Agricultural mechanization boosts production by using machinery for tasks like plowing, irrigation, and harvesting to increase efficiency, reduce labor intensity, and alleviate seasonal labor shortages. However, agricultural mechanization development levels vary considerably across Asian countries, reflecting the diverse stages of economic development, policy frameworks, and resource availability. For example, in 2015, agricultural machinery power was 16 horsepower per hectare in Japan but only 1.5 horsepower per hectare in Viet Nam (Wijaya and Nurcahyo 2022). Other Asian countries like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Cambodia also exhibit relatively low levels of mechanization (Khan and Rehman 2019).
Classical economic theory posits that the indivisibility of agricultural machinery makes it unaffordable for smallholders to invest in such equipment. However, recent practices in Bangladesh, Viet Nam, India, and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have demonstrated that purchasing outsourcing services enables smallholders to utilize agricultural machinery without owning it (Mottaleb et al. 2017; Wang et al. 2024). These services cover various production stages, such as plowing, planting, and pest and disease control. With time, owning machinery and purchasing mechanization outsourcing services can become critical channels that farmers can use to access machines to support their farm production.
The labor substitution effect of mechanization influences rural households’ decision-making, affecting both on-farm production and intra-household resource allocations. Thus, the impacts of mechanization extend beyond crop production, underscoring the multifaceted role of mechanization in transforming sustainable rural and agricultural development. Figure 1 summarizes how agricultural mechanization impacts sustainable rural and agricultural development.
Figure 1. Pathways of How Agricultural Mechanization Impacts Sustainable Rural and Agricultural Development
Source: Authors.
Farm Production and Performance
Agricultural mechanization profoundly impacts farm management, influencing land use decisions, resource integration, and input use efficiency. Larger land holdings enable farmers to reap greater economic benefits from agricultural mechanization, while agricultural mechanization requires larger land areas to achieve economies of scale. Yamauchi (2016) reported that machines and land are complementary in Indonesia, underscoring the importance of land scale in realizing the full benefits of agricultural mechanization.
Mechanization can also influence households’ decisions regarding resource integration in agricultural production. In Viet Nam, Nguyen et al. (2022) found that mechanized transplanting practices for the main crop season decreased the seed rate by 40% and reduced pesticide application by 30%–40%. Mechanization also enhances input use efficiency. Belton et al. (2021) summarized the agricultural mechanization in Myanmar and found that mechanization increased the speed of operations and improved the timeliness of crucial farming activities. Preparing land for planting takes 31 hours per hectare with draft animals but only 3 hours per hectare with four-wheel tractors.
Agricultural mechanization further enhances farm performance by increasing crop productivity and farm revenue. A positive correlation between agricultural machinery and farm productivity has been observed during the past three decades in several Asian countries, including the PRC, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh (Khan and Rehman 2019; Ma et al. 2018; Zhou and Ma 2022). This improvement can be potentially attributed to the timeliness of operations, better management of weather-related risks, and reduced grain loss during harvesting. Meanwhile, Takeshima (2018) found that using tractors through custom hiring increases smallholders’ total and agricultural incomes in some areas of Nepal. This income enhancement highlights mechanization services’ benefits for small-scale farmers, allowing them to achieve higher profitability.
Intra-Household Resource Allocations
Agricultural mechanization can influence intra-household resource allocations, fostering greater participation in off-farm employment and enhancing household income diversification. Zheng et al. (2022) reported that mechanization service expenditure significantly increases the off-farm employment of household heads in rural PRC. By reducing the labor required for on-farm production, mechanization enables rural households to reallocate surplus labor to non-agricultural sectors, thereby increasing their income through off-farm employment.
Notably, recent research highlights that the impact of agricultural mechanization on household labor allocation is gender-differential. Afridi et al. (2022) found that mechanization led to a significantly greater decline in women’s labor than men’s labor on Indian farms during 1999–2011. This reduction in labor demand was particularly pronounced in tasks such as weeding, which women traditionally perform. In addition, Ma et al. (2024) found that agricultural mechanization increases the probability of rural women participating in non-farm work in the PRC.
Barriers to Agricultural Mechanization Development in Rural Asia
Despite the positive impacts of agricultural mechanization, its development in rural Asia still faces several barriers and challenges. These challenges include farmers’ weak motivation to use machinery, underdeveloped agricultural machinery service markets, low levels of full-process mechanization, and small-scale constraints.
