Appropriate Mechanization of small farms in India: Current status and learning from other countriesPresented by : Sandeep Pawar

(143350016)

Guided by : Prof. N. G. Shah

CTARA DEPARTMENT

Introduction• India: an agrarian economy though the share in GDP is low and decreasing

• Main challenge Increasing food production to feed the growing population

• Past experience: Green Revolution (Late sixties)

• Mechanization obvious choice

• Mechanization : Both positive and negative effects especially for small farms

Solution could be – APPROPRIATE MECHANIZATION

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Indian Agriculture: Current status• Land area: ~2.4% of the world• Population: ~17% of the world• Water available : ~4.2% of the world• Second largest agricultural land employing

nearly 52% of its workforce (~250 million workers)

DIVERSITY• Major 15 climates in the world• 46 out of 60 soil types available

CAPABLE of producing most of the food and horticulture crops in the world

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Indian Agriculture: Current status

INDIA: high in production, low in productivity

Item 1960 1980 2000 2010

Irrigated area (percent) 19 28 34 35

Cropping intensity 1.15 1.23 1.33 1.39

Fertilizer use (kg/ha) 2 39 125 150

Grain yield (kg/ha) 700 1 000 1 600 1 900

Tractors (thousands) 37 531 2 600 4 000

Area per tractor (ha) 3 600 260 55 36

Power tillers (thousand) 0 16 100 200

Draft animals (million) 80.4 73.4 60.3 50

4Source: FAO (2011)

Small land holdings and mechanization

62.319

11.85.51

2001

Marginal (<1ha)

Small (1-2 ha)

Semi-medium (2-4 ha)

Medium (4-10 ha)

Large (>10 ha)

Category Percentage Area

1991 2001

Marginal (<1ha) 15 18.7

Small (1-2 ha) 17.4 20.2

Semi-medium (2-4 ha) 23.2 24

Medium (4-10 ha) 27.1 24

Large (>10 ha) 17.3 13.2Average land holding1.33ha (2001)1.57ha (1991)2.28ha (1971)5

Source: FAO (2011)

Small land holdings and mechanization

MECHANIZATION Application of principles of engineering and technology for performing different agricultural operations in a better way so as to increase the crop yield and reduce human drudgery.

Barriers to small scale mechanization:

• Small farm size• Lack of information and knowledge• Resistance to change/risk• Lack of training• Lack of appropriate machines• Tariff difference on machines and spare parts

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Agricultural Mechanization • OBJECTIVES:

• Increasing labour productivity• Increasing land productivity• Decreasing costs of production

• Farm power

• 2011 1.68 kW/ha• Mission 2 kW/ha

1981-82 2005-06 2011-12

10.925.77 5.09

27.23

8.026.37

19.95

46.751.08

41.57 41.1237.46

Contribution of different power sources in India

Agri. Worker % Draught Animals %Tractor % Stationary Engine %

7 Source: FAO (2011)

Agricultural Mechanization OTHER SIDE OF MECHANIZATION

Arguments against mechanization

• Underutilization and depreciation of machinery

• Low purchasing power of small farmers

• Unemployment of unskilled workers

• Farm to adjust with machinery

• Maintenance issues

• Soil fertility losses

• Accidents because of lack of knowledge and safety measures8

Measuring degree of mechanization Mechanization Index--> Ratio of cost of use of machinery in

the farm to the total machinery and animate cost.

Crops Average cost of production

(INR/ha)

Component of the cost of cultivation (INR/ha) Mechanization

Index %

Manual Animal Machinery

Paddy 13084 4503 929 490 8.27

Wheat 12523 2926 454 1379 28.99

Sorghum 5247 2176 851 271 8.22

9Source: Gyanendra Singh, (2005).

Appropriate Mechanization • It refers to the level of mechanization and how it is used

for a specific situation.

• Appropriateness can only be determined after carefully considering the technical, economic and social characteristics of each situation.

• Choice of machinery and the degree of mechanization is the most crucial and critical part

• Morawetz (1974), defined appropriate technology as the “set of techniques which makes optimum use of available resources in a given environment”

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Case study findings(1/2)

• Aggarwal (1983):The study revealed that for ploughing and sowing the use of tractors instead of bullocks did not add to the yield of high yielding varieties of wheat. It appeared that the advantage of timeliness of operation of a tractor was nominal, when the crop proceeding to wheat could be harvested and threshed sufficiently in advance and the land could be released for timely wheat ploughing and sowing even on bullock farms.

