FEB 511 Agricultural Mechanization EBE

MECHANIZATION – An Over view

INTRODUCTION

The critical state of world food supply and declining food reserves has placed agricultural production in
the fore front of public attention. Food supplies must be increased to meet the requirements of a growing
population and to improve nutritional standards, and all available resources (land, manpower and
technology) must be mobilized for the purpose.

Soil, water, nutrients and solar energy are the basic elements that must be properly managed i.e. brought
together in the correct proportions and at the right time, if agricultural production is to be optimized.
Yields are enhanced by using;
i) Improved varieties of seeds
ii) Adequate amounts of fertilizer and water
iii) Disease and weed control
iv) Effective cultural practices (e.g. weeding and cultivation) and
v) Timely operations

Man (being an intelligent animal) has learned to control and supplement agricultural production inputs
in order to increase yields of food, feed and fibre. He has also developed tools and implements to reduce
the drudgery of his work and increase productivity.

Today, a wide spectrum of farming methods is to be found in different countries, along with great
variations in land and labour productivity and in power and other inputs. Each country has its own
unique set of conditions (natural resources, social, economic and political factors). Without question,
every country hopes to develop and improve the living standard of its people and specialists from many
disciplines work together to devise national plans and policies to enhance the process of development.

Note: Each country has certain latitude in choosing a level of mechanization suited to its conditions,
but increased energy prices make selectivity and efficiency in mechanization more important than ever
before.

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Definitions:
Mechanization: Encompasses the use of hand tools and animal drawn implements as well as motorized
equipment to reduce human effort, to perform certain farming operations that cannot be accomplished
by other means or within the time available and to improve the quality of others. I.e. A means of
enhancing human inputs for performing operations for or in production.
Technology: (Tech-craft, nology - creative). Systematic knowledge and its application to industrial
processes closely related to Engineering and Science i.e. Technical knowledge and practice.
Appropriate Technology: Technology that is socially acceptable (SA), economically viable (EV) and
technically feasible (TF) i.e. technology applicable to the poor as well as the rich, developed and
developing countries all for human race survival as an entity.

Note: TF - Considers power supply, field performance, labour supply and

infrastructural support.
SA - Considers socio-economic (literacy) and cultural aspects i.e. lifestyle and labour
division, local faith, use of child labour and gender issues.
EV - considers cost, timeliness, C/B ratio, industrial back-up, credit
availability etc.

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THE ROLE OF MECHANIZATION IN AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

Problems and Justification
Numerous authors have discussed the pros and cons of mechanization. Among the arguments,
commonly used by its detractors are the following;
i) Land and capital are scarce, while labour is abundant and inexpensive.
ii) Holdings are fragmented and inaccessible to mechanization equipment
iii) Agriculture should serve as a ‘sponge’ to soak up excess labour.
iv) While mechanization increases yields per unit of labour, it may not increase yield per unit of
land.
v) Mechanization encourages large farms to grow larger
vi) Mechanization ignores social problems.
vii) The possibility of bringing new land under cultivation (which might provide a justification
of mechanization) is in fact limited.
viii) Where it is more profitable to mechanize than to employ labour, it is because the private cost
does not reflect the social cost.

Note: These points are sobering and not to be taken lightly.

Mechanization is not an all-or nothing process. One can select appropriate machines to:-
Overcome bottlenecks
Remove the greatest drudgery and reduce stress

Relieve labour peaks

Do the job faster when the weather or crop characteristics so dictate.

Achieve efficiency of operation

Note: The use of manufactured tools, implements and machines, combined with irrigation, multiple
cropping, high-yield varieties and fertilisers, may actually increase the total labour requirements on
already cultivated land and mechanization facilitates bringing new land under cultivation.

