- ‘JFarm Services’ – India’s leading tractor and farm equipment rental platform
- TAFE’s CSR initiative to support small and marginal farmers
- Farmer-to-Farmer model (F2F) – Farmers can offer all brands of tractors and implements on rent
- Aids rural entrepreneurship and generates additional revenue for farmers
TAFE’s ‘JFarm Services’ is a CSR initiative aligned to TAFE’s vision of Cultivating The World to enrich the lives of farmers across India. This initiative was launched across Andhra Pradesh in partnership with the State Government, by Sri. Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy, the Honorable Minister of Agriculture, Horticulture, Sericulture & Agriculture Processing, Government of Andhra Pradesh.
About 86% of the land holdings in Andhra Pradesh are owned by small and marginal farmers, who have limited or no access to farm mechanization. With about 62% of the working population dependent on agriculture as a source of livelihood, there is tremendous potential in the state for growth and increase in productivity through farm mechanization.
TAFE’s JFarm Services aims to increase easy access to farm mechanization solutions through rental of tractors and modern farm equipment to small and marginal farmers, provide localized weather forecast, latest mandi prices, agri-news alerts and advisory, enhancing their productivity and increasing their income significantly.
It facilitates the hiring of tractors and modern farm machinery to farmers free of cost through its Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) rental platform and will be available across all 13 districts in the state. TAFE’s JFarm Services will collaborate with the agricultural development officers of the Andhra Pradesh government to ensure wide outreach and successful roll-out of the platform.
Ms. Mallika Srinivasan, Chairman & CEO – TAFE, said: “India is a land of small farms. A majority of our farmers, almost 85% of them, have no access to farm mechanization which has the potential to improve their yields and income. JFarm Services is a CSR initiative that allows both – farmers offering their tractors and farm equipment on rent, and smaller farmers seeking this service, to benefit directly from the JFarm Services app. It is our aim to touch the lives of millions of farmers across the country.”
The JFarm Services App will connect tractor owners and Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs) operated by tractors and equipment owners directly to farmers seeking farm mechanization solutions, thereby facilitating a fair and transparent rental process while focusing on quality, dependability and timely delivery. JFarm Services offers the farmers and renters a wide range of prospects for hiring and renting of farm equipment and connects them directly to negotiate and fulfil their respective requirement. With this pioneering platform, TAFE brings the benefits of the technology-enabled sharing economy to boost the income of farmers.
Mr. T R Kesavan, President & COO, Product Strategy & Corporate Relations – TAFE, said: “TAFE’s JFarm Services has collaborated with the Government of Andhra Pradesh to launch the JFarm Services App which offers a transparent Farmer-to-Farmer platform, free of any hidden charges or commissions, that enables farmers to rent their existing tractors and implements of any brand to other farmers seeking to hire modern feature-rich agricultural equipment. This initiative will support the state in making farm mechanization available to small and marginal farmers through the shared economy model, to create sustainable agricultural productivity and growth for the state.”
Farmers can hire tractors and equipment via the JFarm Services Android App or by contacting the toll-free helpline 1800-4-200-100 / 1800-208-4242. The App can be used on low-cost Android phones, is designed to run on very little data and can be used in Telugu apart from the various other regional languages. The JFarm Services App is a stellar example of the Digital India initiative, tailored to benefit the Indian agricultural landscape. This service by TAFE will foster digital empowerment of Indian farmers while creating a breed of new rural entrepreneurs and significant job opportunities.
JFarm Services has a presence in states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, and has directly benefitted about 85,000 users resulting in over 405,000 hours in hired farm machinery usage. In a short span of time, JFarm Services has become India’s largest and biggest player in farm equipment aggregation operations.
