There was no alternative solution except the utilization of farm machinery to enhance crop productivity. While in Ethiopia, the level of usage of agricultural machinery remains quite low and heavily relies on traditional power sources. Therefore, assessing, understanding the fundamental roots and their effect on agricultural productivity was crucial. Using data collected from a household survey of 240 farmers in four major wheat and maize producing districts of the Siltie zone. The inventory of farm machinery was also visited and assessed at the surveyed areas of investors, unions, and research centers. The farm mechanization index was used to evaluate the level of agricultural mechanization. While the level of productivity for each study area payment (rent) was determined as an inverse of the explicit factors involved in the production function (machine and labor). Results show that except for two investors, the utilization statuses of farm machinery were restricted only to tillage and harvesting operations for wheat, barley, and only tillage operations for maize crops. The overall productivity of wheat and maize yield in quintal per hectare at different farming practices was higher at mechanization farms (26.43, 28.39 qt/ha than (10.98, 17.34 qt/ha) non-mechanization farms, respectively. The average man-hour used for plowing and harvesting was higher at non-mechanized farm than mechanized farm. The average productivity level of (tractor) (0.709 kWhr/ha) was higher than human labor productivity (0.188 kWh/ha. Due to wage employment, manually operated farms used the highest man-hours to machinery- operated farms. It concluded that machinery-operated farms have a positive effect on the productivity of crops and labor with certain displacement costs. Thus, the Ethiopian government should control the illegal brokers, support and enhance the accessibility of appropriate agricultural machinery for all levels of farm size at reasonable prices for farmers through hiring or purchase.

keywords:Agricultural mechanization index, farm machinery rent, human and tractor productivity, wage employment

🔒 This is a subscription article

Full text is available to subscribers and institutional members. Please choose an option below to access it.

