancements in agro-machinery, and how can they benefit farmers and Agri-entrepreneurs?
I suggest that you should go for quality driven product which has less impact on environmental pollution and ensure serviceability. Many companies have switched to higher capacity engines, talking about less carbon emissions. We are also moving from old engines to the ones that are fuel efficient, less pollution, and environment friendly and taking care of carbon footprint in gasoline engines. We find lot of enthusiasm about battery products, but the reason why it is not picking up greatly is the price aspect. We have promising new technology driven products, but the price is the bottleneck which is why many farmers are not switching to this. There is a shift going on in the industry with lot of technological advancement. So farmers should opt for a product which is long lasting, robust, versatile, user-friendly, and not expensive too.
Can you provide examples of specific agro machines that have transformed the traditional farming practices?
Farmers are moving on from manual machines, such as from handsaw blade to brush cutter. We see that in India, mechanisation is mainly use of tractors. But other traditional hand tools such as sickles, pruners, or shears are not getting mechanised. These manual tools are time consuming and not productive. While America, Europe, and China have high percentage of mechanisation, India is still at 35%. 75% of the farmer population is having less than two acres. So these new products coming up in the industry are big challenges. Also finding skilled labour to operate these technology driven products like power weeders, brush cutters, and water pumps or earth augers. If we employ a labour who charges Rs. 500 to 800 a day to dig pits can maximum dig between 6 to 7 pits. But with simple earth auger, a person can do 30 to 50 pits a day depending on the soil, and size of the pit can be good. The person becomes more productive when he uses these products. Departments across the states are educating the farmers. We are educating farmers through online platforms, exhibitions, melas, and Common Service Centres. We are tied up with various initiatives the other companies are doing, such as Better Life Farming project, and FPOs. We explain to them the benefits of using our products. Initially the products were designed for other countries, but now STIHL are doing R and D in India. For example, coffee harvesting is very laborious as we have to pluck every coffee bean and pluck only the ripened cherries. So we have introduced a machine coffee harvester used in Brazil, Vietnam, and a few more countries in Africa. When we brought it in India, we found that what two persons would take to pluck berries from one tree in 10 minutes, the machine could do it in 2 minutes. All these show that mechanisation is the need of the hour, and farmers are highly benefited by these.
How about technical support and maintenance service to your product users?
We provide a user manual along with the product so that basic troubleshooting can be done by referring to the manual. We also through our YouTube channel show how to maintain the machines and how often to service them. Our authorised dealer will explain the details, show how the machines are operated, and give basic tips on how to ensure the improved product life. We offer two free services, and post that we have spare parts assurance for our customers for 10 years. If you buy STIHL products, you need not worry about service, we provide that assurance too.
Can battery operated chainsaws effectively handle the tasks commonly encountered in Agri settings such as pruning, felling small trees or cutting firewood? What are the precautions farmers should take when using brush cutters?
WE have small GTA machines for continuous operations up to 25 minutes and MSA 200 which are liked by many and are as good as petrol chainsaw. We recommend to use safety goggles that the companies provide. They will be useful in case of stones which if the machines running at 8 to 11 thousand rpm of speed hit can fly anywhere. They should also use the safety guard on machines given the companies regularly. They can also use hand gloves so that they can withstand the vibration, ear plugs or mufflers to tackle noise effect.
Are there different paddy harvester models optimised for different types of rice cultivation methods such as flooded fields or dryland cultivation? What are the financial incentives support programs available for farmers to invest in advanced agro machinery?
We have currently only paddy multi row crops operation, but there are other companies like VST who have different models. We get paddy weeders nowadays with different rows of paddy. Many governments are offering subsidies. We know the constraints of farmers, and if subsidy is not available, we are offering our products through EMI purchase, and we are flexible in terms of payment structures. There is also a credit facility available to the farmers through NABARD and government organisations. We help them when they find it difficult to purchase machines. When the products are within Rs. 50 thousand, farmers do not feel the pinch these days. There are price sensitive markets, and they come with added advantages such as government subsidies, credit facilities available through third party banks, NBFCs, and local dealers. Definitely there are credit facilities nowadays. Many also buy online, and so these online partners are providing the credit facility depending on the user credit score.
Sanjay Varma
Email : sanjay.varma@stihlindia.com
Phone : 9482831672