FAO AGRICULTURAL SERVICES BULLETIN agricultural mechanization in developme : guidelines for strategy formulation by r.c. gifford fao consultant in conjunction with the staff of the agricultural engineering service agricultural engineering service agricultural services division FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome 1981 The designations employed and the presentation of niaterial in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. M-05 ISBN 92-5-101073-0 The copyright in this book is vested in the Food and Agriculture Orga­ nization of the United Nations. The book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, by any method or process, without written permission from the copyright holder. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction desired, should be addressed to the Director, Publications Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United· Nations, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy. © FAO 1981 TABLE OF CONTENTS FORHJORD 1. INTRODUCTION 2. BACKGROUND ............................................. 4 A. Selected Mechanization Terminology ............... 4 B. The Evolution of Mechanization ................... 5 3. PRESENT MECHANIZATION SITUATION AND PROJECTIONS ........ 9 A. Present Situation ................................ 9 B. Projections for the Future ....................... 14 4. MECHANIZATION 1 S EFFECT ON AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION ...... 19 5. MECHANIZATION IN RELATION TO RURAL POVERTY ............. 26 6. FISCAL POLICY EFFECT ON MECHANIZATION .................. 32 A. Foreign Exchange .............................•.... 32 B. Credit ........................................•... 33 C. Taxes, Duties and Tariffs ........................ 35 D. Price Pol icy ................................. ·.... 35 E. PoJ icies on PubJ ic Investments .................. .. 36 7. MECHANIZATION IN RELATION TO POLICIES ON RURAL STRUCTURE ...................... " ........... .. 37 A. Influence of Ecozones ............................ 37 B. Land Tenure ...................................... 37 C. Farming Systems .................................. 38 D. Farm Organization ............................. ; .. 40 E. Support of Rural Industry ..................... : .. 41 F. Development of Rural Infrastructure .............•. 42 G. Oeve1opment of Rura1 Towns ....................... 43 8. MECHANIZATION AND ENERGY CONSIDERATIONS ................ 44 9. MECHANIZATION COMPONENTS IN FOREIGN AID PROGRAMMES ..... 48 10. PROVISION OF MECHANIZATION INPUTS ...................... 52 11. SYSTEMS FOR MACHINERY USE .............................. 55 12. REQUIRED INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES ..... 59 13. MECHANIZATION STRATEGY FORMULATION ..................... 67 FOREvJORD Progressively higher levels of mechanization have been introduced into all sectors of development throughout history. Since the industrial revolution commenced in England in the 18th Century,hand labour versus machines for industry has been a controvetsial issue; coming up again and again, especially in periods of depression and unemployment. In more recent times the controversy has spread to the agricultural sector with one side arguing that only hand tool and animal draught technologies are appropriate levels of mechanization for the developing countries, while the other side argues in favour of mechanical-power technology. The conflicting advice resulting from this controversy has created confusion in many developing countries as to the role that agricultural mechanization should play in the development process. Recognizing the increasing seriousness of the situation, FAO con­ vened a meeting of multi-di sci pl inary experts in 1975 to discuss the "Effect of Farm Mechanization on Production and Employment". Economists, sociologists, agriculturists, agricultural engineers and government planners from the developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and from a number of developed countries attended the meeting and concluded that greater inter-disciplinary effort was required to dispel the myths and put agricultural mechanization in perspective as a development input. As a follow-up to this meeting, and in view of the continued problems arising out of the complex relationships between mechanization and the economic and social factors in rural development, the Committee on Agriculture (COAG) of the FAO Council designated agricultural mechanization and its effect on employment and income distribution as a selected development issue for discussion at its Fifth Session in April, 1979. As a discussion guide, the Agriculture Department and the Economic and Social Pol icy Depart­ ment of FAO jointly prepared a position paper on the subject (COAG/79/8). In the Com­ mittee's discussion, nearly all members from the developing countries agreed that mechanization is an indispensable input to rural development and concluded that the lack of clearly defined strategies for agricultural mechanization is an important constraint on increased agricultural production and efficiency. Decisions by governments and farmers on the basic issues related to mechanization and rural development may appear simple but, in practice, they are exceedingly difficult. The difficulty stems from the problem of measuring the complex relationships involved, from the number of factors to be considered, and from the political implications involved. To provide guidance in making these difficult decisions FAQ has prepared this publication. Its purpose is to define and put in perspective the relationships between agricultural mechanization and overall national development objectives in the developing countries, and to provide guidelines for appropriate mechanization strategy formulation. It is meant in the first instance for those who do the development planning, those who are responsible for development programmes, and project implementation, and those who use agricultural mechanization at the farm level in developing countries. It is hoped that it will also prove useful for those persons in national and international agencies who are responsible for providing financial and technical assistance for mechanization throughout the world. It should not be viewed as a technical reoort, but as a basic information bulletin which strives to present the material in ea~ily understood terms. ; i It contains neither overall formulas nor a 11 cookbook 11 recipe which can be applied to each and every development situation. Its value will be determined by the ability of the reader to identify with the philosophy and examples presented, and to exercise the judgement required for relating concepts to specific development situations and problems. The reader is asked to recognize the many inter-relationships and inter-dependencies involved in the subject and to view the overlap of coverage which may appear in different chapters as being unavoidable, or deliberate for purposes of clarity or emphasis. The publication is based on published and unpublished studies and reports, on dis­ cussions with many experienced individuals from both developing and developed countries, and on the many years of experience which FAO has had in assisting with rural development problems. Information has been provided by individuals, organizations and governments in all parts of the world. Their contributions have made this publication possible and are gratefully acknowledged. 1 . INTRODUCTION 1~ Most developing countries are primarily agrarian societies in which agriculture is the main source of wealth. Thus, an increase in agricultural productivity is the primary requirement for setting the whole rural development process in motion, and for the overall economic development of these countries. However, agricultural production does not take place in isolation, but is a part of the structure and behaviour pattern of individuals and groups within the whole of rural society. Rural development, therefore, goes beyond agricultural development alone. It encompasses all the people and resources in the rural setting and emphasizes improvement in the level of living of the rural poor and involve­ ment of all rural people in the development process, with the ultimate aims of reducing hunger and poverty and of improving the quality of life. 2. A review of the findings of numerous studies together with the stated development objectives and goals of most developing countries indicate that, in broad terms, the major rural development problem areas in most countries at least through the 1980's will be: (i) inadequate levels of agricultural productivity, particularly in food crops; and (ii) high levels of both absolute and relative rural poverty. Given these two broad problem areas which, with only slight variation, are common to nearly every developing country, it is appropriate to consider the relationships between them and agricultural mechanization in order to determine the role which mechanization should play in the development process. 3. By the end of this century world population will surpass 6 billion, against less than 3 billion twenty years ago and 4.3 billion today . .l) The present productive capacity of farmers is just not adequate to feed this number of people. A substantial increase in agricultural productivity will be required