1. 1. Giller KE, Andersson J, Delaune T, Silva JV, Descheemaeker K, van de Ven G, et The future of farming: Who will produce our food? Food Secur. 2022;13:1073–99. doi: 10.1007/s12571-021-01184-6.
   2. Moyo S. Family farming in sub-Saharan Africa: Its contribution to agriculture, food security and rural development. Working Paper No. 150. Brasilia: International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPCIG); 2016. Available from: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/173805.
   3. Wordofa MG, Hassen JY, Endris GS. Adoption of improved agricultural technology and its impact on household income: A propensity score matching estimation in eastern Ethiopia. Agric Food Secur. 2021;10(5). doi: 10.1186/s40066-020-00278-2.
   4. Temesgen M, Hoogmoed WB, Rockström J, Savenije HHG. Conservation tillage implements and systems for smallholder farmers in semi-arid Soil Tillage Res. 2009;104(1):185–91. doi: 10.1016/j.still.2008.10.026.
   5. Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA). Ethiopian national agricultural mechanization strategy: Vision, systemic challenges and strategic interventions. Working document. Addis Ababa: MoA and ATA; 2014.
   6. Njeru E, Grey S, Kilawe Eastern Africa Climate-Smart Agriculture Scoping Study: Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. Addis Ababa: FAO; 2016. Available from: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4226e.pdf.
   7. Stevens T, Madani K. Future climate impacts on maize farming and food security in Malawi. Sci Rep. 2016;8(6):36241. doi: 10.1038/srep36241.
   8. Stellmacher T, Kelboro G. Family farms, agricultural productivity, and the terrain of food (in)security in Ethiopia. Sustainability. 2019;11(18):4981. doi: 10.3390/su11184981.
   9. Biru WD, Zeller M, Loos TK. The impact of agricultural technologies on poverty and vulnerability of smallholders in Ethiopia: A panel data analysis. Agric Econ. 2020;4(148):351. Available from: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
   10. Kenea WB. Analysis of production, yield and cultivation area trends in major cereal crops in Ethiopia. Agric For Fish. 2021;10(4):123–6. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20211004.11.
   11. Beegle K, Christiaensen L, Dabalen A, Gaddis I. Poverty in a Rising Africa. Africa Poverty Report Overview. Washington (DC): World Bank; 2016. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283256282.
   12. Deribe Y. Agricultural mechanization in Ethiopia: Enabling policy, suppliers and inter-regional heterogeneity. Preprint; 2021. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-478878/v1.
   13. Verma SR. Impact of agricultural mechanization on production, productivity, cropping intensity, income generation and employment of labour: Status of farm mechanization in India. Punjab Agricultural University; 2016. p. 133–53.
   14. Clarke LJ. Strategies for agricultural mechanization development: The roles of the private sector and the Cornell Univ eCommons Repository; 2000;2(3):1682–1130. Available from: https://hdl.handle.net/1813/10216.
   15. Emami M, Almassi M, Bakhoda H, Kalantar I. Agricultural mechanization, a key to food security in developing countries: strategy formulating for Iran. Agric Food Secur. 2018;7:24. doi: 1186/s40066-018-0176-2.
   16. Daum T, Birner R. Agricultural mechanization in Africa: Myths, realities and an emerging research agenda. Glob Food Secur. 2020;26:100393. doi: 10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100393.
   17. Schmitz A, Moss Mechanized agriculture: machine adoption, farm size, and labor displacement. Appl Econ Perspect Policy. 2015;18(3):278–96. Available from: https://hdl.handle.net/10355/48143.
   18. Filani AO, Ejiko SO. Assessment of mechanization application in crop production: A case study of Ado Ekiti, Nigeria. Int J Sci Eng Sci. 2018;2(7):45–52. Available from: http://ijses.com.
   19. Ahmed M, Goodwin Agricultural mechanization and non-farm labor supply of farm households: Evidence from Bangladesh. Annual Meeting Papers. 2016. Available from: http://ageconsearch.umn.edu.