Besides, a considerable number of jobs may be created indirectly in the manufacture, distribution,
maintenance and repair of agricultural equipment. Where tractors replace animals, land used to
produce forage may be used for critically needed human food levels and types of improved

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mechanization must be developed and promoted which are compatible with local economic, social and
agronomic conditions.
Note: Although tractor mechanization is essential to some areas and will continue to expand, animal
draft power and hand tools should not be neglected.

Consider the table below;

Number of hectares cultivated by various mechanization schemes in Kenya smallholder agriculture
(Muchiri,1980s).
Muchiri (1980) Gitau (2010)
Method Hectares % Kenya EA SSA
Hand tools 1,039,000 84 50 55 65
Ox-cultivation 150,000 12 30 30 25
Tractor 42,000 4 20 15 10
1,231,000 100% 100% 100% 100%
Comment:-
Obviously it will be many decades before the majority of farmers have access to or benefit from the use
of tractors. It is therefore imperative that planners and technicians give more emphasis to mechanization
systems (i.e. those based on animal draft power and hand tools) which can rapidly be made available to
the majority of farmers in order to increase their productivity and reduce the drudgery of their work.

Alarm has been expressed at the scale of migration from rural areas to cities.
The motives for this migration are a complex mixture of urban “pull”
The attraction of higher wages, social, cultural and educational facilities and the glamour
of the towns - and rural “push”.
The desire to escape from a situation of stagnation that offers only heavy,
unrewarding jobs with little hope of improvement.
The lack of meaningful employment opportunities in rural areas (considered by some to
be a mere storage tank of excess labour).
The low remuneration for agricultural work.
The seasonal nature and drudgery of agricultural employment.
Unattractiveness of rural living under existing conditions.

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All contribute to this urban drift.

Note: Creating job opportunities in agriculture is only a partial solution. It is even more important to
improve the working and living conditions in the rural areas to compete with the visible amenities
of the cities.

Carefully selected mechanization of the appropriate type can provide hope for agricultural
workers and provide a ‘counter-pull’ to the attraction of the city.

SELECTIVE MECHANIZATION (A hope for the farmers).

Selective mechanization means the type of mechanization that fits a country’s economic, employment,
production and cultural needs.
Or
Any form of mechanization that does not decrease the demand for labour per unit land (removing labour
peaks, intensification of production, multiple cropping etc.).

Note: Production, mechanization and employment are related problems and machines and labour are
essential inputs for production but not necessarily rival inputs as we are too often led to believe.

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NATIONAL POLICIES TO PROMOTE DEVELOPMENT (Towards a mechanization policy)

In most countries development plans provide the basic policy guidelines for agricultural development,
but the component of these plans concerning mechanization policy is generally weak or non-existent.

A serious failing since mechanization influences factors such as the;

Volume and quality of production
Productivity of both land and labour

Cost of production
Level of employment

Migration of agricultural wage earners and farmers

Land ownership patterns

Development of mechanical skill and of a manufacturing and service-related industry

Foreign exchange

Note: Very important factors for the national economy of any country and each require careful and
deliberate consideration.

All governments should therefore work out a coherent and consistent set of aims and approaches which
in aggregate constitute an agricultural mechanization policy and should make sure that the role of
mechanization is clearly understood by all. An adequate mechanization policy involves much more than
production and employment consideration. In addition it will include objectives concerning consumer
prices, land tenure, conservation and energy.

Some of the basic questions concerning mechanization that it will attempt to resolve are:-
 Is tractor mechanization to be promoted?
 What operations should be mechanized or further mechanized?
 Where (i.e. to what particular crops, areas or production bottlenecks)
should mechanization be applied?
 What is the best way to promote the desired mechanization?

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The major components of a mechanization policy may be broadly categorized as technical (on one
hand) and Economic and social on the other hand.

1. TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Before examining the various technical considerations that should guide a mechanization policy, it must
be emphasized that a successful agricultural programme (with or without mechanization) must include
measures to ensure availability and proper use of modern inputs such as high-yielding varieties,
fertilizers, improved water control measures and crop protection chemicals as well as of labour, draft
animals, tools, implements and machines.

a) Training and Education

Of the users of mechanical equipment (hand-operated, animal-drawn or motorized). Training facilities
are needed for mechanics, technicians and engineers i.e. those who will design the equipment, work as
extension officers, conduct mechanization research and supervise mechanization programmes.

b) Manufacturing, distribution, service & repair

Most of the hand tools and animal draft implements should be made in the country where they are to be
used. Most sophisticated motorized equipment should also be manufactured locally (at least in part) as
soon as economies of scale and supporting infrastructure permit. Development of a local farm equipment
industry;
- provides alternative employment
- reduces dependence on imports
- saves foreign exchange and
- facilitates the supply of parts and services.

Note: Establishing a parts and service network is a difficult task in the initial stages of mechanization
but local blacksmiths and ‘backyard’ mechanics can play an important role in the fabrication, repair and
maintenance of hand tools, animal draft equipment and simple farm implements and can eventually
provide the nucleus for a dealer network to service and maintain motorised farm equipments.
Adequate supplies of spare parts are essential for the smooth and efficient operation of a mechanization
programme. Government policy can have a profound influence on the availability of spare parts and
service.

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Policies should be formulated that will strike a balance between imports and domestic manufacturing,
ensuring a complete range of equipment to meet the needs of the country and taking into consideration
the fact that local manufacturers need supplies of raw materials, credit, technical advice, a rational patent
policy and assistance in developing local professional associations.

c) Importing farm equipment

Equipment designed and manufactured abroad (Europe and North America) often have to be modified
and strengthened or even completely redesigned to ensure mechanical reliability and to fit in with local
agricultural practices.

But unfortunately manufacturers do not always make necessary changes since the cost involved is high
in relation to the size of the market. The IWP (Indicative World Plan for Agricultural development)
recommended that, when governments are considering the introduction of new types and models of
tractors and implements, they should first import limited numbers for thorough field testing over a period
of time before large quantities are introduced (for general distribution).

Note: Although local manufacture or assembly of tractors is a goal of many developing countries, it
should be pursued with caution. Problems of quality control may severely diminish the reliability and
performance of products.

d) Fuel Supplies
Effective use of expensive non-renewable resources requires clear-cut measures. Agriculture should be
given top priority in any allocation, system that proves necessary and storage facilities and the
distribution network must be so concentrated that fuel is readily available for agriculture.

3) Research
Appropriate research on agricultural mechanization systems should be encouraged at existing national
institutions. These may be Universities, institutes for agricultural research, machinery testing centers
etc. depending on the way agricultural research is organized in the country concerned.
Research can be strengthened by;
- Improved financing

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- Better qualified staff

- Better facilities
- Better communication between agencies and disciplines and
- Integration with the general agricultural research.

f) A mechanization policy committee

A special coordinating committee (or working group) should be appointed and made responsible for
drawing up a detailed mechanization policy and a programme to accelerate the development and efficient
application of mechanization for agricultural production.

The programme should provide for co-ordination of activities to promote the effective use of power and
machines by all government agencies concerned with agriculture and rural economic development and
to enlist the support of the private sector.
The co-ordinate committee should consider:-
The role of mechanization in the over-all agricultural programme,
Ways of optimizing mechanization systems at least cost

Education, research and extension needs

The availability of credit and other financial questions

The need for quality, safety and uniform standards in local factories
producing agricultural equipments and
The relations with the private sector.

The coordinating committee and the researchers need to be integrated in a central institution (e.g. termed
National Institute of Agricultural Engineering) whose objective would be.
Draw up the mechanization policy and then
Plan and conduct research to assist in giving effect to its various components.
Activities of the institute may include;
A broad programme of research to define the role of agricultural mechanization in the country.
Selective machine, being the guiding principle and C/B ratio for various types of machine
technology should be established.
Mechanical research and development
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Testing. Need to test both domestically manufactured and imported machines to ensure that
their construction is sound and that they are functional and sufficiently durable to operate
under local conditions.
Operating mechanized demonstration farms in co-operation with agricultural specialists.

