Empirical evidence of mechanization effects on smallholder crop production systems in Botswana

Impact of Ghana's agricultural mechanization services center program

“…The quantitative effect of tractorization on yield within traditional small‐scale farming systems as examined here is likely to be small. In the studies by Panin () on sorghum and maize production in Botswana and Rahman et al. () on wheat production in northern Bangladesh for example, the average yield was only 3% more for farm households that used tractors or power tillers in some operations compared to those that did not use any mechanical power.…”

“…Therefore, farm labor displaced by mechanization in land preparation could be used in other labor‐intensive farm operations without necessarily causing unemployment. Several studies, for example Panin () and Rahman et al. (), have shown that the reduction in drudgery and the gain in time and cost from using tractors in land preparation may not spill over to the entire farm profitability when successive farming operations are not mechanized (including using draft animal power), because of the excessive labor requirements for weeding, fertilization, pruning, harvesting, and so forth.…”

“…The short‐term or immediate benefits derive from efficiency gains in mechanizing existing farm operations, whereas the long‐term benefits derive from increasing farm size and farm operations that are mechanized (including use of modern inputs), scale economies, and reduction in unit cost of operations (Rijk, ). Realization of the long‐term benefits however will depend on farmers’ ability to expand their farm operations which is in turn influenced by land availability, land tenure, access to modern inputs, and financial capital among other factors that are outside farmers’ control (Panin, ; Singh et al., ).…”

“…Typically, the farmer is concerned about getting the needed quality farm power on a timely basis and at the lowest possible cost. Therefore, similar to the factors affecting use of agricultural inputs in general (Panin, ; Singh et al., ), farmers’ demand for mechanization will depend on: their need for mechanization (which is determined by the type and scale of farm operations, endowments of and access to labor and other types of farm power, etc. ); their willingness to use mechanization (which is influenced by their knowledge, perceptions, experience, and profit expectations of using mechanization); and their ability to pay for it (which is influenced by their endowments of financial and social capital among others).…”

The performance of Botswana's traditional arable agriculture: growth rates and the impact of the accelerated rainfed arable programme (ARAP)

“…1990). chase price of sorghum at the Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board set at P34.00 per 70 kg bag (see also Panin, 1995). This would also be the case for other crops.…”