• Motilal (1971): Yield increased for higher mechanization, however it is to be noted that tractor farms used 35% more fertilizer, so the credit of increase could not be entirely, attributed to tractors.

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Case study findings(2/2)

• Pathak et al. (1978):

The average cropping intensity with fodder crop was reported to be higher for bullock farms than that on tractor farms. However the cropping intensity withoutfodder crop was comparatively higher for tractor farms.

• Rao and Singh (1964):

“Tractorization in Kanjhawala Block in Delhi Territory” had showed that both tractoras well as non-tractor farms had on an average 8.2 persons per farm and the labourforce at their disposal was neither surplus nor inadequate. • A report presented by GIPE, Poona (1967) concluded that- by facilitating more intensivecultivation tractorization generated greater demand for labour. Thus, there was nosignificant displacement of human labour after tractorization.

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Learning from other countries(1/2)

USA, Thailand : High area, low laboursInvest in mechanizationin terms of productivity of labours, low-input extensive farming systems are often more productive than high-input intensive farming systems

Bangladesh: Low land, high laboursMore emphasis on raising land productivityComplementary mechanization technology like water pumps, pesticide applicators

Malaysia: Unavailability of machinery to increase labour productivityDisplacement of labours to other sectionsIdle land and thus waste of resource

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Learning from other countries(2/2)

Korea and China: Low area, low laboursCombination of labour saving mechanization along with biological and chemical technologies so as to achieve high productivity of both labour and land.

Japan and Korea: Small land holdingAdaption to other supplementary activities which help them to growOvercrowding of population in agriculture sector is often avoided by absorbing additional labour force in rural agriculture sector in non-agriculture sector.

Thailand : Custom hiring of tractors

High R&D in agriculture Developed agriculture0.4% for low income countries, 2% for middle income and 2.5% for high income countries14

CONCLUSION

•The factors that played active role in success of Green Revolution often forget mechanization as one of its inputs.

•Every coin has two sides and so as agricultural mechanization

•The productivity growth often comes with mechanization, improved seeds and fertilizers, irrigation facilities so; calculating the effects only because of mechanization is very difficult

•Mechanization enhances labour productivity and reduces human drudgery. Mechanization doesn’t have significant affect on labour unemployment.

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CONCLUSION •Mechanization often increases cropping intensity but

adaptation to mechanization can restrict the mode of farming.

•Farm power usually increases productivity, and mechanization deals with more and more farm power. Government is encouraging this by providing credits and subsidies to farm machineries in India.

•Finally, for adapting appropriate mechanization- “there are no absolute and generic guideline for transferring mechanization technology, nor is there a definite set of strategies to promote the adoption of agricultural machines”16

References• A G Rijk, (1989). Agriculture Mechanization Strategy, Study, Asian Productivity

Organization, Tokyo, pp.1-17• FFTC Annual Report 2005• Gyanendra Singh, (2005). Estimation of Mechanization Index and its Impacts

on Production and Economic Factors- a Case Study in India. Biosystems Engineering (2006) pp. 99-106

• Joginder Singh, (2005). Scope, Progress and Constraints of Farm Mechanization in India, Study, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana pp. 48-56

• Mechanization for Rural Development: A review of patterns and progress from around the world, FAO 2011, Vol. 20-2013

• S.D.Kulkarni, (2010). Mechanization of Agriculture – Indian Scenario, Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering (CIAE)

• S R Verma, (2005). Impact of Agricultural Mechanization on Production, Productivity, Cropping Intensity Income Generation and Employment of Labour, Study, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana pp. 133-153

References• A.G. Rijk (1983), The role of farm mechanization in developing

countries: experiences in Asian countries, Small farm equipments for developing countries, pp. 3-23

• R.W. Herdt (1986) mechanization of rice production in developing asian countries: perspective, evidence, and issues, Consequences of small-farm mechanization, International Rice Research Institute and Agricultural Development Council, pp. 1-15

• Segun R. Bello (2012), Concepts of Agricultural Mechanization, Agriculture Machinery and Mechanization, DPS Dominion Publishing Services, pp 1-21

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