   20. Molosiwa LE. Agricultural mechanization: A key input to food security that Botswana should consider. Adv Agric Appl Sci J. 2019;3(8):48–57. doi: 10.31080/ASAG.2019.03.0563.
   21. Diao X, Silver J, Takeshima H. Agricultural mechanization and agricultural transformation. Washington (DC): International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); 2016. Discussion Paper No. 01527:1–56.
   22. Ethiopia National Planning Commission (ENPC). Growth and Transformation Plan-II (2015/16– 2019/20). Addis Ababa (ET): ENPC; 2015. Vol. 1, The main text.
   23. Olaoye JO, Rotimi AO. Measurement of agricultural mechanization index and analysis of agricultural productivity of some farm settlements in South West Nigeria. Agric Eng Int CIGR J. 2014;7. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228835037.
   24. Challa TM, Mahendran A. Gender difference and its impact on agricultural productivity: The case of Sheko District in Bench Maji Zone of SNNP, Ethiopia. Int J Curr Res. 2015;7(11):22938–42. Available from: http://www.journalcra.com.
   25. Kothari CR. Research methodology—methods and techniques. New Delhi: Wiley Eastern Ltd; 1985. p. 198.
   26. Ortiz-Canavate J, Salvador Effects of different mechanization levels in Spanish dryland farms. J Agric Mech Asia Afr Lat Am. 1980;3(5):31–6.
   27. Burton An alternative to farmer age as an indicator of life-cycle stage: The case for a farm family age index. J Rural Stud. 2006;22(4):485–92. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of- rural-studies.
   28. Faleyimu OI, Akinyemi Socio-economic assessment of urban forestry respondents’ income in Okitipupa, Ondo State, Nigeria. J Appl Sci Environ Manag. 2014;18(4):603–7. doi: 10.4314/jasem.v18i4.7.
   29. Guo G, Wen Q, Zhu The impact of aging agricultural labor population on farmland output: From the perspective of farmer preferences. Sci World J. 2015;2015:730618. doi: 10.1155/2015/730618.
   30. Assefa A, Liben M, Tadesse T, Yeshalem B. The effect of tillage frequency and weed control on yield of tef (Eragrostis tef) in Yielmana-Densa area, northwestern Ethiopia. East Afr J Sci. 2008;2(1):35–40. doi:10.20372/eajs.v2i1.40.
   31. Ayele T, Tamirat N. Determinants of cereal crops productivity of rural Ethiopia: A case study of rural smallholder farmers of Kecha Birra Wereda in Kambata Zone, Ethiopia. J Poverty Invest Dev. 2020. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343713992.
   32. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The State of Food and Agriculture 2010–11: Women in agriculture—closing the gender gap for development. Rome: FAO; 2011. Available from: http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/i2050e/i2050e00.htm.
   33. Lin B, Deng H. An empirical analysis of the agricultural labor force aging on the impact of land use efficiency—Based on Zhejiang Province rural fixed observation point data. Chin Rural Econ. 2012;4:15–25.
   34. Olosunde WA, Onwe D, Sunday UN. Assessment of farm machinery utilization and food production in Akwa Ibom State. Adeleke Univ J Eng Technol. 2019;2(2):132–40.
   35. Ramya P, Com M, Phil M. Impact of agricultural mechanization on production, productivity and employment of labour. Shanlax Int J Commer. 2016;4(3):2320–4168.
   36. Government of Pakistan (GOP). Economic Survey of Pakistan 2009–2010. Islamabad: Finance
   Division, Economic Advisor’s Wing; 2010.
   37. Singh R, Singh BB. Farm mechanization in Western Uttar Pradesh—Problems of farm mechanization. Seminar Series IX. Bombay: Indian Society of Agricultural Economics; 1972.
   38. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Agricultural engineering in development: Post-harvest operations and management of food grains bulletin. 1994;93:92–103. Available from: http://www.fao.org/docrep/T0522E/T0522E00.HTM.
   39. Ethiopia Strategy Support Program (ESSP). The rapid uptake of agricultural mechanization in Ethiopia: patterns, implications and Addis Ababa: ESSP; 2017. (ESSP Working Paper).

