Energy in farming: Value chain
From fertiliser plants to 20 million Indian pump sets
What this tab covers Who does what, from equipment makers to builders, owners, operators, traders and users, with the leading companies at each step.Farm energy flows through fuel and fertiliser suppliers, machinery and pump makers, dealers and government schemes to millions of small farmers. In India, about 20 million electric pump sets used about 18% of the nation's electricity (2016 estimate).
The chain
Energy and fertiliser supply Machinery and pump makers Programmes and energy service companies Farmers (users) Food processors and the wider agrifood chain| Stage | What happens | Leading companies |
|---|---|---|
| Energy and fertiliser supply | Diesel, grid electricity and nitrogen fertiliser. Just under 70% of the world's ammonia goes into fertiliser. | 4 |
| Machinery and pump makers | Tractors, harvesters, irrigation pumps and solar pump systems. The largest farm machinery makers by revenue (2022) are listed first; Mahindra describes itself as the largest tractor maker by volume. | Deere and Company (United States) CNH Industrial (United Kingdom and Italy) Kubota (Japan) AGCO (United States) CLAAS (Germany) Mahindra and Mahindra (India)1314 |
| Programmes and energy service companies | Government agencies that replace old pumps and subsidise solar pumps. EESL's agricultural programme saved about 30% at a Maharashtra pilot and up to 37% in Karnataka. | EESL (India) State electricity distribution companies (India)67 |
| Farmers (users) | Crop and livestock producers. Agriculture used 2.5% of world final energy in 2022; 30.7% of that was electricity and 17.8% renewable. | 2 |
| Food processors and the wider agrifood chain | About 70% of all agrifood energy is used after the farm gate, in processing, transport, storage, retail and cooking. | 1 |
Sources
- Energy: facts and figures FAO, 2025
- Renewables 2025 Global Status Report: Agriculture REN21, 2025
- Ammonia Technology Roadmap IEA, 2021
- Adding value: improving the cost economics and energy efficiency of pumps Indian Infrastructure, 2021
- EESL replaces existing inefficient agricultural pump sets with BEE star rated efficient pumps Energetica India, 2017
- Revenue of major farm machinery manufacturers worldwide, FY2022 Statista, 2023
- Mahindra Farm Equipment Business surpasses production milestone of 70 lakh tractors (company press release) Mahindra and Mahindra, 2026