First, the lack of motivation among farmers to adopt mechanization can be attributed to limited access to credit and insufficient awareness of the potential benefits of mechanization. Second, the underdeveloped state of machinery service markets makes it difficult for small farmers to access necessary mechanization services. Third, full mechanization levels remain low in many parts of rural Asia. While some stages of agricultural production, such as plowing and harvesting, may be mechanized, other stages, like planting and pesticide application, still rely heavily on manual labor (Zheng et al. 2022). Fourth, land fragmentation is another major constraint that hampers the adoption of mechanization. In many Asian countries, agricultural land is divided into small, scattered plots, making it challenging to use large-scale machinery effectively. This fragmentation reduces the efficiency of mechanized farming and increases operational costs.
Policy Recommendations
Given the positive role of agricultural mechanization in promoting agricultural and rural development, it is crucial to implement proactive policies to further its advancement.
First, investing in training and education programs is vital for improving farmers’ understanding and motivation to adopt mechanization technologies. These programs should focus on the effective use and maintenance of agricultural machinery and the adoption of best practices for integrated farming systems. By enhancing farmers’ technical knowledge and skills, these programs can maximize the benefits of mechanization.
Second, mechanization can be achieved by purchasing household-owned machinery or buying outsourcing services from the market. The latter has become the primary means of mechanized production for small farmers. Therefore, support for agricultural machinery service organizations and markets should be increased.
Third, the extent of mechanization determines its impact on rural development. Full mechanization affects agricultural production and farmers’ lives more than semi-mechanized and non-mechanized farming. Thus, it is essential to promote higher levels of mechanization, including technological breakthroughs in challenging crops and production stages.
Finally, the use of mechanization is closely related to farm size. Land fragmentation is considered one of the most significant factors affecting agricultural mechanization. Hence, policies promoting mechanization must align with land policies to encourage land consolidation and large-scale farming while advancing mechanization.
References
Afridi, F., M. Bishnu, and K. Mahajan. 2022. Gender and Mechanization: Evidence from Indian Agriculture. American Journal of Agricultural Economics (March): 1–24.
Belton, B., M. T. Win, X. Zhang, and M. Filipski. 2021. The Rapid Rise of Agricultural Mechanization in Myanmar. Food Policy 101(May), 102095.
Khan, M. U., and T. U. Rehman. 2019. Early Trends, Current Status and Future Prospects of Farm Mechanization in Asia. Agricultural Engineering International: CIGR Journal 21(3): 76–87.
Ma, W., X. Zhou, D. Boansi, G. S. A. Horlu, and V. Owusu. 2024. Adoption and Intensity of Agricultural Mechanization and Their Impact on Non-Farm Employment of Rural Women. World Development 173(October 2023), 106434.
Ma, W., A. Renwick, and Q. Grafton. 2018. Farm Machinery Use, Off-Farm Employment and Farm Performance in China. Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 62(2): 279–298.
Mottaleb, K. A., D. B. Rahut, A. Ali, B. Gérard, and O. Erenstein. 2017. Enhancing Smallholder Access to Agricultural Machinery Services: Lessons from Bangladesh. The Journal of Development Studies 53(9): 1502–1517.
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Takeshima, H. 2018. Mechanize or Exit Farming? Multiple-Treatment-Effects Model and External Validity of Adoption Impacts of Mechanization Among Nepalese Smallholders. Review of Development Economics 22(4): 1620–1641.
Wang, P., W. Ma, and M. Diao. 2024. Can Outsourcing Pest and Disease Control Help Reduce Pesticide Expenditure ? Evidence from Rice Farmers. Agribusiness: An International Journal (July).
Wijaya, A., and R. Nurcahyo. 2022. Agricultural Mechanization in Indonesia and Comparison to Southeast Asia Countries. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management: 346–352.
Yamauchi, F. 2016. Rising Real Wages, Mechanization and Growing Advantage of Large Farms: Evidence from Indonesia. Food Policy 58: 62–69.
Zheng, H., W. Ma, Y. Guo, and X. Zhou. 2022. Interactive Relationship Between Non-Farm Employment and Mechanization Service Expenditure in Rural China. China Agricultural Economic Review 14(1): 84–105.
Zhou, X., and W. Ma. 2022. Agricultural Mechanization and Land Productivity in China. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology 29(6): 530–542.
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