There was no alternative solution except the utilization of farm machinery to enhance crop productivity. While in Ethiopia, the level of usage of agricultural machinery remains quite low and heavily relies on traditional power sources. Therefore, assessing, understanding the fundamental roots and their effect on agricultural productivity was crucial. Using data collected from a household survey of 240 farmers in four major wheat and maize producing districts of the Siltie zone. The inventory of farm machinery was also visited and assessed at the surveyed areas of investors, unions, and research centers. The farm mechanization index was used to evaluate the level of agricultural mechanization. While the level of productivity for each study area payment (rent) was determined as an inverse of the explicit factors involved in the production function (machine and labor). Results show that except for two investors, the utilization statuses of farm machinery were restricted only to tillage and harvesting operations for wheat, barley, and only tillage operations for maize crops. The overall productivity of wheat and maize yield in quintal per hectare at different farming practices was higher at mechanization farms (26.43, 28.39 qt/ha than (10.98, 17.34 qt/ha) non-mechanization farms, respectively. The average man-hour used for plowing and harvesting was higher at non-mechanized farm than mechanized farm. The average productivity level of (tractor) (0.709 kWhr/ha) was higher than human labor productivity (0.188 kWh/ha. Due to wage employment, manually operated farms used the highest man-hours to machinery- operated farms. It concluded that machinery-operated farms have a positive effect on the productivity of crops and labor with certain displacement costs. Thus, the Ethiopian government should control the illegal brokers, support and enhance the accessibility of appropriate agricultural machinery for all levels of farm size at reasonable prices for farmers through hiring or purchase.

keywords:Agricultural mechanization index, farm machinery rent, human and tractor productivity, wage employment

🔒 This is a subscription article

Full text is available to subscribers and institutional members. Please choose an option below to access it.

