Sale-purchase of old tractors ---Farmers catching up with tricks of the trade

Sale-purchase of old tractors
Farmers catching up with tricks of the trade
Rajay Deep
Tribune News Service

Talwandi Sabo (Bathinda), February 6
Is it the depleting water table, power crisis or the rising debt that farmers of this region are on a tractor selling spree?
This is what all those who visit the second-hand tractor market for the first time want to know. Though of all these three reasons have been there for a long time, a change in the approach of the farmers has set this market abuzz.
Gone are the days when the selling of a tractor was considered as a bad sign in the villages of Malwa. Now, farmers, who were being treated as illiterate and naïve, have also developed a knack for trading (business). They have become so calculative that by sale and purchase of their tractors, they are earning a good income.
Once they feel that the requirement of the vehicle was over in the field, they do not hesitate to bring it to the market and put it on sale with a price tag of their choice. And, after a few months, sensing the requirement for a tractor in the coming season, they again go to the market and purchase one of their choice.
This approach of the farmers has now overshadowed all reasons of the past — payment of the loan to ‘arhtiya’ or the bank, marriage of a daughter or son, financial crisis due to crop damage, emergency domestic expenditure, etc — that used to lead to the sale of tractors.
During a recent visit to the second-hand tractor market at Talwandi Sabo, this reporter observed that every farmer selling his tractor was not a victim of circumstances but a majority of them were those who had either tasted or want to taste the nuances of the sale-purchase cycle.
One Balvir Singh of Sardoolgarh (Mansa), who was sitting on his tractor (Farmtrac), said, “Earlier, one used to love his tractor like a son but with the passage of time, we have understood that it is only a machine that can be purchased any time. So, why block money for no reason? If I get good value for this tractor, I will sell it and purchase another whenever I feel a requirement.”
He was not a lone farmer who had come to the market with such an approach. There were many others, including those who were carrying small bags in their hands and looking for tractors to purchase.
A sexagenarian Narottam Singh of Bajakhana (Faridkot), said, “I had sold my tractor a few weeks ago at a good price. Now, I need it and I have come here to buy one. With my experience of sale-purchase of four tractors, I am sure I will strike a good deal.”
One Pushpinder Singh, who seemed to be literate, said, “Finding farming to be a seasonal trade, I have started this side business and earn a good income by trading a tractor every week.”
According to details collected, there are about 70 groups, which collectively hold the tractor market here every Wednesday. They have hired a plot to set up the market and charge a commission of one per cent on the value of tractor from both the parties (seller as well as buyer).
It may be mentioned that the other three markets dealing in second-hand tractors, set up at Moga, Barnala and Malout, are also famous in the region.
The trend of going for a used tractor has been causing noticeable damage to the entrepreneurs running the showroom or agency of new tractors, as farmers get a variety of tractors at cheaper prices here.