Agriculture equipment companies are slowly realising the importance of involving farmers in gaining mindshare before thinking of acquiring marketshare. More so when they happen to be global players. Lemken India Agro Equipment, the wholly-owned subsidiary of German manufacturer Lemken GmbH, has decided that seeking feedback before bringing equipment into new markets such as India will help them bring products relevant to the market.
Arvind Kumar, MD & CEO of the company, says the challenge has to be to change the mindset of Indian farmers. “We have realised that merely promoting farm mechanisation is not enough. Crop specific solutions are needed. To this end, a recent pilot in Punjab bringing together 5 German companies along with the German government to improve potato productivity in Punjab has been a huge success.”
The 85-day pilot project, which was run in Punjab, yielded 15% improvement in productivity with uniform potato sizes. Called the ‘Field Day Potato’, the entire value chain of the potato included subjects from soil preparation, plant protection and fertilization, planting and harvesting to the potato processing industry showcased by Indian and German partners. This has beena huge success and we are seriously considering replicating this model in Gujarat and Western Uttar Pradesh, Kumar said.
After having tested four products in different parts of India, the company has brought out two new products of Opal 090 Hydraulic reversible plough based on German technology to farmers and contractors in the country. The parent company has around 100 products in its portfolio. Lemken, however, has decided to remain focused on pre-harvesting and soil bed solutions in India, he said. The company showcased its two new products — Power Harrow – Perlite 5 and Tine Cultivator – Achat 70 — at the India’s largest agri show Kisan Exhibition recently held in Pune.
“There is an increased focus on the agriculture sector; with the need to address land productivity issues and the shrinking size of agricultural land, technological upgradation and better equipment is the only way forward. Lemken plans to focus on key markets like Haryana, Punjab, western Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and southern India.
We will be working closely with farmers to help them meet the growing demand and at the same time expose Indian farmers to more modern technologies and equipment, Kumar said. He admitted that farmers in India are finding difficult to buy the Lemken equipment which are normally priced twice as much as local machines. The agri equipment market in the country is unorganised with a total size of about R3,000 crore. The Lemken facility in Nagpur with 3,000 units per annum capacity has produced more than 1000 units of equipment till now. It intends to produce more than 2000 units by 2015 for the domestic market and globally and hopes to achieve an annual sales turnover of around Rs 100 crore. in the next three -four years’ time. The facility has the capacity to manufacture 3,000 units a year and is functioning at 40% capacity this year.
With the two new products the plant should be functioning at 70% capacity this year onwards. Commercial production is slated to begin from January onwards and the products will be available through the 20 odd dealerships.
“We see big growth potential in the years to come not only in India but other export countries around India including Africa. However non-availability of credit facility, price sensitivity, right subsidies and institutional support are barriers for implement manufacturers who want to introduce matching equipment and technology implements in India.” Kumar said.