Collaborating with manufacturers to ensure that mechanical designs are brought into
production smoothly and rapidly and to promote quality and safe standards.
Providing extension services in order to bring new technology to the farmers.

Note: International Co-operation and exchange of information is essential.

Regional research centres would engage in research in the following areas:

i) Designing, developing and adapting improved hand tools and animal draft implements.
ii) Selecting and testing potentially suitable power units and large-scale machinery.
iii) Conducting tillage research relevant to mechanized agriculture.
v) Selecting and/or designing drying and processing equipments.
vii) Promoting soil and land use surveys relevant to mechanized agriculture.

It has been suggested that the government mechanization policy might logically include;
 Short term measures - i.e. those directly affecting mechanization, e.g. subsidized THS and
inclusion of mechanization in the government agricultural projects.
 Medium-term measures - i.e. those indirect and less immediate in their effect e.g. establishing
of a domestic machinery industry or minimum wage legislation.
 Long term measures - continuation of the others (i.e. over several decades in accordance with
some vision of the type of society to be established).

g) Appropriate levels of mechanization

Human and animal power will predominate in many countries for years to come. The principle of
selectivity, properly conceived and implemented, will encourage an advanced level of mechanization.

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Note: Mechanical power should be introduced when it is complementary to normal labour and when it
is necessary for certain operation during seasons of labour shortages.

h) Technology assessment (Process of analyzing the direct and indirect effects of technology)
Involves forecasting on the effects of mechanization on all the people, but particularly on farm workers,
smallholders and urban consumers and hence make the necessary adjustments (if any) that will enhance
the effects and immunize undesirable side effects.

2. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONSIDERATIONS

The development and diffusion of technology occupy a place of critical importance in the development
strategy of any country. For the less developed countries the policy decisions involved are particularly
difficult since, unlike economically advanced societies, these countries are constantly having to adjust
to imported technology.

Note: Subsidies and licensing procedures bias the private profitability of technology in socially
undesirable direction.

Considerations;
a) C/B Ratio:
As already mentioned the benefits of mechanization include:-
Expansion of the cultivated area
Land clearance
Speed of operation
Overcoming seasonal labour shortages and bottlenecks.
But the direct effects of mechanization on yields per unit of land are much smaller, although there are
reports of yield increase due to high quality tillage and timely operations (Gitau,1995).
Negative indirect social costs includes: resetting displaced workers and tenants, including cost of
housing and other services.
Note: Determining the overall cost/benefit ratio is a complex process when social and indirect
costs are included and more attention should be given to this important question.

Hence let us consider mechanization in the broad sense not necessarily tractorization.
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b) Credit
Since most farmers in developing countries have accumulated very little capital, any move to higher
levels of mechanization policy should provide for the supply of credit to small manufacturers and
distributors as well.
c) Subsidies, Tariffs & Taxes;
There is little to gain from a situation whereby farm machinery imports are encouraged by tariff
exemptions but spare parts are subject to heavy import duties. This leads to mechanization being
attractive to private owners to the detriment of the society as a whole.
d) Storage, transportation & Marketing
The goal of increased production presumes the existence of a market. Provision must be made for
adequate transport (of one kind or the other) to reach every farm that is expected to produce surplus and
for storage facilities to cope with the higher yields expected to result from mechanization. To marketing,
a price structure must be ensured that will provide farmers with a reasonable margin of profit as an
incentive to raise their production above the subsistence level.
e) Employment
The evidence regarding the effect of mechanization on employment is inconclusive. Agricultural
Engineers have began to give more attention to partial/or selective mechanization under varying sets of
conditions (region, country, crop, soil, climate etc) and are looking beyond the single objective of
increased production to include such considerations as employment effects, net return to farmers, income
distribution and social costs.

