Goa-based Powerland Agro Tractor Vehicles Private Limited will officially roll out a first-of-its-kind farm tractor in October this year, a company official has said.
The company, currently operating from its temporary plant at Verna Industrial Estate, yesterday officially launched the tractor, which is a modern version of the traditional farm tractor with four-wheel drive, 800cc v-twin liquid cooled engine, and features like disc brakes.
"From October onwards, our production target is 50 units per month. We have already started negotiation for appointment of dealers in Maharashtra while we will retain Goa market. Our target is 1,000 units in 2017 in Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka," company founder Narayan P Naik told reporters.
He said the company has already invested Rs two crore in research and development and prototyping of this product which he claimed is an "entirely new idea for India".
"We are in the process of setting up production facility at Kudal in Maharashtra at an investment of Rs 20 crore," he said.
Naik, who has 35 years of experience in plastic industry, ventured into this new avenue to provide solution for the farmers, who are turning their back to the traditional occupation.
"In the recent years, scarcity of labour and animals has become a problem for the farm sector. To overcome this difficulty, in 2014, I along with my sons Jeet and Tej set on a journey to develop a small tractor," he said.
The company, which is currently banking on spares from China for the product, expects the vehicle to be cent per cent indigenous in next three years.
"The vehicle is costing around Rs 3.75 lakh, otherwise this kind of vehicle costs around Rs 7 lakh onwards. We have already taken approval for Bharat stage III for the engine. This engine we have developed to meet the emission norms," he said.
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