Farm machinery rental

About the business

Buying a combine harvester, reaper, rice transplanter or power tiller and hiring it out on farmers' land. The arithmetic of this business is the subsidy. Under the government's farm mechanisation project the state was to pay 50 percent on the plains and up to 70 percent in the haor, against a target of 51,300 machines of twelve types, of which about 40,000 were delivered. But the subsidy has been suspended since June 2024 over irregularity allegations, and machinery sales have fallen 80 to 90 percent. A combine harvester now costs Tk 30-40 lakh; with the subsidy running it would be Tk 15-20 lakh on the plains and Tk 9-12 lakh in the haor. That difference decides whether the business happens at all. As for the rate: in May 2026 the Upazila Agriculture Officer in Katiadi, Kishoreganj fixed a maximum of Tk 2,500 a bigha, and although 27 harvesters were working in the upazila, demand was such that machines had to be brought in from neighbouring districts, because a farm labourer costs Tk 1,300 a day and two maunds of paddy were no longer enough to hire one. A machine cuts about an acre an hour, and about three acres a day in practice. Recovering a Tk 30 lakh machine takes 1,200 bighas of cutting, and the Boro season lasts about a month. The business therefore lives on how much land you can book in one season, and an idle machine is a loss.

Unit economics

What you need to start

• A truck or trolley to move the machine between plots and districts, plus a stock of spare parts for the season.Equipment
• A combine harvester, Tk 30-40 lakh (2025). Reapers, rice transplanters, seeders and power threshers are also covered by the project, but their prices could not be verified here.Equipment
• Trade licence from the union parishad, municipality or city corporation: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000 by trade type.Licence
• Application to the upazila agriculture office for the farm mechanisation subsidy - 50 percent on the plains, up to 70 percent in the haor. The subsidy has been suspended since June 2024 over irregularity allegations, so confirm at the office whether it is running before applying.Licence
• A skilled operator. One machine gave work to six people including the driver. Without a company-trained operator the machine breaks more and leaves paddy in the field.Skill
• A service centre and parts dealer for that brand in your own district, plus a reliable diesel supply.Supplier
• A roofed place to keep the machine out of season. Six months in the open shortens its life fast.Workspace

How the work is done

1. 1Count how much paddy land there is in your area and how many machines already work it. An upazila like Katiadi had 27 machines and still could not meet demand, while elsewhere two machines fill the market.
2. 2Go to the upazila agriculture office and find out whether the machinery subsidy is running now, and whether your area counts as haor.
3. 3If the subsidy is running, apply - 50 percent on the plains, up to 70 percent in the haor. A Tk 30 lakh machine can come to Tk 9 lakh in the haor, and that difference is what makes the business work.
4. 4Before choosing a brand, check whether that company has a service centre and spare parts in your district. A breakdown mid-season that takes more than three days to fix costs the season.
5. 5Take the trade licence from the union parishad or municipality, and arrange the truck or trolley to move the machine.
6. 6Hire a skilled operator and learn to run it yourself. In untrained hands the machine breaks more often and paddy is left in the field.
7. 7Book land before the season starts. Write down whose paddy ripens when and plan the days around it - a day idle is more than a thousand taka lost.
8. 8Check first whether the upazila agriculture office has fixed the rate. Katiadi capped it at Tk 2,500 a bigha and there were complaints of operators charging more.
9. 9Take the money as the cutting is done, especially from sharecroppers. 'After I sell the paddy' can mean the money never comes even when the season ends.
10. 10After Boro, take the machine to another district. Paddy ripens earlier in the haor and later in the north, and that gap lets one machine work two or three areas.
11. 11At season's end wash the machine, oil it, cover it, and service it before the next season. The biggest bills come from starting a machine that sat for six months.

Sources

• সিটি কর্পোরেশন থেকে ট্রেড লাইসেন্স প্রাপ্তির ধাপ সমূহ

  Collected: 16 Sept 2026

  Supports: Starting capital · বাংলাদেশ

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