Mechanization of

Agriculture
 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.
 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!
 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
 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
 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
 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
 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.
 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,distorted cost of capital wrt traditional
power
 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
 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
 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.
 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.
•Operator’s safety and comfort
•Energy-efficient machines should be developed.
Bangladesh ,Compact, light, low-powered and
multi-purpose -machines tractor and reduced till-
drill ---------------------------------------------
Thank You
• 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.
• 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.
. 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