Farming has been the backbone of India's economy for generations, but the way it is done has changed beyond recognition. There was a time when a farmer leaned entirely on bullocks, buffaloes and sheer human effort, when every task in the field was settled with sweat alone. Then modernity arrived, and tractors quietly replaced the pair of oxen at the plough. Today the situation is such that just as a crop cannot grow without fertiliser and seed, farm work can scarcely be imagined without a tractor. Its role is now considered every bit as essential as fertiliser and seed themselves.
Easy Today, A Hard Road Back Then
These days the government offers farmers financial help to buy a tractor, which has made the whole process far simpler than it once was. But picture the era when the tractor had only just arrived in the market and very few people owned one — getting hold of it must have been a genuine struggle. To understand that, we need to travel back to 1991. Chandra Shekhar, a farmer in Jehanabad district, still works 22 acres of land and grows every kind of crop on his fields.
Farming Passed Down From His Grandfather
Chandra Shekhar tells TrendKia that farming is nothing new in his family — it has been their livelihood since his grandfather's time. He now runs his household on the same work. Yet he admits with regret that the younger generation has begun to turn away from the fields. Recalling the 1990s, he says farming was then the single biggest source of income. His father felt that working such a large stretch of land with only bullocks and labourers was an extremely difficult task, and that is when the family decided to buy a tractor. A string of questions followed — what does a tractor cost, where are its body parts made, and how does one even obtain it?
The Tractor That Cost Around 2 Lakh
Chandra Shekhar says the story of how the tractor reached his home is fascinating in itself. According to him, the rule at the time was that only farmers who owned more than 22 acres of land could get a tractor. TrendKia does not independently confirm this rule; it is being recorded as narrated by the farmer himself. Chandra Shekhar owned 22 acres and bought a tractor made by HMT. Back then the engine parts cost one lakh 40 thousand rupees, while the body parts and other items, bought and assembled separately, brought the total to roughly 2 lakh rupees. He proudly notes that the tractor is now 35 years old and still in perfectly sound condition — and it is this very machine that keeps his farm work going to this day.
