Impact of Farm Mechanization on Income of Farmers in Assam, India

Abstract

The study was conducted in Central Brahmaputra Valley and Upper Brahmaputra Valley Zone of Assam in India. The present study is an attempt to study the effect of mechanization on income and limiting factors of farm mechanization of the sample farms. Primary data of 240 sample farms by personal interview schedule method was used for examining the effect of farm mechanization on income along with limiting factors for mechanization adoption . All data collected from sample farms pertains to the year 2014-15. Tabular, per cent analysis were done and results obtained from these analysis were summarized to examine the impact of farm mechanization on income . In case of Tractor Ownership Farm, Tractor Hired Farm, Power Tiller Ownership Farm, Power Tiller Hired Farm and Bullock Operated Farm gross return per cropped hectare were Rs.62916.24, Rs. 61370.31, Rs.62408.87, Rs. 56783.89 and Rs.34425.58, respectively. Family labour income and net income also had inverse relationship with farm size in each categories of mechanized and Bullock Operated Farm and exception in case of under Group III under Tractor Hired Farm. Family labour income and net income relative proportion of each mechanized farm was higher over Bullock Operated Farm. Net return were observed to be Rs. 33898.17, Rs.377.76, Rs. 33606.45, Rs.27831.05 and Rs. (-)12075.51 in Tractor Ownership Farm, Tractor Hired Farm, Power Tiller Ownership Farm, Power Tiller Hired Farm and Bullock Operated Farms, respectively. Family labour income and net income also had inverse relationship with farm size in each categories of mechanized and Bullock Operated Farm and exception in case of under Group III under Tractor Hired Farm. Family labour income and net income relative proportion of each mechanized farm was higher over Bullock Operated Farm. Hence it was observed that there was positive impact of farm mechanization on income. In case of Tractor Hired Farm net income was higher than Tractor Ownership Farm. Small and scattered land holding and inadequate sufficient funds to meet the initial cost of purchasing were the most serious problem faced by the farmers in the study area as out of total household 170 and 169 numbers of farmers found it most serious in case of small and scattered land holding and high initial cost to purchase the machineries respectively So, hence effort should be given to make available of the tractors amongst the farmers in the study area through establishment of Farm Machinery Banks for custom hiring along with development financing of second hand tractors for small farmers having operational holding less than 2 hectares should been given to make economical use machineries amongst the small farmers in the study area.

Money for operator: the impact of linked agricultural subsidy on incomes

“…This, in turn, has a significant impact on farmers’ income. Firstly, improved mechanization enhances agricultural production efficiency, standardizes production processes, and leads to higher yields and better quality agricultural products 38 . This directly contributes to increasing agricultural income.…”

Socio-economic Impact of Farm Mechanization on the Regional Economy of South India: Case of Paddy Farmers of Trichy, Tamil Nadu

“…All the inquiries such as increase in production, increase in income, reduction in cultivation costs, loan accessibility, increase in purchasing power, and increased investment have set down to be significant at 1% level of significance clearly exhibited the effect of farm machineries in the paddy cultivation and economical benefit to the farmers. Hence it was observed that there was positive impact of farm mechanization on income [10,11,12]. Increased yield, reduced cost of cultivation merits of mechanization [13,14,15].…”

Factors Influencing the Impact of Mechanization in Rice Cultivation among Farmers of North Coastal Zone of Andhra Pradesh, India

“…Agricultural mechanization which entails the use of machines to perform several activities on the farm in order to save time, money spent on hiring of labour and most importantly increases the level of production which will automatically lead to a simultaneous increase in the farmer's income. The agricultural mechanization is an important support of modernity and development [3,4,5,6]. The choice of machinery and equipment to be used depends on several factors including the size of the farm, the relationship of complementarity or substitutability of the labour force and its price, the expected increase in production and the availability in markets of machinery and equipment for rental [7,8,9,10].…”