Supply of Agriculture Machineries Scheme

What is the Supply of Agriculture Machineries Scheme?

Supply of Agriculture Machineries is a state plan scheme of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Government of Meghalaya. According to the department's scheme page on megagriculture.gov.in, its stated objective is the "Distribution and sale of Agriculture Machineries such as Power Tillers, etc to farmers at subsidized rate", and the entitlement is recorded plainly as a 50% subsidy sale.

Meghalaya has a specific reason for running this scheme. The department's own overview of farm mechanisation notes that mechanisation in the state is "among the least in the country", with farm power availability of only 0.7 kW per hectare against a national average of 2.0 kW per hectare. Holdings are small and scattered, the terrain is hilly, and hired labour has become scarce as younger workers move to towns. A power tiller or a paddy reaper bought at half price changes the economics of a two-acre paddy plot far more than any input subsidy does.

The same overview records what has already been distributed under the state's mechanisation effort: 3,456 power tillers, 575 pump sets, 367 power reapers, 250 rice hullers, 385 winnowers, 518 brush cutters and 57 paddy threshers.

Which machines does the scheme cover?

The farm mechanisation module on megagriculture.gov.in lists the equipment a farmer can apply for:

• Power tiller and mini tractor
• Rotary tiller and power weeder
• Water pump set
• Rice huller and automatic mini rice mill
• Paddy winnower
• Power multi-crop thresher and manually operated paddy thresher
• Paddy reaper
• Self-propelled four-row rice transplanter and manual rice transplanter
• Self-propelled chain saw, brush cutter, post hole digger or augur, and tree pruner
• Ginger and turmeric slicer
• Chaff cutter

The list of items actually on offer changes each financial year with the department's procurement. The portal carries a page where farmers can check the availability of equipment and its price before applying, which is worth opening first so you know the exact amount your 50% share works out to.

Who is eligible for the machinery subsidy?

You can apply if:

• You are a bonafide farmer of Meghalaya engaged in agriculture, which is the only eligibility line the department publishes for this scheme.
• You cultivate land that a field officer can physically inspect. The workflow states that the District Agriculture Officer sends a field officer to verify "the availability of Land and for growing paddy, crops, etc."
• You can pay the farmer's 50% share of the machine price.
• You have a working mobile number, because the software communicates by SMS at every stage.

You cannot apply, or you will not be selected, if:

• You are not a resident cultivator of Meghalaya. The scheme is state-funded and meant for the state's own farmers.
• Your land cannot be verified. A negative field report ends the application, and this is the single most common reason files do not progress.
• You are applying as a trader or dealer rather than a farmer. The scheme is a subsidised sale to cultivators, not a channel for resale.
• You have already received the same machine under this or another mechanisation scheme in a recent year. District offices spread allotments across households because the annual stock is limited.
• The application window for the financial year has closed, or the item you want is out of stock for that year.

Note that eligibility alone does not guarantee a machine. Beneficiaries are selected on a first come, first served basis and allotment is capped by the equipment available for the year.

How to apply for the Supply of Agriculture Machineries Scheme

1. Open the farm mechanisation section of megagriculture.gov.in and check the equipment availability and price page so you know the machine's cost and your 50% share.
2. Download the application form from the farmer's column on the same page, or collect it from your District Agriculture Officer's office.
3. Fill in your name, village, block, the land you cultivate, and the exact machine you want, and attach your identity proof and land document. Give a mobile number you use daily.
4. Submit the application to the District Agriculture Officer. The portal notes that from 2024-25 applications are accepted by the office in online mode only, so confirm the current mode at the DAO office before filing on paper.
5. Be present when the field officer visits to verify your land and crop. This visit is compulsory and the file does not move without the field report.
6. Wait for the DAO to recommend and forward the file to the Directorate of Agriculture, where the Superintending Engineer (Mechanical) scrutinises it and approves the allotment.
7. Collect the allotment order when the SMS arrives, take delivery of the machine, and pay your share.
8. Return to the office with photographs of the machine and its serial number and chassis number so the details can be recorded in the departmental software.

How to apply offline through the block office

Farmers without internet access should go to the Agriculture Development Officer of their Community and Rural Development Block or Agriculture Circle. The department's published route for this scheme is that "Bonafide farmers can apply in plain paper through the nearest Agriculture Development Officer of a CD Block/ Agriculture Circle". The ADO office can also file the online application on your behalf now that the department has moved the farm mechanisation window online.

Keep a photocopy of everything you submit and note the date. Because selection is first come, first served, the date on which your application is received at the district office is what decides your place in the queue.

How do I check my application status?

1. Open the farm mechanisation login page on megagriculture.gov.in.
2. In the farmer's column, click Track your Application Status.
3. Enter the reference details from your acknowledgement.

The department also triggers an SMS at every completed stage, so a change of mobile number mid-process is a practical way to lose track of your own file. If the status has not moved for several weeks, ask the District Agriculture Officer whether the field verification report has been submitted, since that is where most files sit.

Why do machinery applications get rejected?

• Land could not be verified during the field officer's visit, or nobody was present to show the plot.
• Incomplete application — missing identity proof, no land document, or an unreachable mobile number.
• Applied after the window closed. The department opens applications for a financial year and then stops entry; the portal openly displayed that entry for 2023-24 had been stopped and that 2024-25 dates would be announced later.
• Equipment exhausted for the year. An eligible farmer can still miss out simply because the district's allotment of that machine ran out.
• Duplicate or repeat claim by the same household for a machine already received.

A rejection for stock or timing is not permanent. The usual fix is to file again as soon as the next financial year's window opens.

Key dates and the application window

Supply of Agriculture Machineries runs on the financial year cycle, 1 April to 31 March. There is no single national deadline. The department stops accepting entries once the year's allotment is committed and announces fresh dates for the next year on the farm mechanisation portal, which has been live since 15 September 2018. Farmers who want a machine for the kharif paddy season should watch for the window early in the financial year rather than after transplanting has begun.

Where do I complain if something goes wrong?

Raise problems in this order:

1. Agriculture Development Officer of your CD Block or Agriculture Circle.
2. Sub-Divisional Agricultural Officer of your sub-division.
3. District Agriculture Officer of your district.
4. Assistant Agriculture Engineer (Mechanical) of your district or sub-division, for questions about the machine itself, its price, delivery or defects.
5. Directorate of Agriculture, Cleve Colony, Shillong 793003, phone 0364-2222460, email agri-meg[at]nic[dot]in.

No agent or middleman is authorised to charge a fee for arranging an allotment. The farmer pays only the notified 50% share of the machine price, at the office or dealer point the department names in the allotment order.