Evolution of agricultural mechanization in Nepal
Mechanization levels in Nepal, a largely agricultural country, were relatively low until a few decades ago. However, significant mechanization growth, including the adoption of tractors, has occurred since the 1990s, against a backdrop of rising rural wages, particularly for plowing, combined with g...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Book Chapter |
| Language: | Inglés |
| Published: |
International Food Policy Research Institute
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142879 |
| _version_ | 1855536456914698240 |
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| author | Takeshima, Hiroyuki Justice, Scott E. |
| author_browse | Justice, Scott E. Takeshima, Hiroyuki |
| author_facet | Takeshima, Hiroyuki Justice, Scott E. |
| author_sort | Takeshima, Hiroyuki |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Mechanization levels in Nepal, a largely agricultural country, were relatively low until a few decades ago. However, significant mechanization growth, including the adoption of tractors, has occurred since the 1990s, against a backdrop of rising rural wages, particularly for plowing, combined with growing emigration, growth in key staple crop yields, overall broad agricultural production growth, and improved market access and participation. This growth in mechanization has taken place despite the general absence of direct government support or promotion. The growth of tractor use in the plains of the Terai zone has transformed agricultural production rather than inducing labor movement out of agriculture. Thus it has raised overall returns to scale in intensification and enabled the cultivation of greater areas by medium smallholders than by resource-poor smallholders. Tractors have also facilitated the intensification of crop production per unit of land among very small farmers, enabling mechanization growth despite the continued decline in farm size, although these farmers may not have benefited as much as medium smallholders. Potential future research areas with policy relevance include mitigating accessibility constraints on tractor custom hiring services, identifying appropriate regulatory policies for mechanization, and providing complementary support to some smallholders who may not fully benefit from tractor adoption alone. |
| format | Book Chapter |
| id | CGSpace142879 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publishDateRange | 2020 |
| publishDateSort | 2020 |
| publisher | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| publisherStr | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1428792025-11-06T04:14:20Z Evolution of agricultural mechanization in Nepal Takeshima, Hiroyuki Justice, Scott E. tractors supply balance policies equipment technology households demand agriculture agricultural mechanization governance Mechanization levels in Nepal, a largely agricultural country, were relatively low until a few decades ago. However, significant mechanization growth, including the adoption of tractors, has occurred since the 1990s, against a backdrop of rising rural wages, particularly for plowing, combined with growing emigration, growth in key staple crop yields, overall broad agricultural production growth, and improved market access and participation. This growth in mechanization has taken place despite the general absence of direct government support or promotion. The growth of tractor use in the plains of the Terai zone has transformed agricultural production rather than inducing labor movement out of agriculture. Thus it has raised overall returns to scale in intensification and enabled the cultivation of greater areas by medium smallholders than by resource-poor smallholders. Tractors have also facilitated the intensification of crop production per unit of land among very small farmers, enabling mechanization growth despite the continued decline in farm size, although these farmers may not have benefited as much as medium smallholders. Potential future research areas with policy relevance include mitigating accessibility constraints on tractor custom hiring services, identifying appropriate regulatory policies for mechanization, and providing complementary support to some smallholders who may not fully benefit from tractor adoption alone. 2020-11-01 2024-05-22T12:11:14Z 2024-05-22T12:11:14Z Book Chapter https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142879 en https://doi.org/10.2499/9780896293809 https://doi.org/10.2499/9780896293823 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Takeshima, Hiroyuki and Justice, Scott E. 2020. Evolution of agricultural mechanization in Nepal. In An evolving paradigm of agricultural mechanization development: How much can Africa learn from Asia?, eds. Xinshen Diao, Hiroyuki Takeshima, and Xiaobo Zhang. Part Three: Late-Adopter Asian Countries, Chapter 9, Pp. 285-325. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/9780896293809_09. |
| spellingShingle | tractors supply balance policies equipment technology households demand agriculture agricultural mechanization governance Takeshima, Hiroyuki Justice, Scott E. Evolution of agricultural mechanization in Nepal |
| title | Evolution of agricultural mechanization in Nepal |
| title_full | Evolution of agricultural mechanization in Nepal |
| title_fullStr | Evolution of agricultural mechanization in Nepal |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evolution of agricultural mechanization in Nepal |
| title_short | Evolution of agricultural mechanization in Nepal |
| title_sort | evolution of agricultural mechanization in nepal |
| topic | tractors supply balance policies equipment technology households demand agriculture agricultural mechanization governance |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142879 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT takeshimahiroyuki evolutionofagriculturalmechanizationinnepal AT justicescotte evolutionofagriculturalmechanizationinnepal |