Mahindra and Mahindra has highlighted negative farm sentiments in the industry, with the company’s profit after tax in the farm sector down 4 per cent at Rs 898 crore in the third quarter of the fiscal.

The revenue from the segment remained flattish at Rs 8,600 crore for the quarter.

The company’s tractor sales also fell. It sold 1 lakh tractors in the quarter compared with 1.04 lakh units a year ago, a degrowth of 4 per cent.

Sales in the first nine months stood at 3.03 lakh units compared with 3.14 lakh units a year ago.

“The industry is going through negative farm sentiments,” Rajesh Jejurikar, ED and CEO of the farm and auto sector, Mahindra and Mahindra said.

The government spending on agriculture and rural development remained weak in the third quarter, while erratic temporal distribution of rainfall impacted kharif output.

Negative farm sentiments are also seen in the slow progress of rabi sowing. Mandi arrivals of kharif crop remained weak, indicating broad-based lower output though there were positive signs on farm profitability.

Higher mandi prices of key crops and declining farm input inflation positively impacted profitability.

Farm wage growth during July-October was higher than non-farm wage growth indicating growth in farm income.

“We increased tractor market share even as the tractor industry contracted on the back of last year’s high base, weather vagaries and lower reservoir levels,” said Rajesh Jejurikar, executive director and CEO of farm and auto sector, Mahindra and Mahindra.

"The country is split by way of what's happening in the farm sector. While states such as Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat showed faster growth, down south, states such as Maharashtra and Telangana posted double-digit degrowth," Jejurikar said.

When asked if the performance in the farm sector was because elections were due, he said: "There is little correlation between elections and tractors."