1. 1. Giller KE, Andersson J, Delaune T, Silva JV, Descheemaeker K, van de Ven G, et The future of farming: Who will produce our food? Food Secur. 2022;13:1073–99. doi: 10.1007/s12571-021-01184-6.
   2. Moyo S. Family farming in sub-Saharan Africa: Its contribution to agriculture, food security and rural development. Working Paper No. 150. Brasilia: International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPCIG); 2016. Available from: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/173805.
   3. Wordofa MG, Hassen JY, Endris GS. Adoption of improved agricultural technology and its impact on household income: A propensity score matching estimation in eastern Ethiopia. Agric Food Secur. 2021;10(5). doi: 10.1186/s40066-020-00278-2.
   4. Temesgen M, Hoogmoed WB, Rockström J, Savenije HHG. Conservation tillage implements and systems for smallholder farmers in semi-arid Soil Tillage Res. 2009;104(1):185–91. doi: 10.1016/j.still.2008.10.026.
   5. Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA). Ethiopian national agricultural mechanization strategy: Vision, systemic challenges and strategic interventions. Working document. Addis Ababa: MoA and ATA; 2014.
   6. Njeru E, Grey S, Kilawe Eastern Africa Climate-Smart Agriculture Scoping Study: Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. Addis Ababa: FAO; 2016. Available from: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4226e.pdf.
   7. Stevens T, Madani K. Future climate impacts on maize farming and food security in Malawi. Sci Rep. 2016;8(6):36241. doi: 10.1038/srep36241.
   8. Stellmacher T, Kelboro G. Family farms, agricultural productivity, and the terrain of food (in)security in Ethiopia. Sustainability. 2019;11(18):4981. doi: 10.3390/su11184981.
   9. Biru WD, Zeller M, Loos TK. The impact of agricultural technologies on poverty and vulnerability of smallholders in Ethiopia: A panel data analysis. Agric Econ. 2020;4(148):351. Available from: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
   10. Kenea WB. Analysis of production, yield and cultivation area trends in major cereal crops in Ethiopia. Agric For Fish. 2021;10(4):123–6. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20211004.11.
   11. Beegle K, Christiaensen L, Dabalen A, Gaddis I. Poverty in a Rising Africa. Africa Poverty Report Overview. Washington (DC): World Bank; 2016. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283256282.
   12. Deribe Y. Agricultural mechanization in Ethiopia: Enabling policy, suppliers and inter-regional heterogeneity. Preprint; 2021. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-478878/v1.
   13. Verma SR. Impact of agricultural mechanization on production, productivity, cropping intensity, income generation and employment of labour: Status of farm mechanization in India. Punjab Agricultural University; 2016. p. 133–53.
   14. Clarke LJ. Strategies for agricultural mechanization development: The roles of the private sector and the Cornell Univ eCommons Repository; 2000;2(3):1682–1130. Available from: https://hdl.handle.net/1813/10216.
   15. Emami M, Almassi M, Bakhoda H, Kalantar I. Agricultural mechanization, a key to food security in developing countries: strategy formulating for Iran. Agric Food Secur. 2018;7:24. doi: 1186/s40066-018-0176-2.
   16. Daum T, Birner R. Agricultural mechanization in Africa: Myths, realities and an emerging research agenda. Glob Food Secur. 2020;26:100393. doi: 10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100393.
   17. Schmitz A, Moss Mechanized agriculture: machine adoption, farm size, and labor displacement. Appl Econ Perspect Policy. 2015;18(3):278–96. Available from: https://hdl.handle.net/10355/48143.
   18. Filani AO, Ejiko SO. Assessment of mechanization application in crop production: A case study of Ado Ekiti, Nigeria. Int J Sci Eng Sci. 2018;2(7):45–52. Available from: http://ijses.com.
   19. Ahmed M, Goodwin Agricultural mechanization and non-farm labor supply of farm households: Evidence from Bangladesh. Annual Meeting Papers. 2016. Available from: http://ageconsearch.umn.edu.
   20. Molosiwa LE. Agricultural mechanization: A key input to food security that Botswana should consider. Adv Agric Appl Sci J. 2019;3(8):48–57. doi: 10.31080/ASAG.2019.03.0563.
   21. Diao X, Silver J, Takeshima H. Agricultural mechanization and agricultural transformation. Washington (DC): International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); 2016. Discussion Paper No. 01527:1–56.
   22. Ethiopia National Planning Commission (ENPC). Growth and Transformation Plan-II (2015/16– 2019/20). Addis Ababa (ET): ENPC; 2015. Vol. 1, The main text.
   23. Olaoye JO, Rotimi AO. Measurement of agricultural mechanization index and analysis of agricultural productivity of some farm settlements in South West Nigeria. Agric Eng Int CIGR J. 2014;7. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228835037.
   24. Challa TM, Mahendran A. Gender difference and its impact on agricultural productivity: The case of Sheko District in Bench Maji Zone of SNNP, Ethiopia. Int J Curr Res. 2015;7(11):22938–42. Available from: http://www.journalcra.com.
   25. Kothari CR. Research methodology—methods and techniques. New Delhi: Wiley Eastern Ltd; 1985. p. 198.
   26. Ortiz-Canavate J, Salvador Effects of different mechanization levels in Spanish dryland farms. J Agric Mech Asia Afr Lat Am. 1980;3(5):31–6.
   27. Burton An alternative to farmer age as an indicator of life-cycle stage: The case for a farm family age index. J Rural Stud. 2006;22(4):485–92. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of- rural-studies.
   28. Faleyimu OI, Akinyemi Socio-economic assessment of urban forestry respondents’ income in Okitipupa, Ondo State, Nigeria. J Appl Sci Environ Manag. 2014;18(4):603–7. doi: 10.4314/jasem.v18i4.7.
   29. Guo G, Wen Q, Zhu The impact of aging agricultural labor population on farmland output: From the perspective of farmer preferences. Sci World J. 2015;2015:730618. doi: 10.1155/2015/730618.
   30. Assefa A, Liben M, Tadesse T, Yeshalem B. The effect of tillage frequency and weed control on yield of tef (Eragrostis tef) in Yielmana-Densa area, northwestern Ethiopia. East Afr J Sci. 2008;2(1):35–40. doi:10.20372/eajs.v2i1.40.
   31. Ayele T, Tamirat N. Determinants of cereal crops productivity of rural Ethiopia: A case study of rural smallholder farmers of Kecha Birra Wereda in Kambata Zone, Ethiopia. J Poverty Invest Dev. 2020. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343713992.
   32. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The State of Food and Agriculture 2010–11: Women in agriculture—closing the gender gap for development. Rome: FAO; 2011. Available from: http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/i2050e/i2050e00.htm.
   33. Lin B, Deng H. An empirical analysis of the agricultural labor force aging on the impact of land use efficiency—Based on Zhejiang Province rural fixed observation point data. Chin Rural Econ. 2012;4:15–25.
   34. Olosunde WA, Onwe D, Sunday UN. Assessment of farm machinery utilization and food production in Akwa Ibom State. Adeleke Univ J Eng Technol. 2019;2(2):132–40.
   35. Ramya P, Com M, Phil M. Impact of agricultural mechanization on production, productivity and employment of labour. Shanlax Int J Commer. 2016;4(3):2320–4168.
   36. Government of Pakistan (GOP). Economic Survey of Pakistan 2009–2010. Islamabad: Finance
   Division, Economic Advisor’s Wing; 2010.
   37. Singh R, Singh BB. Farm mechanization in Western Uttar Pradesh—Problems of farm mechanization. Seminar Series IX. Bombay: Indian Society of Agricultural Economics; 1972.
   38. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Agricultural engineering in development: Post-harvest operations and management of food grains bulletin. 1994;93:92–103. Available from: http://www.fao.org/docrep/T0522E/T0522E00.HTM.
   39. Ethiopia Strategy Support Program (ESSP). The rapid uptake of agricultural mechanization in Ethiopia: patterns, implications and Addis Ababa: ESSP; 2017. (ESSP Working Paper).