How can certified testing of agricultural machinery improve farm productivity and farmer welfare?

Certified testing means independent verification of a farm machine's performance and safety against a published standard before it reaches the market. With ICAT, Manesar inaugurating an indigenous Agri Machinery Test Facility in September 2026 [1], such testing has become central to both raising yields and protecting farmers.

Raising farm productivity

• Verified performance: IS 19262:2025, Electric Agricultural Tractors — Test Code, prescribes uniform tests for PTO power, drawbar power and belts/pulleys [2], so a farmer buys on measured output rather than dealer claims.
• Right machine for the right field: comparable test reports let farmers and custom hiring centres select the correct power rating, cutting fuel use and idle capacity.
• Faster technology diffusion: CFMTTI Budni tested India's first electric tractor [3]; certification is what converts a prototype into a sellable, financeable machine.
• Reach: besides the four FMTTIs, 35 institutions under State Agricultural Universities, ICAR and State Governments are authorised to test farm machines [4], widening access beyond large manufacturers.

Advancing farmer welfare

• Safety: CMVR-based type approval, as obtained by NRFMTTI Hisar for agricultural tractors [5], guards against overturning, braking and emission failures that cause rural accidents.
• Consumer protection: NABL-accredited test reports [5] give an objective basis for warranty claims and redress against substandard machinery.
• Sound use of subsidy: linking mechanisation subsidies to tested models protects both public funds and the farmer's own investment.
• Lower operating cost: certified electric machinery reduces diesel dependence and emissions [2].

The caveat Testing capacity is not scarce; duplication across ministries is the risk, and delay is the real barrier — hence the earlier slashing of the time limit for tractor testing [6].

Certification therefore turns machinery from a risky purchase into an assured input, converting mechanisation into measurable yield and income gains. The way forward is mutual recognition of a single test report across the heavy industries and agriculture ministries, accredited labs for the BIS electric-tractor standard, and published turnaround times — making quality infrastructure a genuine enabler of farmer prosperity and SDG-2.