Mechanization of Agriculture

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Mechanization of Agriculture
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Commenced from Industrial Revolution

• The Industrial Revolution, in modern history,
  is the process of change from an agrarian,
  handicraft economy to one dominated by industry
  and machine manufacture.

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History

• Started in 18th century around England
• Picked up in 19th century adoptions of steam
  engine started
• In the United States mechanization of agriculture
  began later than in Britain, but they introduced
  many imp agri-machines!

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Players

• - traction engine
• - plough/plow made from steel which ploughed
  deeper
• - mechanical seed drill
• - harvest machine
• - threshing machine
• - mechanical reaper
• - pivot irrigation
• and many more customized ones

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Positives

• Automation of work
• Boon for time critical activities in farming
• Farming became less labor intensive
• Increase in produce , increased resource
  utilization
• Helped in feeding the ever growing population
• Less dependence on the unpredictable nature
  factors! (example-rain)
• Employment generation in agri-machinery industry

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Concerns/negatives

• When mass production happened, new seeds came ,
  new fertlizers came!!
• Loss of biodiversity
• Degradation of soil quality
• Soil erosion ( mixed views!)
• Food toxicity (pesticide residues, metal flakes
  in hay e.t.c)
• Increase in input cost
• pollution (through agrichemical build-ups and
  runoff, and use of fossil fuels for agrichemical
  manufacture and for farm machinery and
  long-distance distribution).
• Mismanagements, lack of information, knowledge
  led to many injuries, deaths and debts in
  farming
• Caused unemployment or underemployment
• Exacerbated greater inequalities in society

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Statistics

• 1940 - One farmer supplied 10.7 persons in the
  United States and abroad
• 1970's - No-tillage agriculture popularized 1970
  - One farmer supplied 75.8 persons in the United
  States and abroad
• number of farmers in California( one of the major
  producer of US) has decreased over the years from
  85 to only 1-2 of the population in the last
  century.
• final report on an FAO mechanization project in
  China cited a 90 increase in yield on farmers'
  fields for a double cropped wheat/maize farming
  system

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India

• 1) Tractorisation displaced mainly bullock labour
  up to about 60 in some situations, but its
  impact on man-power was much less, the
  displacement being less than 15.
• 2)The gross income per hectare of an average
  tractor-owned house hold was 63 higher than that
  of a household using only bullock labour.
• 3)The gross income per hectare of tractor-using
  households as a group exceeded that of the
  bullock farms by 31.
• 4)net return per hectare from mechanized farms
  having tubewells
• and tractors and partially mechanized farms
  having only tubewell were 49 and 29 higher
  respectively than that from non-mechanized farms.
• 5)1/3rd of all reported work injuries relate to
  agriculture of the estimated 5.5 million serious
  accidents that occur annually in Indian
  agriculture, many are causeby unsafe operation of
  threshers and using tractors for road transport.

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Case study-Africa

• In Africa in the 1960s, '70s and early '80s,
  large number of tractors were supplied as gifts
  from donors or on advantageous loan terms to
  developing countries. These public sector
  tractor-hire schemes collapsed
• Result tractor graveyards of Africa
• Reason-chronic mismanagement, inefficiencies,disto
  rted cost of capital wrt traditional power

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Case study-Thailand

• 1970s, several irrigation schemes were
  constructed with World Bank assistance in
  drought-prone Northeast Thailand.
• Result-Investments in land development and
  irrigation facilities did not achieve their
  expected benefits
• Reason-lack of knowledge, manpower,farm
  power,post harvest facilities

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Case study-Indonesia

• Replacing the cone-head nozzles of traditional
  knapsack sprayers with flat T-jet nozzles
• Result- farmers t cut the use of insecticides and
  fungicides for vegetables by 35 without
  affecting yields and quality.
• Reason the modification was simple, effective
  and efficient catered for everyday person

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Things to take care of

• Farmers should be able to make the right choice
  of technology at the right price to increase
  agricultural productivity, provide food security
  and reduce post-harvest losses.
• Better management,Training, disseminating
  information on machine safety and national safety
  legislation can help to reduce accidents,
  injuries and disappointments
• Concept of moving from ME, BE in agri to Holistic
  engineering in farms
• The proper selection, utilization and management
  of farm power resources are crucial.
• In turn, increased output will augment the demand
  for better techniques and technologies to carry
  out crop husbandry, harvesting and post-harvest
  work - storage, drying and on-farm processing.

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Possible solutions to some small farm problems in
Asia
Compact, light, low-powered, and
multi-purpose machines Locally-available
materials must be incorporated in fabricating
machines to reduce the manufacturingcosts. Small-
size tractors, mini-power tillers, and small farm
equipment must meet the needs of small
farmers. Operators safety and
comfort Energy-efficient machines should be
developed. Bangladesh ,Compact, light,
low-powered and multi-purpose -machines tractor
and reduced till-drill ---------------------------
------------------?
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Thank You
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• Mechanization must be backed up by an efficient
  management system, from training of drivers and
  mechanics, to the supply of fuel, oil, and spare
  parts and provision of speedy repairs.
• Where farms are too small, systems of sharing
  services will be needed. In ecologically
  sensitive zones, the use of machinery must be
  combined with careful soil and water management
  to prevent erosion and to optimize water use.
• More attention will be needed to design of
  machinery for conditions in developing countries
  and especially the needs of smaller farmers.

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• Studies were also conducted by several other
• organisations individuals on the impact of farm
• mechanization on agricultural inputs outputs.
  Almost
• all such studies led to the following broad
  conclusions.
• (i) That farm mechanization led to increase in
  inputs
• on account of higher average cropping intensity
• and larger area and increased productivity of
  farm
• labour.
• (ii) That farm mechanization increased
  agricultural
• production and profitability on account of
• timeliness of operation, better quality of work
• done and more efficient utilization of inputs.
• (iii) That farm mechanization increases on- farm
• human labour marginally, whereas the increase
• in off- farm labour such as industrial production
• of tractors and ancillaries was much more.
• (iv) That farm mechanization displaced animal
  power
• to the extent of 50 to 100 but resulted in
  lesser
• time for farm work.

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• . Subsidiary Employment per Hectare (Man-days)
• Tractor-owner Tractor-user Bullock-farm
• Family labour 17.6 33.7
  48.6
• Hired labour 11.6 10.1
  7.0
• Total labour 29.2 43.8
  55.6
• Source NCAER (1980). Implications of
  Tractorization for Farm

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