It has been suggested that seasonal labour bottlenecks can be alleviated in;
i) Developing cropping patterns providing for the cultivation of crops taking different
lengths of time to mature and permitting better utilisation of labour.
ii) Supplementing family labour supply with hired labour.

Note: Before mechanization policy can be established, the relationship between mechanization and
employment in the country concerned will have to be evaluated by means of more accurate data
and additional research.

* Question asked (posed);

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Is the objective to provide everyone with a job, even at near starvation level? Or Is there a
level of unemployment that is socially tolerable in order to achieve optimum production?

Note: Rational utilization of the labour force is of course not an end in itself but a means to more
efficient production and higher incomes.

f) Education
Successful implementation of a mechanization programme requires a vast array of skilled workers
(livestock specialists, blacksmiths, dryers, mechanics, foremen, welders, machine tool operators etc) as
well as university graduates in agriculture, veterinary medicine, engineering and other disciplines.

All these forms of education, training and research will require physical facilities, teaching aids,
instruments, implements and equipment. A sound mechanization policy will utilize the basic
educational programmes and facilities of the country and will build on them the special training
programmes needed for mechanization.

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THE ROLE OF HAND TOOLS, ANIMAL DRAWN AND ENGINE POWERED EQUIPMENT
IN KENYA AGRICULTURE:
The relative importance of the various forms of mechanization especially in land preparation is currently
not precisely known in Kenya (See a table given earlier). In small land holder level, the dominant
equipment for land preparation is the hoe, using human labor.

Tractor mechanization has had very little impact on small holder farmers in the semi-arid areas. This is
mainly attributed to logistic problems of;
i) Ploughing small and dispersed farm units
ii) Steep slopes
iii) Maintenance problems
iv) Lack of spare parts and
v) The sharp increases in the prices of tractors and fuels.
Thus tractor mechanization is becoming increasingly expensive for smallholder farmers, resulting in late
ploughing and planting which translates into a substantial reduction in crop yield or even crop failure.
Other problems that plaque tractor mechanization includes:
i) lack of competent management and strict supervision
ii) inadequate workshop and repair facilities
iii) lack of skilled and responsible operators and
iv) unavailability of cash and credit when needed.
Ox-drawn equipment reduce land preparation time to less than 40% of that required with hand tools and
markedly expand the area planted, increasing yields to land and labor. However, development and use
of improved ox-drawn equipment require efforts in research, manufacture, marketing and extension. In
areas where animals are used for cultivation the efficiency of work is much better than in areas where
hand tools are dominant. Previous studies have reported that a man using a hand hoe is only capable of
managing efficiently about one fifth of a hectare, while when using a pair of oxen the efficiency can be
increased 15 times (3 ha). Hand tool mechanization is further constrained by labour shortage during
peak periods (primary tillage and weeding), high energy requirements, associated drudgery and
unavailability of appropriate tools. Thus the use of animal power (renewable energy) will still increase
further.

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THE ROLE OF SCIENCE IN TECHNOLOGY (MECHANIZATION)

Science should help create policy (i.e. objective thinking).
Should bring in ability to planning and implementation capacity.
Should bring in diversified support network in institution (avoid duplication by knowing
what the other institutions are researching on thus leading to labour division and responsibility).
Well coordinated activities from National levels (Ministry) to village level e.g. long term
projects.

Why The Mechanization Endeavour Has Not Been A Smooth One For Kenya
1. Lack of an appropriate mechanization policy.
2. Colonial alienation of small scale farms
3. Lack of research and consultation of experts.
4. Lack of experts
5. Misplaced priorities demeaning agriculture, the farmers and agricultural mechanization.
6. Machinery is costly (lack of credit, selection, training backup, high taxes etc.)
7. Lack of appropriate machinery etc. etc.

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